Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Rapp.
Hi Kevin, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I started my career as a video editor and animator, working at a small commercial production studio. This is where I really learned the trade of video production: everything from 3D animation to stop-motion to complicated visual effects.
From there, I transitioned into leading the work when I became a director at a studio called Spacejunk in downtown Columbus. It’s a really unique experience jumping from working at a small studio, where sometimes I did every aspect of a project, to a director role at a larger studio, where I really just had to communicate my vision to a team of really talented artists.
Here’s where I learned my directing style. A lot of directors tend to focus on having artists execute their vision. I don’t like to work that way. I want to get artists on board with a collective vision for the project and have them bring their own perspectives and expertise to the work. For me, achieving “what I saw in my head” isn’t success. I’m looking to achieve what I saw in my head but better because of the contributions of my team.
From there, I wanted to get experience in-house, so I could get learn more on the marketing strategy side. I became employee 100 at tech startup Root Insurance, where I built the video production function from the ground up. I got to collaborate closely with every aspect of the business, up to the executive level. I helped the company grow up to 1,800 employees and led key initiatives as it transitioned into becoming a publicly-traded company. I created unique strategies that saved the company millions of dollars in production cost while creating some of their all-time highest-performing advertisements.
I took everything I learned from all these experiences and started my own consulting company last year. I help companies build brands and marketing content that works for the digital age as it is now. That means testing ideas and optimizing them for how audiences are consuming content. I’ve been working with a number of growing startups, along with bigger brands like Twitter, Netflix, and Puma.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My story always seems linear when I tell it, but there were lots of winding roads and detours along the way.
The biggest challenge has been transitioning from 15 years of working steadily full-time for other companies to making the jump on my own. I really enjoyed the ability to take risks and still get a steady paycheck. Learning how to take the financial risk myself has been a bit of a learning curve. For example, I sold $0 of work in January but closed over $100,000 of sales one week in April. The peaks and valleys of owning your own business takes a lot of adjustment.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Because of my many years of experience with video production, that tends to be what I’m most known for. But I learned so much while working in-house at a hypergrowth startup. I learned how to take my technical execution capabilities and apply them to a marketing strategy. I wasn’t just making creative videos; I was building content that was delivering significant results for the business. I got to review performance data and optimize the creative approach to my work, creating some of the most impactful advertisements that delivered the most company growth.
I think that skill set is what sets me apart. There are a lot of very talented creatives out there, but my ability to execute high-quality creative that is strategically optimized to deliver value to a business is pretty unique.
The particular piece I’m most proud of is the video we created to announce Root’s partnership with NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace. Let me provide some context on that.
In the Summer of 2020, we set out to make a powerful film that demonstrated our company values. Bubba Wallace had been in the news for breaking convention: He advocated for removing the Confederate flag from NASCAR events.
He received an incredible amount of hate for this. And, in June, a rope that looked suspiciously like a noose was found in his garage and reported by his team. When an FBI investigation revealed the rope to be a door pull, he had some powerful critics. Including Donald Trump, who urged Bubba to apologize for causing racial controversy.
Bubba’s story represented the values we wanted to demonstrate. He was a person bringing progress and fairness to an industry that’s resistant to change.
Because of the nature of the film, we had to have a number of difficult conversations. We had to advocate to keep extremely tense and political imagery, including the confederate flag and the noose. And we had to negotiate with some very powerful stakeholders, including the marketing teams of NASCAR and Bubba’s sponsors, as well as his new racing team owner, Michael Jordan. There was also a very real fear that mentioning then-President Trump in the film would cause him to shut down Root’s IPO, scheduled to happen the week after the film’s release.
At the end, we were able to keep the integrity of the film intact. We told Bubba’s story authentically and demonstrated the incredible adversity he overcame.
But the making of the film aged me about 15 years. To address one of the stakeholders’ concerns, we even had to create a brand-new 3D animation shot from scratch, the morning the film was released.
You can see the film here: https://vimeo.com/505246364
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The industry has had massive shifts over the past 5-10 years and will only continue to change more.
The wide adoption of mobile devices and social media has changed the way brands advertise. It’s not enough to do big TV, radio, and billboard campaigns anymore. There are so many potential different customer touchpoints in the digital age, and brands have to adapt to customer behavior.
We’ve really seen a shift in marketing strategy from big-budget TV campaigns to investments in more content for digital. And I think that trend will only continue. As companies get more sophisticated with testing creative, it’s necessary for creatives to understand how their work fits into these digital strategies so that they can develop work that’s optimized to perform.
Contact Info:
- Website: kevin-rapp.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-rapp-consulting/
Image Credits
Jon Ciotti
