Joe Jurek

Gallagher had insurance solutions for the music industry — tour liability, event cancellation, and gear coverage. But the language and look were built for actuaries, not artists. Musicians and tour managers don’t think in “career relationships.” They think in “what happens if the show gets canceled.” They had substance, but no voice or hook to hang their hat on.

I created Solutions That Play, a content system designed to sound like it belonged in the music industry, with a focus on visuals, confident language, and coverage of artists, labels, tour production, and festivals. The print version of the piece came in its own sleeve that looked and opened like a vinyl record.

The piece won an IHAF Honorable Mention in 2025. The client still uses it to win business today, over a year after launch. The strength of this concept was used to build a second version for the broader entertainment practice, also in the market.

Artex, Gallagher’s captive insurance management brand, was mid-rebrand with new visuals but no defined voice. Without one, every asset risked feeling like it came from a different company: digital, print, video, and live events all pulling in slightly different directions.

I built upon the voice and tone for the new Artex, then applied it myself across every channel, including digital, print, video scripts, and live event experiences, so the brand sounded like one company, no matter where a client encountered it.

The Artex content program earned an IMCA Gold Award (2020–2023), recognizing it as one of the strongest works in the insurance industry that year. That was proof that the new voice didn’t just look right, it read as best-in-class.

Family-themed children’s books usually mean parents and grandparents. I set out to give overlooked family roles, such as uncles and expecting dads, their own stories. As a one-person studio, that meant writing, producing, and selling a debut title with no big publisher, distributor, or budget behind it.

I wrote and published “They Don’t Make Books About Uncles,” ran a successful Kickstarter campaign, and then built the digital footprint to get it into the hands of as many uncles, nieces, and nephews as possible. I followed it with “Dad-to-Bump”, applying the same playbook, a warm, specific concept, and sales pipeline, to a new audience, i.e., dads-to-be.

“They Don’t Make Books About Uncles” has been a success story for 12 years and just launched its first-ever hardcover edition. The catalog keeps growing with a new title in the “They Don’t Make Books About…” series coming later this year.