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Character

Naming an agency after the thing it sells.

Character had heavyweight results and a one-page website that linked to a pitch deck. Two rebrands had already stalled. I helped rename the business, wrote their 63-page brand book, and gave them a voice of their own, distinct from the dozens they embody for clients.

Role
Naming, verbal identity, brand book, web & collateral copy
Where
Diamond Hook
Scope
Naming · Brand framework · Webflow site · Pitch deck · Sell sheets
Team
Ellen O’Brien, creative direction · Irina Spork, design · Dani Jacobson, strategy · Adrian Andrade, development

The brief

Character works where brand meets performance marketing. It makes creator-led content and runs it through its own publisher network. The work was strong and the pipeline ran on word of mouth, but the brand kept falling to the bottom of the list.

I led the naming process, exploring strategic angles and running workshops with the founders. We landed on Character. The word has four meanings, and each one describes the business: personality, the letters that make stories, the creators, and the cast.

What I did

  • Led naming research and workshops
  • Wrote the brand book in four parts: Environment, Essence, Expression, Application
  • Defined voice and tone to be bold and knowledgeable without being know-it-all-y
  • Wrote the Webflow site
  • Carried the voice into the pitch deck, sell sheets, email templates and client reporting decks

My lines

  1. Always be in Character.
  2. Character defines personality and identity, literally.
  3. Build with character.
  4. We cut through the digital noise with what’s real.
  5. The C completes what’s missing from the H. Character is the missing piece a brand needs to reach its full potential.

What happened

1 nameFour meanings, each one true of the business
63 pagesBrand book, from landscape to logo
ShippedThe first rebrand to make it live after two stalled
3 traitsApproachable, straightforward, informed
Character book name
Character book voice
Character book cover
Character book logos
Character book pos
Character book values
Character web copy
Character sell sheet
Character deck 1
Character deck 2
Character deck 3
Character marks

In their words

“Coming into the engagement, we were directionless in how we wanted to brand ourselves, and we were coming off two unsuccessful rebrand attempts over the previous two years. From beginning to end, Diamond Hook did a great job digging into our core values, then figuring out how they could be expressed through our brand, Character.”
Scott Swanson · Founder, Character