How I work
What makes someone care enough to choose you?
The personal stakes behind a purchase—and the words, ideas and experiences we create from that understanding.
Emotion-led, from research to the work.
My approach is emotion-led. I look for what a purchase means to the person making it, then use that understanding to shape positioning, writing and the experience your brand creates.
That might mean feeling proud of their work, excited about an opportunity, or relieved that something difficult is finally getting easier. The interesting part is finding what matters in this situation—and making something that speaks to it.
Start with a real decision
We begin with the marketing priority in front of us and what you already know. We agree where things stand, what useful progress would look like, and when we’ll review it. I read customer conversations, reviews, sales calls and support questions, including accounts of decisions that went nowhere. When we need more context, interviews help us follow the story and ask about the parts those records leave out.
What happened that made someone consider changing? What attracted them? What nearly stopped them? What did they hope would be different?
“It saves time” is a useful answer. I want to know what they wanted that time for.
Find what matters personally
An agency owner chasing missing files might want their afternoon back. They might also want the way their business runs to reflect the quality of the work they’re proud of.
That second possibility connects the practical problem with a personal stake: feeling good about the business and how clients experience working with it. Keeping the relationship good may matter alongside that pride.
Interpretation is part of my job. I show you what people said, what I think it means, and where another explanation could fit. We use that understanding to choose a promise your company can deliver and the proof that makes it believable.
Give the understanding a creative life
Then we decide what we want people to feel when they encounter your business. Recognition? Anticipation? Confidence? A little delight? That choice shapes the campaign idea, copy, voice, visual direction and the things we invite someone to try.
Understanding an existing feeling and creating an experience are two different parts of the work. Customer conversations help with the first. Writing, design and judgment bring the second into being.
Personality belongs throughout. A reminder can be funny. An instruction can be welcoming. Nobody needs to turn into an administrative system halfway through the relationship.
A small example: Content Snare
Content Snare helps businesses collect files and answers from clients. Here’s one thread from the sample:
- The account. Michelle at Foundations First Marketing describes repeated requests for information making her agency look inefficient.
- My reading. This may touch her pride in the agency and how clients experience working with it. It’s an interpretation to investigate, rather than an established reason for buying.
- The creative choice. Recognise the familiar email ritual—“Quick one,” “Following up,” “Just checking in”—then invite the owner to imagine a better first request:
You’re proud of your work.
Let the first request feel like it.
The campaign leads into a proposed client request with clear instructions, saved answers, a friendly voice and a comfortable way to ask for help. The agency should feel organised; the client should feel able to get started. The agency owns the voice of that request; Content Snare provides the system.
This is an independent sample using public sources. Content Snare is not a client, and the proposed work hasn’t been tested.
Find out how it lands
We put the work in front of people. Do they understand the offer? What does it make them feel? What do they remember and do next? Where there's a task, can they complete it?
Their response helps us improve the creative work and examine whether it contributes to the business result we set out to achieve.
With your marketer, or while you're hiring
I contribute research, positioning, core copy and campaign direction, working with your marketer and briefing and reviewing specialists. During interim work, I lead the agreed priorities and bring the incoming marketer into the work as they join.
The starting point depends on your company. A clear message may need a better campaign; a confused one may need closer customer work. We choose accordingly.
A conversation is a good place to start.
Let’s talk about
your hire.
Tell me what you want marketing to take off your plate
and where you are with the hire.
We’ll start with a 20–25-minute conversation.