Up To Something came to me to rework their homepage copy around three goals:

Make it clear. Make it funny. Make it memorable.

They wanted to trim some of the fat. While their current copy was hitting funny bones, it went off on a few tangents and didn't tell us straight-up what Up To Something was all about.

It was time to add clarity, improve the flow, and keep the personality— but pull it back where we needed to.

First up: An audit

I re-jigged my usual process for this project.

Before I wrote the brand's website copy, I ran an audit session with its two founders, Rich and Todd.

I gave my brutally honest feedback and got their read on certain sections. Which parts do you like? Which do you hate? Does this represent you well? Do we really need all those f***ing swear words?

Swapping clever for clear

Lots of the original copy was based on wordplay. Which is fine, when it doesn't impact clarity.

The hero section read: It's not who you know. It's who knows you.

And I had to scroll until my finger cramped to see exactly what Up To Something does. So we reworked the hero section to define the brand's services and the impact they have on their clients. Their OOH ads have been known to get clients jumping out of their seats at first look. It starts with stress about the ad being "too much" and ends with "Actually, this might work".

The final line drew a thread to Up To Something's big promise: Mental availability, or brand fame.

The ownable phrases stayed put

Up To Something's voice was naturally spiky and I didn't want to soften the edges too much.

An overuse of swear words was killing their impact, but certain choices drew the eye for all the right reasons. I didn't want to cut those.

Phrases like un-f#cking-forgettable jumped off the page but were missing the end benefit for users. I wanted to put some substance behind the words.

"Don't Look Up"

I like to layer brand voice and website copy projects with unique lenses, using lateral thinking to find inspiration. The stuff you can guarantee my clients' competitors aren't thinking of.

Up To Something does OOH advertising. They want people to look up. Obviously, this is a world where everyone and their gran are staring down at their phones. Themes from the film 'Don't Look Up' steered some of the copy, and I compared the brand's billboards to incredible sunsets and the f#cking Mona Lisa—things worth looking up for.

The whole 'impending end of world' theme in the film came in handy, too. The idea: You're gonna die. Might as well go bold with your ads... what's the worst that can happen? I let the audience read between the lines here, and linked the concept back to the brand's big "we make you famous" promise.

Leaving nothing to chance

While most of Up To Something's audience knows what "OOH" is, we wanted to make sure we didn't lose the people who didn't.

The original website copy left the door open to confusion. We fixed that by breaking down the agency's services, complete with another USP: "OOH that punches you in the gut."

What Todd & Rich said...

The finished piece is riiiight here.

Get more from your website copy

Maybe your services have evolved but your copy hasn't.

Maybe you're brand new and just want to start things off on the right foot.

Whatever your situation, your website copy should clearly show what you can offer to your ideal customer, without losing the essence of you or your biz.

Talk to me at amy@thecopyhouse.uk or send a brief to get a quote.