We develop the positioning, language, brand systems and more to help organizations explain who they are and give people a reason to care.
We sort through what is there, identify what matters and find the throughline. Then we build something clear, compelling and useful around it.
The work does not always fit a tidy category. Tell us what you’re making — or what you’re trying to untangle — and we’ll start there.
Annual reports · Impact reports · Grant narratives · White papers · Magazine and publication editing
Research, data, and hard-won expertise are only useful if people can follow them. We find the argument, build the structure, and edit until every part earns its place.
Advocacy through storytelling — a magazine and editorial system built with incarcerated students at the center.
Read the case study →Brand audits · Messaging and voice guides · Campaign copy · Website copy · Social content · Email marketing
Before the campaign comes the harder question: What are you actually trying to say? We answer it, then carry the answer through websites, campaigns, email, and social.
UX thinking, word by word — a journey-based campaign that helped users find their way into Macros.
Read the case study →Communications planning · Channel strategy · Email and newsletter · Media relations
A clear message can still get lost in the wrong channel, at the wrong moment, for the wrong audience. We plan the system around the story so it travels intact.
Design in Translation — a printed book that made design’s value legible across a global company.
Read the case study →
Narrative Assembly is led by Colin Hanner, a journalist and strategist who has spent more than a decade making complicated work easier to understand without dulling what makes it interesting.
“I’d rank Colin in the top five writers I’ve ever worked with and would hire him again in a heartbeat. Not every great writer is a strategic thinker: Colin is both.”
I’d rank Colin in the top five writers I’ve ever worked with and would hire him again in a heartbeat. Not every great writer is a strategic thinker: Colin is both. He asks the right questions, and when he can’t get answers he gives a range of options and suggestions. His role at MyFitnessPal required him to write every kind of asset for internal/external and free/paid audiences. I was constantly impressed at his ability to capture the right tone for the situation, translate internal jargon, and be funny on demand.
He has such a positive attitude, and even when work was chaotic and feedback conflicting, he handled it like a pro and won over stakeholders on every team. I often received messages from people after they interacted with him: “Colin’s awesome, great hire.” You should hire him, too.
“Colin was able to take complex and often not well understood (technical) areas, and synthesize them into relatable, relevant stories that connect with a general audience. He writes with clarity, bringing the right balance of credibility and emotion to his storytelling.”
I worked with Colin closely for a little over two years as we focused on telling some of the great stories and achievements of our cross-functional design and innovation teams here at Colgate-Palmolive.
As a researcher, Colin was able to pull stories out of otherwise introverted SMEs (subject matter experts) who are more comfortable doing their incredibly important and impactful work than talking about it.
As a writer, Colin was able to take complex and often not well understood (technical) areas, and synthesize them into relatable, relevant stories that connect with a general audience. He writes with clarity, bringing the right balance of credibility and emotion to his storytelling.
As a content strategist, Colin was able to organize story themes, define audiences, calendar story cadence for sustained engagement, report analytics and effectiveness, define and drive an approval process, partner with multiple teams of diverse interests and priorities (from designers and scientists to legal, to Corp Communications) to deliver meaningful, impactful, sustainable content to multiple platforms and channels. Colin also managed a writer for over a year during our collaboration.
He is empathic, creative and receptive to feedback. And like all good journalists, Colin is part sponge and part terrier when it comes to telling a good story. He’s a pleasure to work with, and I recommend his collaboration and partnership.
Let’s get on the same page.
Tell us what you’re making, what feels stuck, who needs to understand it, and what timeline you’re working against. A few sentences are plenty. You’ll hear back within two business days.