The Challenge

I led creative project management and hands-on design management for the annual Sip-tember to Remember contest — a key Aeroplan + Starbucks partnership campaign aimed at driving engagement and contest participation across Aeroplan’s member base.

The campaign required developing a full suite of multi-channel assets in just 8 weeks, with evolving client feedback and shifting priorities.

My Approach

As Lead Creative Project Manager, I was responsible for both project leadership and hands-on creative operations:

Project & Stakeholder Leadership

• Brief intake & scope definition: Aligned with Air Canada / Aeroplan marketing team on contest details and deliverables

• Workback schedule: Created and shared a detailed WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) to drive alignment across internal and client stakeholders

• Stakeholder management: Managed feedback from multiple parties (Aeroplan, Starbucks, internal teams) and translated it into clear, actionable direction for the creative team

Creative Leadership & Quality Control

• Creative strategy & input: Collaborated with the design team to brainstorm concepts, align with brand strategy, and ensure creative stayed on-brand and cohesive

• Creative feedback: Provided direct feedback to designers throughout all rounds, helping course-correct when concepts veered off-brand or inconsistent with Starbucks and Aeroplan guidelines

• Deck assembly: Led the assembly of polished client-facing creative decks to support each round of presentation

• QA: Conducted thorough QA across all rounds of creative presentations and final deliverables to ensure alignment with brief, brand standards, and technical requirements

Agility & Execution

• Managed creative pivot when Starbucks requested leveraging their existing visuals + legacy Aeroplan assets after 6 rounds of new visual identity development

• Phased delivery: Prioritized and managed deliverables in three phases to ensure critical assets were delivered first

• Late-stage change management: Successfully integrated an additional request (postcard) one week before delivery by reprioritizing team workload

Deliverables

• Visual identity design (ultimately aligned to Starbucks + legacy Aeroplan creative)

• Full suite of web banners (owned and paid channels)

• Social media assets (organic + paid)

• OOH and DOOH assets

• 4-email campaign cadence (launch + weekly refreshes + final reminder)

• Postcard (added late in the process)

  

Key Outcomes

• Creative project leadership that bridges strategy and execution

• Proactive stakeholder management and clear communication flow

• Agility in managing late-stage scope changes without sacrificing quality or deadlines