Selected Work
Projects spanning positioning, narrative, messaging and verbal identity.
Spotify for Artists
Creating a shared product narrative for a growing fan development ecosystem
Product narrative • Messaging framework • Campaign platform
Spotify for Artists had a growing set of tools for helping artists understand, engage and grow their audiences, but no single narrative explaining how those tools worked together.
The initial brief asked for a campaign throughline. The deeper challenge was to define Spotify for Artists’ role in fan development and create a product narrative that could connect a growing set of tools, guide future launches and give teams a shared framework.
I developed Take Your Fans Further, built around the belief that depth strengthens fandom. I created the messaging framework, product pillars and campaign architecture that gave product and marketing teams a shared system for connecting launches, explaining individual tools and reinforcing the wider fan development narrative.
The platform later extended into video through Video Takes Your Fans Further. I helped reframe how video success on Spotify should be understood — from views alone to what happens after the view — and shaped how that narrative was applied across product launches and campaign activity.
Original campaign platform for Spotify for Artists’ fan development tools.
Extension of the platform for Spotify for Artists’ video offering.
Heidi
Shaping the brand, product and category messaging for an evolving AI care company
Brand positioning • Product and category messaging • Verbal identity
Heidi was evolving from a medical scribe into a broader AI care platform, but its brand language, product messaging and category position had not fully caught up.
I worked with Heidi before and after its Series B, helping define its positioning and create a clearer foundation for the company’s next stage. This included developing its proposition, core messaging, mission, vision, manifesto, By Your Side tagline and tone of voice.
As Heidi developed its AI Care Partner position, I built a messaging framework that clarified what the product was becoming, how it differed from a conventional medical scribe, what it could credibly claim and where its boundaries lay.
The framework gave the business more consistent language across product marketing, sales, customer communications and founder storytelling.
“James played a key role in shaping how Heidi presents itself to the market as the product evolves. His work on our brand and the ‘AI Care Partner’ narrative helped clarify our position and how we talk about the product and the category today.”
Pilot
Repositioning Pilot for a broader relationship with men’s health
Brand positioning • Brand platform • Verbal identity
Pilot wanted to move beyond condition-by-condition health marketing and create a brand capable of supporting a broader, longer-term relationship with men.
Through category research, audience insight and strategic territory development, I reframed Pilot from a service for fixing individual health problems into a broader proposition centred on confidence, self-improvement and ongoing health.
That led to Level Up Your Health, a new brand platform and verbal identity, supported by a manifesto, tone-of-voice principles and practical guidance for applying the voice consistently across products and communications.
The project was named a finalist in the AGDA Awards for Brand Identity.
“James was pivotal in shaping Pilot’s brand positioning, verbal identity and approach to storytelling. He captured the spirit of the brand and helped craft messaging that resonated with our users.”
Spotify
Creating a shared messaging system for a complex organisational priority
Organisational messaging • Messaging framework • Verbal identity
Spotify’s EDI work brought together several priorities, disciplines and initiatives, but there was no single, consistent way to explain what the function stood for or how its work connected.
The challenge was to create a clearer way of communicating EDI — one that could define its purpose, establish a distinctive voice and help different disciplines speak with greater consistency.
I developed a foundational messaging system that clarified the role of EDI, established its core messages and voice, and gave teams practical guidance for applying the language across communications.
The resulting guide gave EDI teams a shared foundation for explaining their work clearly, confidently and consistently.
“James has a talent for simplifying complex ideas into clear, human language. We had been struggling to communicate consistently, but with his help, we found a clear and confident voice that truly connects with our audience.”
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