We find the plain sentence at the heart of what you do, then build your messaging and tone of voice on it, so your website, your pitch and your whole team finally tell the same story. Plus, because we’re a mother and daughter studio, you get strategy and story at the same table.
Most messaging is written from the inside, by people who know the business far too well to see it as a stranger would. Your customers are reading it from the other side of the table.
You can explain what you do brilliantly over coffee and rather less brilliantly on your website.
Your website, your pitch deck and your LinkedIn each describe a slightly different business.
Prospects nod politely, then ask what exactly it is you do.
You end up competing on price, because nothing else is clear enough to compete on.
Everyone who writes for you uses their own words, so you sound like five different companies.
Two or more ring true? You’re in the right place.
Positioning is the decision. Messaging is what you say about it. Tone of voice is how it sounds every time anyone says it. We work in that order, because the words only behave once the decision is made.
We work out who you’re really for, what you do better than the alternatives they’re weighing up and why that matters to them. Then we pin it down in one plain sentence you’d be happy to say out loud.
On that sentence we build everything else you say: the promise in your headline, the proof behind it and straight answers to the questions your customers ask before they buy.
We define how you sound, with real examples of what to say and what to steer clear of, so anyone who writes for you sounds like you rather than like everyone else in your sector.
Want us to write your website, your deck or your sales emails with it too? We can. It’s often the quickest way to see it working. Either way, you leave able to do it without us.
We agree the shape with you at the start, because no two businesses need quite the same amount of digging. This is how it usually unfolds.
1
It starts with a conversation about your business, your customers and your competitors. If you have a hunch about what isn’t landing, bring it along. We’ll test it rather than take it on trust.
2
We look at your market the way your customers do: what they say, what your competitors claim and where the gap is. That can mean talking to customers directly and it nearly always means reading what they’ve already told you.
3
We bring you a position and the plain sentence at its heart, tested against the alternatives. We agree it with you before a single headline gets written.
4
We build your messaging and tone of voice on that sentence, try them where they matter most and hand everything over in a form your whole team can use from Monday morning.
Not a brand book that lives in a drawer. Working tools for anyone who writes, sells or speaks for you.
Who you’re for, what you do better and why it matters, pinned down in one plain sentence everyone in the business can repeat.
What to say, in what order and to whom, with the proof to back it up. Ready for your website, your next pitch and the next time someone asks what you do.
How you sound, with real examples of what to say and what to avoid, so a new hire or a freelancer sounds like you from day one.
Good positioning needs strategy and story in the same room. Stellar & Rose is a mother and daughter studio, so you get one of each, from the first conversation to the handover.
Strategy, digital and the big picture
Vanya works out where you should stand. Give her your market, your numbers and your competitors’ boldest claims and she’ll find the gap that’s genuinely yours to own.
Ideas, creativity, story and the human bit
Masha finds the words for it. A background in English Literature means she can hear what a sentence is really saying. She won’t rest until yours says exactly what you mean.
And for the decisions that deserve another experienced pair of eyes, there’s Rupert Cruise, our senior adviser.
More about usIf yours isn’t here, bring it to a fit call. We rather enjoy a good question.
Not quite. Branding is mostly how you look. Positioning is where you stand and messaging is what you say about it. A lovely logo can’t explain what you do, so we start with the words. If your visual identity needs attention too, we can talk about that separately.
Rarely. We keep whatever is working and tell you so. The raw material is usually there already, scattered across a pitch deck, a few good sales emails and your own head.
The Marketing Reset is for when you’re not sure what’s wrong. This is for when you’re fairly sure the message is the problem. If we start one and discover it’s really the other, we’ll say so.
See the Marketing ResetWe can. It’s often the best first place to put your new messaging to work. Either way, you leave with everything you need to write it yourselves or to brief whoever does.
You, certainly, because positioning is a founder’s decision. Beyond that, anyone who sells or writes for you is worth hearing from. They know which questions your customers really ask.
That depends on how much listening there is to do. We agree the shape on your fit call, so you’ll know the timings before anything starts.
Book a 20-minute fit call. Tell us what isn’t landing and we’ll tell you honestly whether this is the right place to start.
Tell us what’s going on and we’ll tell you where we’d begin. No email address required and no sales call lurking at the end.
Four weeks to find out what’s working, what isn’t and what to do next.
It starts with
A 20-minute fit call.
You leave with
A clear diagnosis and a prioritised plan you can act on, with or without us.
The plain sentence at the heart of what you do and everything built on it.
It starts with
A conversation about your business, your customers and your competitors.
You leave with
Positioning, messaging and tone of voice your whole team can use.
Senior judgement on tap, for as long as it’s useful.
It starts with
A conversation about what’s happening, what you already have and where you need senior input.
You leave with
A plan your team actually follows, better work from the people you already have and a straight answer on hiring.
Get the story right before the big moment, not after it.
It starts with
Your date, your story and what has to be ready before the two meet.
You leave with
A story that holds up, the right materials and a launch plan everyone understands.
Marketing feels busy but isn’t working
Usually there’s no agreed priority, so everything gets done a little and nothing gets done properly.
Read more about thisNot enough enquiries
Usually the right people can’t quite tell what you do or why they should choose you over someone else.
Read more about thisMessaging isn’t landing
Usually the message describes you from the inside. Customers need it from their side of the table.
Read more about thisYou need senior marketing help
Usually there’s plenty of doing and nobody senior steering it, while a full-time hire feels like too big a step for now.
Read more about thisA launch or raise is coming
Usually the story hasn’t been pinned down, so every deck and page tells a slightly different one.
Read more about this
