It all starts with a chat. Email is fine but there’s nothing like a real, human voice (we know you’re trying, Alexa). This gives us both the chance find out if we’re the right fit. We can also discuss the important things that keep a project moving, like budget and timings.

There’s no point starting a workshop as strangers. So, before we meet up – virtually or otherwise – we ask you to answer some simple, but difficult questions. Where have you been? Where are you going? What kind of world do you hope for? How would you describe your personality? What are your points of difference? And lastly, why do people care?

We use this time to digest, mirror and fill in the gaps. You can expect many questions, a couple of exercises that have been designed for your brand, a playlist, and perhaps a short meditation. There will be times where you don’t like us. That’s okay. The way we see it, you’re paying us to challenge you; to see what you can’t.

We’ve unpacked complex ideas for the likes of Swinburne University, Bitcoin Wallet Coinjar, Talisker and NASA. So, it’s vital that we’ve not just heard, but understood all that’s been said. We take what we need from our conversation above, throw the rest away, distil it in the written word and call it a brief. In this moment, we make sure we’re on the same page.

Tone of voice is subjective. One woman’s bold is another woman’s bashful. So, we share three small samples of copy first. It’s an iterative approach that ensures we understand your definition of <insert preferred adjective here>. Pick the sample you like best and we’ll write the rest of the copy the same way.

What step six looks like is highly dependent on the problem we’re trying to solve. We’ve written brand strategies for symphony orchestras, taglines for medicinal cannabis, Personality Packs for hover boards, Tone of Voice Bibles for wine brands, product descriptions for adventure gear and business ideas for novel hotels in Portland. Once, we interviewed a sailor about the oaken staves that traversed the Atlantic with him, before they were filled with 43-year old whisky. His name was James and yes, he was ruggedly handsome.

Feedback is helpful and expected, which is why it’s baked into our process. All our quotes include a round of changes, and can include more if you’re from a large organisation or you have a … ahhh … challenging boss. We’ll even share notes on how to give insightful feedback. Once we have your thoughts, we repeat step six.