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Internal documents

• Decks • Agency propositions

• Handbooks • Product names • Orthography
• Straplines • Business plans • Brand overviews

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Standardising orthography for multinational groceries retailer
 

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The client:
One of the world's top 10 groceries retailers

The brief:
Ahead of launching their Fire Pit range, a selection of ready-to-barbecue meats, Tesco asked me to standardise the spelling of barbecue across their website, packaging and online groceries platform, as hitherto they had not only the C spelling but also both the Q spelling and BBQ.

I presented my case to the Campaign team for the C spelling, drawing on the word's etymology and my thesis that the Q spelling is nothing but a conflation of the word's initialised abbreviation, BBQ, which I advised Tesco also continue using, but only when space was at a premium.

 

I collated SEO analytics demonstrating that, notwithstanding the technicalities, the C spelling was just what users were searching for anyway. I also recommended always using the C spelling for the verb, except in the unlikely scenario that the verb was needed when space was simultaneously at a premium. (The reason this would be unlikely was that space would really ever only be at a premium for product names.)

Tesco accepted my recommendations and officialised them in their editorial guidelines in time for the launch of the Fire Pit range.

What impresses me isn't just Joseph's extraordinary facility with language, but also his integrity, honesty and thoughtfulness.

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Ashley Morrison
Lead Copywriter

Typewriter apostrophe
For measurements

Typesetter's apostrophe
For possession and air quotes

See how the title of the Fire Pit campaign's Food Love Story incorrectly uses straight (typewriter) apostrophes rather than curly (typesetter's).

barbecue: verb; and full word for the noun, as space not at a premium

BBQ: space at a premium

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The Fire Pit range came with its own Food Love Story, Tesco's long-running ad series depicting a customer making a meal with the products of the given campaign. The title of each Food Love Story describes who has made the meal and what the amateur chef has called it. For example, the ad for the Fire Pit range was titled Mike's 'Mother of All' Marinades. Within each title, then, apostrophes are used to denote both possession and the informal label given to the meal by the chef.

While working on the campaign, I clocked a typographical inconsistency in the title as it appeared onscreen. I realised this issue was present in every ad in the series, all the way back to since its inception in 2017.

Possessive apostrophes and (in British English) 'air quote' apostrophes are represented by the same character: the typesetter's apostrophe. (If you're interested, this is Unicode characters U+2018 and U+2019.) This apostrophe is curly, unlike the straight typewriter apostrophe (U+0027), used in measurements such as when denoting height and time. It also appears in plain-text formats such as SMS and older versions of email, as well as right here in this very text: ironically, this website builder doesn't include the typesetter's apostrophe. See that the apostrophes within this text are straight (typewriter), not curly (typesetter's).

Across their Food Love Stories, Tesco were using the incorrect typewriter apostrophe to denote possession and names, as opposed to the typesetter's. Upon my noting this, they actioned the change and implemented the correct (curly) apostrophe across all future ads.

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Bask in the glory of Food Love Stories' now-curly apostrophes, hundreds of the things, glorious to the last.

The content is of course confidential, but the client graciously still understood the importance to my portfolio of at least describing this asset.

Agency proposition for performance marketing experts
 

 
The client:
Web design and digital marketing agency

The brief:
Pixated was growing fast—when they brought me on board, they'd tripled in size​ over the past 3 years. As they found themselves bidding to bigger and bigger companies, their entire agency proposition was in urgent need of an overhaul.

I laid out Pixated's positioning within the industry, teased out precisely what made them different compared to their competitors, and expounded on exactly what value the agency brought to their clients' various pain points in the form of their unique solutions.

Arham Khan
Founder and CEO

Joseph worked intensively on one of the most impressive assets he's ever produced for us: a deep dive into everything Pixated is, does, and stands for. All the more remarkable given his outside perspective on our agency—which only goes to prove his keen eye for detail, phenomenal memory, and genuine passion for seeing his clients grow and succeed.

Brand overview for heating and air quality products manufacturer
 

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The client:
Specialists in smart heating and indoor climate products

The brief:
Mill needed a comprehensive overview of their brand, USPs and target personas ahead of their executives' visit to Britain to meet with home improvement retailers B&Q, with a view to getting their heating and air quality products on the British market and dramatically expanding their overseas reach.
 

You've captured the brand essence so well, and we're entirely aligned on the direction in which you've taken this.

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Anne Jorunn Bjoner
Global Marketing  and International Sales Director

Confidential, but the client still kindly permitted me to share the intro and conclusion.

Employee handbook for marketing agency
 

 
The client:
Web design and performance marketing agency

The brief:
Ahead of their projected expansion in personnel, rapidly growing digital marketers Pixated asked me to build them an employee handbook from scratch.

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Areej Khan
Founder and CTO

Joseph worked with me and my cofounder to transform our messaging, values and onboarding information into a fantastic handbook. It's vibrantly written, captures our fun and friendly TOV, and contains everything our new employees would ever need to know!

Product name and strapline ideation for L&D company
 


The client:
Award-winning provider of career and management L&D solutions


The brief:
MTfB were soon to launch their new L&D tool, the Learning Health Check, but were having last-minute reservations on the name. They brought me in to ideate new names and straplines according to user feedback, SEO keywords and the company's marketing personas.

I conceptualised 7 names, each accompanied by a detailed rationale, as well as 20 straplines. These lists having been approved, each was placed on a Miro board against which the board of MTfB could place their votes.

Wow Joseph! This is brilliant, and it's so helpful seeing your thought process behind everything.

Caroline Horvath
Product Manager, Learning Performance Benchmark

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Confidential, but the client kindly permitted me to share a couple of slides.

3 × internal decks for marketing agency
 

 
The client:
Fast-growing digital marketing agency

The brief:
Pixated had tripled in size over the past 3 years, and were looking to standardise their onboarding for their rapidly growing personnel.​ Meanwhile, they wanted to demonstrate to both newcomers and established staff that the good times were set to continue, with opportunities abounding for those ready to take them.
 
Pixated asked me to create from scratch an onboarding deck, covering everything a new employee could wish to know, as well as 2 decks laying out the career progression the agency envisaged for their PPC and Paid Social staff.
 

Arham Khan
Founder and CEO

Joseph worked seriously fast to turn these decks around, and they've been immensely helpful in guiding both new and seasoned employees through our internal processes, serving as a useful backdrop to onboarding meetings and monthly appraisals.

Business plan for social planning app
 

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The client:
Social planning app startup

The brief:
Conceptualised and funded at the height of Covid (with an eye toward the bountiful social lives of which people dreamed from their interminable house arrest), Planz is an app designed to help groups of friends organise their rendezvous in new locations and meet likeminded strangers.

 

Planz' cofounders needed to collate and translate years' worth of notes into a business plan. I worked closely with the pair, weaving their reams of disordered documents into a sensical narrative shaped around potential investors' personas, and providing myriad additional talking points in the margin to supplement the plan in a presentation scenario.

Absolutely smashed it mate, legend!

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Adam Worthington
Business Development Director

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JMB Copywriting           joseph@jmbcopywriting.com           (+44) 7367 886 918           Company reg.: 13037841

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