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Audience research & strategy

Our audience research focused on Crafted Liberation’s impact. Our goal was to understand the emotional drivers behind support for this project. We identified two key personas:

  1. The Drivers: Primarily Iranian women living outside Iran, deeply connected to the Women, Life, Freedom movement.
  2. The Drivers: Primarily Iranian women living outside Iran, deeply connected to the Women, Life, Freedom movement.

These insights informed every aspect of our brand strategy, guiding the website and content creation to engage these audiences emotionally and effectively.

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Brand design & copywriting

The brand design embodies RK Collective’s philosophy of ‘design for function, not decoration.’ The aesthetic for RK Collective is minimalistic and modular, using earthy, neutral colours and a clean, sans-serif font. For Crafted Liberation, we introduced a vibrant Persian-inspired colour palette, reflecting the cultural significance of the project. This differentiation in design helped to establish RK as the umbrella brand, with Crafted Liberation as its signature project.

For Crafted Liberation, we introduced a vibrant Persian-inspired colour palette, reflecting the cultural significance of the project. This differentiation in design helped to establish RK as the umbrella brand, with Crafted Liberation as its signature project.

01
Brand design & copywriting

The brand design embodies RK Collective’s philosophy of ‘design for function, not decoration.’ The aesthetic for RK Collective is minimalistic and modular, using earthy, neutral colours and a clean, sans-serif font. For Crafted Liberation, we introduced a vibrant Persian-inspired colour palette, reflecting the cultural significance of the project. This differentiation in design helped to establish RK as the umbrella brand, with Crafted Liberation as its signature project.

For Crafted Liberation, we introduced a vibrant Persian-inspired colour palette, reflecting the cultural significance of the project. This differentiation in design helped to establish RK as the umbrella brand, with Crafted Liberation as its signature project.

Funding and partnership communications for impact-driven brands

About

Over the years, we’ve written, designed and refined more than 100 pitch decks, grant applications and proposals across government, investor and brand audiences.

Our experience includes helping Crafted Liberation secure Create NSW funding, supporting Utilitarian in their global funding journey, and preparing investor and partnership communications for ReCo Refill — including pitches to major brands like Aesop.

Our co-founder Danling Xiao has worked in pitch strategy since her early career in corporate communications, shaping presentations for some of Australia’s most well-known brands.

Project goals
  • Support purpose-led brands in securing grants, partnerships and investment
  • Strategise communication to align with different audience types
  • Design pitch decks that are targeted, strategic and engaging

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Where we help: Grants, partnerships & investment

Government funding
Over the past decade, we’ve secured more than 10 grants and tenders from the City of Sydney — including for large-scale public art, sustainability and circular economy initiatives. More recently, we supported Crafted Liberation in securing Create NSW funding for their debut exhibition and activation.

Brand partnerships
We’ve built meaningful brand partnerships from the ground up — both for ourselves and others. Our work with Boomerang Labs gave us firsthand experience of collaborating with some of Australia’s largest organisations. We’ve also supported Utilitarian in developing communications for both Australian and global brand partnerships.

Investor communications
We help refine investment narratives for early-stage brands — making complex ideas easy to grasp, while building trust and founder credibility.

For Utilitarian, we’ve supported their funding journey since 2024. For ReCo Refill, we iterated over a dozen investor decks — informed by feedback from mentors, advisers and real-world pitch practice. The final version was presented to several major impact investors across Australia. (Though ReCo Refill eventually chose not to pursue funding, the pitch received strong feedback and remains a reference point for future work.)

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How we help: Clarity, confidence & cut-through communication

Our approach is audience-first, agile and built on listening.

1. Start with the right audience
Not every funder or partner is the right fit. We help you filter and focus — shaping your story to meet the motivations and KPIs of those who are. We look at what your audience knows (and doesn’t), where friction points might arise — and adjust your messaging to meet them with clarity and relevance.

2. Craft clear messaging and pitch deck
We’re known for distilling what matters into one strong, clear idea — then building a pitch around it.

3. Build through feedback
Every pitch is a living progress. Through each presentation and feedback, we help bring the outcome closer.

Project impact
  • ReCo Refill won multiple government grants, pitched partnerships to major corporate brands and impact-driven investors 
  • Crafted Liberation secured Create NSW funding for its launch
  • Utilitarian continues to grow partnerships and investor relationships with ongoing support
  • All pitch decks were developed through collaborative workshops and tested in real-world conversations

Key takeaway
  • Knowing your audience is the first critical step
  • Simplicity, storytelling and smart design are key to success
  • Pitching is a process — iteration builds clarity and confidence
  • Tailored communication increases your chance of funding or partnership
Our services
  • Funding and grant writing support
  • Brand and investor pitch deck design
  • Messaging and communication strategy
  • Stakeholder engagement consulting
Credits

Thumbnail and banner: Fishburners

Pitch decks
Can we support your growth journey?

We’re on a mission to help you transform your vision into action, overcome challenges, and co-create a brighter future for all. Contact our co-founder Danling to discuss your project today.

Contact us

Relevant case study

Crafted Liberation: Audience-led strategy for cultural disruption

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ReCo Refill: Branding, packaging and e-commerce website

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Crafted Liberation: Digital storytelling through website and social media

Collaborating with RK Collective, we supported the digital rollout of Crafted Liberation’s first Australian exhibition — including branding, website, visual content, social media strategy and mainstream media partnerships.

RK Collective: Branding and website for award-winning product design house

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Kakawa Chocolates: Shopify website redesign to boost sales

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Wasteland: Using public art to catalyse commercial marine debris recycling

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ReCo Refill: Circular packaging and delivery system for plastic-free home essentials

A fully developed circular business model supported by strategic partnerships, investor engagement and brand storytelling to drive transition to a circular economy.

Radish Events: Using AI to transforms food waste management

We developed a custom AI solution to help Radish Events track and reduce food waste, improving operational efficiency and aligning with sustainability targets.

City of Sydney: 10 years of successful project bids and funded collaborations

Over the past decade, we've secured competitive grants to deliver creative and sustainability-led initiatives — experience we now apply to help others launch innovative projects.

Funding communications
for impact-driven brands

We help impact-driven businesses secure funding and partnerships by clearly articulating their purpose and path to growth.

Funding communications
for impact-driven brands

We help impact-driven businesses secure funding and partnerships by clearly articulating their purpose and path to growth.