YouTube Music
We refreshed YouTube Music’s DR campaign and extended the system across banners, product launches, app store, and email—building a consistent, performance-ready creative language that scaled across the year.
Project Overview
YouTube Music Premium entered 2020 with growing awareness thanks to the success of our 2019 DR campaign. That work had introduced the product and established core messaging around Premium benefits like ad-free listening and offline mode. With the foundation in place, the next phase was about refinement.
We were asked to evolve the campaign to reflect updated positioning focused on guided discovery. At the same time, the platform was rolling out a series of new features throughout the year, from redesigned tabs to curated playlists. Our creative system needed to stretch beyond paid ads and into feature launches, app store content, emails, and on-platform placements. Everything had to feel unified, flexible, and performance-driven.
Scope:
Global DR Campaign
Brand:
YouTube Music
Year:
2020
My Approach
I helped lead the creative evolution across both the updated DR campaign and the broader marketing ecosystem. My role sat between high-level strategic thinking and daily hands-on creative direction. I worked closely with cross-functional teams to translate shifting goals and product updates into creative that was cohesive, modular, and built to scale.
For the campaign work, I guided updates to messaging hierarchy, VO structure, and pacing. For banners, emails, and product launches, I helped adapt our visual and messaging system to meet the needs of different surfaces without losing consistency. I also worked closely with our animation and design teams to ensure our system could flex for localization and licensing while staying on-brand and on-brief.
The Team
Associate Creative Director Angela Sturrus
Senior Art Director Cat Thielen
Senior Copywriter Travis Taylor
Copywriter Danielle Chesney
Senior Producer Leo Nouhan
Producer Caryn Tayeh
Associate Motion Director Martin Slomka
Motion Designer Sean Thompson
Motion Designer Maggie McNamara
Senior Designer Michael Crawford
Desginer Chris Withers
Designer Kelleigh Swaim
Designer Tomi Rosanwo
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Campaign Execution
We built a full suite of performance assets across :06, :15, and :30 videos, mobile-first placements, static and animated banners, and platform-specific formats. The campaign continued to highlight Premium features, but evolved the narrative toward YouTube Music as a helpful guide—not just a passive playlist engine.
To keep the work current and culturally relevant, we featured top tracks and trending artists across formats. Each artist helped shape the look and feel of the spot they appeared in. Colors were often pulled from album art or music video references, and our motion system was designed to flex to the rhythm and tone of each song. This gave the creative a customized feel while still allowing it to scale efficiently across deliverables.
As new features rolled out on the product side—like Explore, Related, and Top Charts—we applied the same design language to those launches. We also extended the system into app store placements and email marketing. These channels used adapted layouts, shorter messaging formats, and lighter-weight visuals, but still carried the same tone and design principles as the broader campaign.
We treated every touchpoint as part of the same system, even as the creative flexed to meet format-specific needs.
The Outcome
This work helped shift YouTube Music from launch mode to a more fully realized creative platform. We built a dynamic system that could flex across formats, channels, and artist content—adapting to different beats, moods, and visuals without feeling templated or over-designed. It created cohesion without sameness, allowing the brand to stay fresh, scalable, and performance-driven across every touchpoint.
Let's Work Together
Whether you're hiring, looking for a creative partner, or need fresh eyes on a project, I’m open to freelance, full-time, or consulting opportunities.
