Tellwell’s Role: Your Strategic Guide, Not Just a Vendor
At Choice, you’re building something bold: a people-first bank that lives out its values. But clarity can get lost. Messaging gets muddy. And campaigns stall before they take off.
That’s where we come in. We help you name the vision, rally your team, and bring it to life - with story at the center and strategy at the start.
Why This Matters
We're repositioning Tellwell as a strategic partner — not just a creative studio. This isn't new. It's who we already are when we're doing our best work. But now we're naming it, owning it, and building a system around it.
Why Now:
Our coaches recently challenged us to claim our seat at the strategy table
And stop letting our best thinking go unseen or unspoken.
You’re building programs, campaigns, and community trust
all while navigating complex challenges. When you’re in the middle of it, it can feel hard to zoom out.
Strategy gives you the altitude. So your team can act with confidence and your audience hears the right story, the first time.
When we skip strategy, we end up reacting
When we lead with strategy, we drive.
Where you find clarity.
You have a bold vision — and you care deeply about getting it right. But aligning people, products, and priorities is hard. We help you name what matters, shape your message, and build a strategic path forward. The clarity fuels everything that follows.
Where your brand takes shape.
Once you know where you're going, we help you tell the story - through real people, honest messaging, and bold creative.
From voice to visuals, you’ll see yourself reflected, clearly and powerfully.
Where your work drives results. We don’t disappear after the “big reveal.” We stay with you, embedding strategy into every rollout, every review, every campaign — so you stay consistent, connected, and confident.
Our Differentiator
Most agencies make things. We help you make meaning. Our value isn't just the video, the site, the design — it's the clarity we bring, the confidence we give clients, and the human story behind the solution.
We start every major engagement with strategy with you
We center the human story
We help translate complexity into clarity
Tied to the Three Log Fire:
  • Confident Humility — We bring our POV but stay open.
  • Build This Place — Strategy is lasting impact, for clients and our team.
  • Own Your Work — Strategy gives us a target, not just taste.
  • Stay Creatively Curious — Strategy opens up creative range.
What We Deliver: Strategy That Sets the Tone
Strategy docs aren't just brand decks. They're activation tools for internal and external alignment.
A typical brand strategy doc includes:
  • Core positioning (the "why")
  • Audience personas and motivators
  • Strategic goals
  • One-liner and brand story
  • Messaging and voice
  • Campaign or content direction
  • Application notes (what this looks like in web, film, or design)
We also include:
  • Client-specific AI brains (e.g., Craftwell)
  • Creative review filters/checklists
  • Kickoff templates grounded in strategy
How do we get to strategy?
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1. We hear the real problem.
Every project starts with a conversation—no fancy intake form, no 50-slide deck. Just real talk.
We listen closely to what the client says and what they don’t say.
Usually, there’s a surface-level ask ("We need a video," "We need a new brand"), but underneath that is a deeper tension: misalignment, confusion, or a need to grow.
If we can articulate the feeling, we can start to shape the solution.
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2. We shape the right questions.
Once we have a read on the client’s real needs, we customize questions from our Tellwell Communications Framework—which includes the full Golden Circle (Why, How, What), brand positioning, messaging pillars, and application prompts.
No two clients get the same questionnaire. We tailor it to the mission, the sector, and the moment they’re in.
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3. We host a 90-minute strategy session.
Max leads a recorded session—equal parts interview, brainstorm, and gut check.
This is where the magic happens. Clients say things they didn’t know they knew.
Our job is to listen hard and ask better follow-ups.
We’re not here to fill in blanks. We’re here to help the client see themselves clearly.
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4. We build the deck using AI + edits.
We take the transcript and run it through a custom AI prompt built to match Tellwell’s tone and structure.
That first draft gives us:
  • A one-liner, Brand personality, Strategic goals, Messaging framework, Audience personas, Differentiators, And more
Then we edit—hard. This isn’t plug-and-play. Max and the team shape every word to reflect how the client actually talks, thinks, and works.
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5. We present it live.
We never just send a PDF. We walk the client through the strategy deck, making space for questions and alignment.
This isn’t a pitch—it’s a mirror. We want them to feel seen. Heard. Understood.
And we want them to own it.
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6. We hand it off to our creative team.
Once the strategy is approved, it becomes the blueprint for our team to execute against—whether that’s a video, website, design system, campaign, or something else.
Every piece of creative should answer back to the strategy.
This keeps us aligned, consistent, and on-mission.
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7. We use it for reviews and feedback.
When it's time to review creative, we don’t ask, “Do you like it?”
We ask, “Does this align with the strategy?”
That keeps conversations productive and grounded—and helps clients become better decision-makers, too.
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🎯 Tactics
This is where the creative work happens. The brief guides it, but the strategy still anchors it.
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🔳 Creative Brief
This is the translation layer. It takes the big-picture strategy and breaks it down into clear creative direction for the team.
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🔺 Strategy
This is the Why and How behind everything. It’s not about deliverables—it’s about direction.
🌱 START (Strategy)
This phase aligns your expertise with Choice Bank's ambition to lead with people-first banking and community impact.
1. Brand Messaging Refresh
  • Clarify and sharpen the verbal identity around "People First. Banking Second."
  • Build a messaging house to guide campaigns, internal alignment, and creative development.
  • Connect the dots between legacy language (e.g., Wishing Well, Rise Ups) and next-gen relevance.
2. Content & Campaign Strategy Using Seasons of Story
  • Map storytelling efforts to key financial, emotional, and community rhythms:
  • Q1: New Goals + Financial Wellness
  • Q2: Renewal + Community Support (e.g., Wishing Well)
  • Q3: Growth + Innovation (Product Highlights, Mortgage, Business Banking)
  • Q4: Gratitude + Legacy (Rise Ups, Customer Stories, Philanthropy)
3. Market- or Product-Specific Strategy
  • Tailor content and approach for:
  • Small biz owners
  • Gen Z & millennial banking
  • Rural market relevance
  • Tech-enabled services (e.g., digital banking, fraud protection)
4. Campaign Planning Playbook
  • Build 3–4 evergreen campaign “starter kits” (with messaging, visuals, rollout plan) that teams can activate across the year with minimal lift.
🎨 CREATE (Brand + Content)
This is where the strategy becomes tangible. It’s also where Choice gets to “show, not just tell.”
1. Verbal Identity + Brand Evolution
  • Move beyond iconography to develop a verbal system: tone, key phrases, AI-supported copy tools, and narrative filters.
  • Position Choice as a human-first bank with tech-forward credibility.
2. Visual Refresh or Brand Expansion
  • Evolve visual assets to support new campaigns while staying recognizable.
  • Consider light-touch updates to color, motion, iconography, or social templates.
3. Video Series: Real People, Real Impact
  • Feature team members, customers, and community programs.
  • Could build on:
  • Wishing Well stories (grant recipients, impact follow-ups)
  • Rise Ups (employee-led or customer nominations)
  • Branch Voices (spotlights on people working at and with the bank)
4. AI Tools for Brand Consistency
  • Develop a Teams/Copilot prompt library for consistent storytelling, emails, or social posts using Choice’s voice.
  • Equip marketing teams and loan officers with support tools.
🚀 ACTIVATE (Ongoing Momentum)
This stage answers, “Now what?” and supports Choice in staying consistent, visible, and impactful.
1. Ongoing Social + Storytelling Campaigns
  • Monthly themes driven by seasonal strategy.
  • Mix of local relevance (location/community), financial education, product stories, and human spotlight content.
2. Ongoing Campaign Support
  • Quarterly plug-and-play campaign drops that teams can adapt locally (e.g., Women in Banking Month, Back to School Financial Tips, Small Biz Saturdays).
  • Light-touch rollout plan and creative asset kits.
3. Team Enablement + Content Ops
  • Training or light support for internal comms/marketing teams.
  • Asynchronous video/slide onboarding to roll out new messaging, visuals, and tools across teams.
4. Always-On Collateral Maintenance
  • Support with flyers, printables, landing pages, email updates, etc., to ensure the strategy stays visible.
  • Content calendar and quarterly check-ins.