What happens when a creative leader builds a system that powers 30,000 web pages—without a single developer? Charlie Riley welcomes Dmitry Shamis, former global head of brand and creative at HubSpot and now co-founder of the brand agency OhSnap! They unpack why creative is making a comeback, why brand shouldn’t be a bottleneck, and how to build systems that scale with your team.

Dmitry shares how his team at HubSpot introduced modular brand tools, expanded Canva use across global teams, and used out of home to make bold, visible statements. He also explains why AI won’t replace creativity—it’s creativity’s best friend. If you’re navigating brand execution across channels or wondering how to think differently about your creative process, this conversation is a must.

👤 Guest Bio

Dmitry Shamis is the co-founder of OhSnap!, a brand agency focused on scalable brand systems. Previously the global head of creative and brand at HubSpot, Dmitry helped marketing teams navigate challenges around execution, scale, and visual identity. He started his career as an engineer and now brings systems thinking to brand development. Find him on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/dmitryshamis.

📌 What We Cover

• Why OhSnap! focuses on brand systems, not just rebrands
• What it means for brand to enable rather than bottleneck creative teams
• The importance of adapting design to medium—transit ads vs. billboards vs. digital
• Lessons from launching HubSpot’s first out of home campaign in San Francisco
• Anecdotal signals that out of home is working (hint: text messages from friends)
• Why “brand is back” and what that means for modern marketing teams
• How AI supports, but never replaces, true creative work
• Why bad habits in digital advertising are holding teams back
• Creating time and space for creatives to do their best work
• Building scalable brand systems early to avoid downstream chaos

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• OhSnap! — Dmitry's brand agency
• The Brief Creative — Dmitry’s weekly newsletter
• What's Your Process podcast — hosted by Dmitry Shamis
• LinkedIn – Dmitry Shamis
• Capsule (video tool)
• Air (digital asset management platform)
• Scrappy ABM Podcast