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How a Fortune 50 In-House Creative Agency Stays at Full Capacity, Powered by Tonic3 Embedded Teams

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Design & UX Velocity & Scale Project Delivery Creative Delivery
Fortune 50 In-House Creative Agency Stays at Full Capacity | Tonic3 Managed Creative Services
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In 2014, this Fortune 50 financial services company brought Tonic3 in to solve a narrower problem than the one we solve today: a small, dedicated pod to help an in-house creative team keep pace with rising production demand. What started as a team of 9 has grown into a 55-person embedded practice — not because the scope was renegotiated once, but because the relationship kept expanding on its own terms, year after year, as the internal agency's needs evolved.

Over 12+ years, that growth has never come at the cost of consistency. The same embedded model that worked for a team of 9 still works at 55 — because Tonic3 didn't scale by adding layers of management or diluting brand fluency across a rotating bench. Specialists who understand this client's tone, systems, and standards stay on the team long enough to become genuinely trusted collaborators, not vendors being re-onboarded every project cycle. That's the difference between a staffing relationship and a long-term partnership: one gets bigger by adding headcount, the other gets better by compounding the same institutional knowledge, year over year.

Working with Tonic3

What clients consistently point to isn't the headcount — it's the flexibility, and a real understanding of the creative process, that makes finding the right creative talent something they can count on happening again and again.

— Jim Croall, Delivery Services at Tonic3

 

The Signature Blend

 A mix of Creative Design, Motion Video, and Market Analysis woven with Tonic3's proprietary management layer. 

12+

 Years as an embedded in-house creative partner. 

 90% 

 Annual retention rate — sustaining high-volume creative production across multiple internal sub-teams. 

Multiple Teams

 Full-time embedded specialists, grown from an original team of 9. 

 

 

The Challenge

The Overhead of Internal Agency Scaling

For a global leader in financial services, this in-house agency is a vital engine. However, managing an internal agency of this scale often results in "Delivery Drama"—high turnover, fragmented skill sets, and the administrative burden of constant recruiting and onboarding. They needed more than just "staffing"; they needed a partner to clear the path to consistent, high-quality execution.

Managed Services: Weaving Talent into a High-Performance System

Tonic3 replaced the uncertainty of traditional hiring with a Managed Services framework. We didn't just provide bodies; we provided a calibrated team of specialized professionals, including:

  • Creative Core: 6 Digital Designers, 4 Motion Designers, 2 Deck Designers.
  • Content & Strategy: 8 Copywriters, 3 Proofreaders, 1 Market Analyst.
  • Management Layer: 4 Project Managers ensuring on-time delivery and efficient workflows.

Operational Clarity: Management Beyond the Build

The differentiator in this partnership is Tonic3’s ownership of performance. Our approach includes:

  • Coaching & Development:  Monthly 1:1 coaching for every team member to align with the client's evolving brand standards.
  • Incentive Systems: Employee Rewards & Retention programs that keep institutional knowledge in-house.
  • Scalability: Streamlined recruiting and onboarding that allows the CCOE to adapt to internal client needs at the Speed of Certainty.

 

The Impact:

Strategic Performance & Sustained Growth

By treating the embedded teams as a cohesive system rather than a collection of freelancers, Tonic3 has delivered a foundation of stability. A 90% retention rate ensures that Citi’s internal teams spend less time "re-learning" and more time "executing," leading to high-volume feature output and creative consistency across the enterprise.

 

 

Outcomes +
Why It Matters