Check Out Bryan Karr’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryan Karr.

Hi Bryan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, I was always interested in artistic things. I played in garage bands. I created short movies. I won art competitions. I wrote and illustrated a children’s coloring book.

It wasn’t until college at Wake Forest that my focus shifted to creative writing. It was something I excelled at and really enjoyed. So I piled on as many writing classes as I could: playwriting, screenwriting and eventually classes focusing on adverting.

After graduating, I worked in medical sales for about 2 years, because I needed a “real” job. That life wasn’t for me, so I headed back to school—enrolling at the Portfolio Center in their Copywriting program.

After finishing up there, I jumped into the agency world, working for over 20 years at some of the top agencies in the country. This took me from Atlanta to Boston, Boston to Chicago, Chicago to San Francisco, and finally San Francisco to Boulder.

Everything was going great. Got married. Started a family. Got promotions. The whole shebang. Then 2020 hit. At the time, I was running the American Airlines and truth accounts at CPB, located in Boulder. I figured I’d get laid off because, well, planes weren’t flying.

Eventually, I got the “it’s-not-you-it’s-the-economy” speech and I was let go. No hard feelings, that’s life.

That’s when I started TFG Creative, freelancing full time. “What in the hell does that mean?”, you might ask. Well, as a freelancer, I’m hired by different agencies or clients to assist on their marketing projects. Typically, helping them strategize, then coming up with and producing their creative output. This might be for a couple day, a week or longer. I prefer the longer ones.

Truth is, I love it. It allows me to constantly work with new, creative people and companies, while spending more QT with my wife and kids.

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?
I’d say 95% smooth.

As far as struggles go: having a newborn baby and a 2 year old is stressful enough, but when you get dumped at the metaphorical school dance by your agency–well that adds a new level of stress. Just the uncertainty of not knowing what I was going to do next.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My official tile is Creative Director with my discipline being writing. Typically in the creative field, you work in partnerships, so I would be paired as a Writer with an Art Director, Designer or Digital Lead. Nowadays, I’m hired by agencies or client to jump into projects where they’re either short-staffed or need extra fire-power.

During my career, I’ve worked on all sorts of creative campaigns: big budget TV commercials, brand activations, billboards, print, digital, social, augmented reality, re-branding entire companies, you name it.

I think the work I’m most proud of was anything I worked on for The American Legacy Foundation, better known as truth. It’s an anti-smoking campaign for teens, that really focused on attacking the Tobacco Industry instead of wagging fingers at teenagers. I’ve worked on some other d0-right campaigns for the Ad Council, those focused on combating Buzzed Driving. That kind of work I’ve always enjoyed.

That and maybe Automotive. I don’t know if you could say I’m “known” for anything as most people want to tune out advertising, but I have worked on a lot of car brands, creating some iconic spots. Here’s a few: Audi, Volvo, VW, Infiniti, and Toyota.

I feel like “what sets you apart?” is a weird question. I’m sure it’s different for different people I’ve worked with. All I know is I’ve always prided myself on working really hard and trying to stay positive. No one like working with an Asshole.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I read a lot of industry pubs and keep up with what’s going on in the industry. Resources like Communication Arts, Archive, Creativity, One Show, Ad Age–stuff like that.

Currently, I’m reading Rick Rubin’s book on creativity.

Because my job relies on me being up to date with current trends, I spend a lot of time scrolling social. I call it research. My wife calls it, Dum-Dum time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tfgcreative.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-karr-8811156/