FAQs

True Story works with founders, CEOs, CFOs and leadership teams who know their brand needs to evolve.

This often includes growing SMEs, founder-led businesses and organisations navigating growth, change or transition. True Story is typically engaged when clarity, alignment and senior perspective are needed to support confident decision-making.

True Story is most often brought in when there is complexity or uncertainty around direction.

This might include clarifying brand positioning, aligning brand and business strategy, supporting leadership teams through growth or transition, or turning strategic thinking into focused action. In many cases, the work centres on creating shared understanding across leadership, product, customer and teams.

Yes.

Much of True Story’s work involves evolving, refining or clarifying existing brands rather than creating something entirely new. This may include sharpening brand positioning, realigning brand and business strategy, or ensuring the brand better reflects the product, customer and direction of the business today.

The focus is always on understanding what already exists, identifying what to keep, and making considered decisions about what needs to change.

True Story offers a focused set of senior brand services, shaped around leadership needs rather than marketing outputs.

These include:

• Brand Clarity & Positioning

• Fractional Brand Leadership

• Strategic Growth & Activation

• Brand & Marketing Team Enablement

Each engagement is tailored to the organisation’s context and stage, with the aim of creating clarity, and alignment.

True Story works as a senior strategic partner, not a traditional agency.

Clients work directly with the founder throughout each engagement, ensuring continuity, senior judgement and context. The focus is on leadership alignment, decision-making and long-term direction, rather than purely on delivery. Creative work is guided by strategy and supported by trusted partners where appropriate.

Both, depending on what the business needs.

True Story works closely with leadership teams to shape strategy and clarify direction, and remains involved to help translate that clarity into action. This may include guiding execution, supporting internal teams, or stepping into a fractional brand leadership role to provide ongoing senior perspective.

Fractional brand leadership brings senior brand expertise into the business without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.

It is particularly valuable during periods of growth, transition or investment readiness, when experienced leadership is needed to align brand, product, customer and commercial strategy at a senior level.

Creative work is always guided by strategy.

Where appropriate, True Story works with carefully selected creative partners to support brand expression, campaigns or activation. Strategic and creative direction are provided throughout, ensuring all work is grounded in the brand framework and aligned with business objectives.

Brand guidelines or toolkits can be developed where they are needed to support consistency and execution.

They are typically created as part of, or following, Brand Clarity & Positioning or Strategic Growth & Activation work, rather than as a standalone exercise.

Yes.

True Story regularly works alongside in-house brand, marketing and leadership teams, supporting alignment, capability building and delivery. This can include mentoring, coaching, reviewing ways of working, or providing senior guidance during key initiatives.

Much of True Story’s experience is with purpose-led and sustainability-focused organisations, but the common thread is not sector, it is intent.

True Story works best with businesses that care about clarity, integrity and building something meaningful and sustainable over time.

Engagements vary depending on scope and need.

Some projects are focused and time-bound, while others involve longer-term partnership through fractional leadership or ongoing strategic support. The emphasis is always on what will be most valuable at that stage of the business.

Pricing is shaped around the scope, complexity and level of support required.

True Story does not offer fixed, one-size-fits-all packages. Instead, fees are agreed based on the nature of the work, whether that is a defined project, fractional brand leadership, or ongoing strategic support. This ensures the level of input is appropriate to the business stage and objectives.

Indicative costs are discussed early in the conversation, with clarity and transparency throughout.

Every engagement starts with a conversation.

This is a short, focused discussion to understand where the business is today, where it wants to be, and what may be standing in the way. From there, the most useful way of working together is defined.

If True Story feels like a good fit, the best place to start is a conversation.

You can get in touch via the contact page to begin a short, focused discussion about what clarity could unlock.