Ultra Friends

Co-Founder + Chief Creative Officer

Kevin Rapp Consulting

Companies do branding wrong.

They start branding by looking internally.

Their values, their target audience, their impressions of messages that would resonate.

And they could end up investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in launching that brand big.

But, what if it doesn't work?

They. Start. Over.

Kevin approaches branding differently.

He's built a model of creative tests that will allow brands to get real data from their actual audience to find out which messages, design, and concepts resonate.

And then the companies can scale and mature the brand from there.

It's an approach for companies to build their brand the way they build their product.

Through rapid iteration based on how their customers respond.

Kevin brings this approach to everything he works on: from large scale branding projects to a simple explainer video.

He builds brands and content that are optimized to deliver value to businesses.

Founder + Chief Creative Officer

Root Inc.

Senior Creative Director, Production

We had to build a standout brand in the most oversaturated marketing industry: car insurance.

Root was disrupting the industry with a product that based prices on how people actually drive, not their demographics.

In the 90's, GEICO completely revolutionized this 266 billion dollar industry by providing quotes online.

This was an opportunity to shake it up even more.

In the Series B stage, I led the way we told Root's story to customers.

I developed a process to test new messages and built some of their highest performing content.

We tripled the policy count and positioned the company to compete with the industry giants.

I even led all the creative initiatives when the company went public (the largest IPO in Ohio's history).

And saved the company around 4 million dollars a year by developing a systemized process of content creation.

But, most critically, I played an important role in building the company's brand, pushing the narrative that Root was a progressive company fighting for fairness in financial services.

Our biggest brand statement, our partnership with NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, demonstrated those values in our powerful film "Progress Owes No Apology."

The campaign earned over 3 billion impressions almost entirely organically, while picking up massive press coverage and a few Clio awards along the way.

In the end, we massively delivered on the assignment to build a disruptive brand in a crowded space.

Creative Director, Production

Spacejunk Media

Can one director manage 10-14 projects simultaneously while maintaining an impeccable creative bar?

Can he balance:

• Designing promos for FX TV shows
• Writing and directing a short film for a cryptocurrency company
• Building a creatively progressive training program for Nationwide
• Crafting animated segments for a docu-series on National Geographic
• and much, MUCH more (including an MTV Cribs parody for Lunchables)?

Well, when that director is Kevin, yes. Yes he can.

Art Director

StoneKap Productions

You might not think much of a small video production studio in Canton, Ohio.

You might not think they'd do award-winning work for massive clients, including Target, Microsoft, and Goodyear.

But this smart and dedicated team had a commitment to craft that delivered far beyond what you'd expect.

Brands need more content for smaller budgets these days.

On top of that, that content needs to be optimized to perform on the digital channels of today.

Content that stops scrolls dead in their tracks.

Content that drives audiences to take action.

Well, that's where Kevin comes in.

He's a seasoned, multi-disciplinary creative director that's built brands and content for both startup disruptors and Fortune 500 companies including Netflix and Twitter.

WHAT YOU GET WORKING WITH KEVIN:

• Systems thinking with modular content to use in multiple channels
• An approach that creates more content for lower budgets
• Knowledge on how to optimize content to perform

Get started making content that drives business results.

Book a 1:1 call to get started.

Client won't tell you their budget?

Try this question:

"What number would you consider outrageous?"

Here, you're not trying to find the range, you're trying to find out what is outside their range.

What would make your proposal a hard no.

If the budget you'd provide is significantly higher than the "hard no" number, you now don't have to waste time coming up with a proposal and can let them know that this probably wouldn't be a good fit.

If you'd come in under that "hard no" number, then you can start the dialogue of what the budget range would be and gauge how they respond.

It's my favorite question to end the budget / price stalemate.

Kevin Rapp

Generative AI isn't a tool.

You don't prompt tools, you wield them.

When the control is out of your hands and the output is provided to you, you're working with a service provider, not a tool.

"That Apple ad is a complete marketing failure!"

says everyone as they continue to share it and talk about it and analyze it

42 lessons to share from 42 years on earth.

(on today, my 42nd birthday)

1. Life
2. The universe
3. And everything
42. So long and thanks for all the fish

“How can I guarantee ROI for my clients?”

lol u can’t 

This was a great question I got the other day from a motion designer, wanting to sell their services better. 

Here’s why you can’t make that promise:

Let’s say you do everything right with the video. It’s perfectly optimized to convert.

And it successfully pushes the audience to the landing page. But the landing page:

• Looks nothing like the video
• Has outdated messaging
• Doesn’t have a clear CTA

Well, then the audience doesn’t fully convert. 

The brand doesn’t get ROI, but it’s entirely not your fault. 

Because those variables are outside of your control. 

So, how do you communicate the value of what you do?

Show what they get that is within your control. 

For example, my primary value is the systems approach to creative. 

With these systems, the clients get more deliverables, which means more opportunities to test, and more opportunities to find a high performer. 

They can test:

• Message
• Themes
• Length
• Channels
• And more

Don’t promise what you can’t control.

In the past two years, I've closed over $1.5 million in sales.

With zero cold calling.

Despite the nauseatingly hacky hook, this isn't a "just be consistent on LinkedIn" post.

This is a "market your own brand the way you'd market for your clients" post.

1. Start with what you offer.

What do you do differently that your competitors? How is your approach generating value?

2. Then build your message.

How can you communicate what your value? How do you position it through the perspective of your clients' needs so that they respond?

3. Test and iterate.

It's likely that your first pass at messaging what you do isn't going to hit. Make  pivots until you see how the market responds. Double down on what works.

4. Prioritize your efforts.

Your biggest limitation isn't your marketing budget, it's your time. Be focused on where and how you market. Spend your effort where it will deliver the most return. 

(just because everyone says you should "own your channel" doesn't mean you need a newsletter, for god's sake)

If you're struggling with sales right now, think about how you're marketing yourself. Or even IF you're marketing yourself at all.

You know how to market a brand, so turn those skills inward.

I love it when I make a LinkedIncestuous™  post

(that's my term when I post about LinkedIn on LinkedIn)

because then people start following me thinking that I'll provide them with great insights on how to grow on this weird business social network but I just make fun of generative AI and talk about the X-Men

There are few resources for creatives to become better marketers.

✅  Resources to improve your craft
✅  Resources to build your business
❌  Resources to apply your craft to marketing

Knowing how your work fits into the marketing pipeline is, in my opinion, THE most high-leverage skill to build for creatives.

But it's really hard to get an education on how to do it. Because marketing and creative are often siloed off from each other.

It's a waterfall from one department to the other, rather than a true collaboration.

Marketers: treat your creatives like key strategic partners, not order takers. They'll have insights, perspectives, and hypotheses that will help you create the highest performing work.

Creatives: Be as invested in the business results as you are in the concept and craft. Work to understand your marketers' goals and make decisions that achieve those goals.

The more we push for better collaboration on both sides, the better the work will perform.

but for real has anyone seen sam altman and lord farquaad in the same room at the same time

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month

I'm shoving all my emotional problems down into a dark hole and hoping that solves everything

Ultra Friends launched its first website redesign yesterday.

We're kicking off a rebrand project today.

Leading a verbal brand whiteboard session tomorrow.

It's wild to see how the business has evolved (and continues to evolve) to better serve our creative partners.

The DEFINITIVE Kevin Rapp travel guide to Columbus, Ohio.

For all you peeps traveling in for Making Midwest in 2 weeks!

This gives you my incredibly biased takes on:

• Neighborhoods to explore
• Places to eat
• Post-conference activities
• Art and culture spots
• Unique shops
• And more!

If you're looking for a quick lunch before the event, a place to hang out with friends after, or where to go to kill a few hours, I've got you covered.

(for real though, if you have a few hours, I'd highly recommend you go to Otherworld)

If you haven't grabbed your tickets for Making Midwest yet, what are you waiting for? 

Use my code to save yourself 25 bones: GA_MMW_24-KR

PS - Fellow Columbus peeps, anything you'd add to this list?

The Kevin Rapp travel guide to Columbus

One of the biggest ways to get better results:

Communicate on your audience's terms.

Want to sell more work? Communicate the value of your work in the way the people who sign the checks care about. (aka don't just sell them on your craft)

Want to get better results out of your team? Find out what how they like to work and communicate in a way that empowers that. (aka don't treat them like button pushers)

Want your ads to perform better? Communicate what's in it for them and motivate how the brand gives them those results. (aka don't just list out features)

We get tunnel visioned in communicating what WE think is the important message.

Communicate what YOUR AUDIENCE would find compelling instead.

When everyone else is trying to be the next Justin Welsh…

Be the first you.

There’s a real benefit to authentic weirdness. 

It gives other people permission to be their own true goofball self too. 

I was at the Postal Service / Death Cab for Cutie concert last night and was staggered by the level of “awkward white dad swaying on the dance floor at a wedding” energy from Ben Gibbard’s dancing. 

But my wife reminded me that this gives absolutely everyone at the show full permission to have a good time and dance, no matter how awkward or off-rhythm.

Well done, Ben Gibbard, you weird human you

This :60 clip from an underrated Nic Cage movie has a lot to say.

(go with me here)

"We don't get a lot of things to care about."

If what you're building isn't real, if you're building it for someone else entirely and lose yourself along the way, you might find someone else's definition of success.

But you'll diminish yourself along the way.

And I just don't think that's worth it.

The answer to a burning question:

“What comic books has Kevin bought lately?”

You know me, lots of hard sci-fi with political allegory and satire.

Oh and also some Godzilla comics because James Stokoe draws the hell outta some kaiju

"I really want to see Kevin's incredible talk on the systemic exploitation of creatives but I can't haul my human meat sack over to Ohio!"

I've heard this exact combination of words so many times.

Guess what? Making Midwest has solved that problem!

There are some amazing talks lined up by badass speakers like Amanda R., Mack Garrison, Sarah Beth Morgan, Matt Vojacek, and more.

You aren't gonna want to miss this, and it's easy as hell to catch it now!

PS - if you ARE making the trip to C-Bus and want to know what else to do while you're here, I'm putting together a little traveler's guide for restaurants, neighborhoods, and other places you may want to visit!

Happy Free Comic Book Day!

(aka the most important holiday of the year)

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