Emily Resling O'Connor

Role: Narrative development, creative direction, stakeholder alignment

Telling global stories in 120 words or less.

Starbucks Reserve Coffee highlights incredibly special, small-lot coffees. My challenge: distill an in-depth, passionate, multi-page brief into a microstory (120 words max) about the people, place, and culture behind one specific bean source. These stories appear directly on the bean's packaging. I worked with in-house coffee SMEs to ensure every word honored the farmers, regions, and traditions behind the product. During my contract with the Shanghai Roastery, I was lucky to own several Reserve stories. These are three of my favorites.

Role: Content strategy, photoshoot production, narrative development, cross-channel brand messaging

Building a brand movement from real women’s stories.
For Julep’s first major brand campaign, with a small and mighty team, we led creative development across content strategy, influencer drops, OOH, and digital acquisition channels. I also co-directed a multi-day photoshoot, serving as an “expression prompter”—off-camera, connecting with models in real time to draw out honest, unguarded expressions of confidence and strength.

Before each shoot, I spent one-on-one time with every woman, learning her relationship with beauty: the routines, insecurities, joys, and origins of self-image. We talked about pressure, power, resilience, and what each would tell her younger self. From these raw, deeply personal stories emerged the heart of the campaign: #BravePretty, a rallying cry for beauty without apology.

This movement became the foundation of Julep’s brand voice, resonating through packaging, digital, influencer, and retail touchpoints, until the company’s acquisition in the late 2010s.

Role: Narrative strategy, brand voice development, copywriting, stakeholder & SME alignment

Bringing clarity (and joy) to cannabis education.
This B2C guide had a dual challenge: educate new consumers and motivate our B2B partners to share it. I led the narrative strategy, ensuring the copy delivered clear, digestible, and unexpectedly delightful value for readers while staying true to Leafly’s “brave, nerdy, joyful” voice.

The final product was a highly shareable, confidence-building guide that demystified cannabis without dumbing it down. It became Leafly’s most-requested B2B support piece.

Role: Brand storytelling, product naming, narrative development, interviews & research

Where legacy meets levity.
For Fat Cork’s first-ever holiday catalog, I developed a brand narrative that honored Champagne’s storied history in the voice of Fat Cork’s signature warmth and wit. The result: a long-form editorial piece with personality—complete with producer stories, tasting notes, gift set descriptions, and bubbly facts.

I sourced firsthand stories through interviews, layered in historical and cultural context, and named gift sets (and the catalog itself) through the lens of FC’s modern charm. Designed to be as fun to read as bottles are to pop, this catalog became a physical embodiment of the brand’s tagline: Celebrate every day.

Role: Content strategy, copywriting, stakeholder collaboration

Translating brand love across every touchpoint.
I developed content strategies and copy for Julep’s key retail partners—Nordstrom, Sephora, Beauty Brands, and Ulta—with messaging that blended phsyical spaces seamlessly with our established digital presence (tongue-in-cheek, emphasis on alliteration), while respecting each retailer’s unique voice and the experience of on an in-person audience.

Every deliverable was designed to connect, educate, and convert. I ensured Julep’s voice stayed vibrant, clear, and commerce-ready wherever the brand showed up.

Role: Brand concepting, naming, launch strategy, copywriting (digital + physical), product/menu naming, social media management

From food truck to beloved brand—with a side of lifelong perks.
As part of the lean founding team behind Marination Mobile—affectionately known as America’s Sauciest Food Truck—I helped craft the brand from the ground up. From naming and pre-launch positioning to launch-day signage, menu voice, and intense daily social activity, I built a tone that was bold, happy, and most importantly, saucy.

I wrote everything: truck wrap copy, website blurbs, menu items, social captions, in-store signage, even the employee handbook (which includes my lifetime free food clause—perks of the pen). As the brand expanded into Marination Station and Marination Ma Kai, I ensured consistency while evolving the voice to suit each new location and audience.

I also launched and ran all social channels for four years, setting tone, cadence, and community engagement strategies that helped turn first-time visitors into die-hard regulars, and earned a nom for Seattle’s Best Social Media in the Seattle Weekly newspaper.

Role: Concept creation, pitch development, campaign copy

What’s the value of wonder?
To drive annual memberships for Point Defiance Zoo and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, I developed three creative campaign concepts grounded in consumer psychology. The winning direction, “Priceless,” paired expressive animal portraits with a familiar cultural phrase to underscore a simple truth: while the cost of membership is tangible, the up-close experiences are beyond measure.

This straight-talking campaign emphasized value while sparking emotional connection through eye-to-eye moments with wildlife. You get so much more than you pay for.

Role: Content strategy, copywriting, spatial messaging design

Introducing Nordstrom Rack to Canada
To celebrate Nordstrom Rack’s first Canadian store opening, we launched an omni-channel campaign centered around a full-station wrap of Toronto’s busiest subway hub: Yonge-Bloor. Every available surface became a touchpoint for brand messaging.

With a design partner, I led content strategy and copy for the entire station experience, mapping message hierarchy to create surprise and delight moments like “Hello, and good buy” greeting commuters at fare booths and turnstiles. Platform posters and stairwell signage built anticipation and brand familiarity.

The activation coincided with paid media, social, and in-train ads, all designed to capture the energy of a long-awaited arrival and clearly communicate Rack’s core promise: latest trends, lowest prices, now in Canada.

Role: User research, copywriting, usability testing

Translating cutting-edge cannabis science into clear, consumer-friendly language.

Leafly partnered with scientists and certified labs to rethink how cannabis is described. The age-old shared language of “Indica, Sativa, Hybrid” no longer captures the complexity or personalization users need to really understand their options.

I helped shape a new language grounded in lab data that empowers consumers to find cannabis aligned with their goals. Through user research and testing, I crafted clear, concise copy for a four-screen onboarding popup—the critical first step in educating customers on this nuanced system.

This onboarding experience was designed to reduce confusion, build trust, and guide users smoothly into Leafly’s deeper educational content.

Role: Research, content strategy, copywriting, stakeholder collaboration, presentation

Delivering cannabis education one pizza box at a time.
Leafly revolutionized cannabis understanding by introducing a new language based on lab data—delivered in pizza box form to thousands of legal retailers nationwide on the same day.

I collaborated closely with data scientists, cannabis experts, editorial and creative teams, budtenders, retailers, growers, and executive leadership to translate complex scientific information into clear, engaging, and memorable content.

The launch kit included an introduction letter with a QR code for deeper learning, a wall poster to educate customers, a counter mat for point-of-sale touchpoints, and terpene “trading cards” designed for hands-on merchandising and education.

This project blended strategic storytelling with fun packaging to create a comprehensive, sticky educational experience that empowered retailers and consumers alike.

Role: Narrative strategy, research, UX copywriting, stakeholder presentations

Designing a digital layer that deepens the physical experience.
For the launch of Starbucks’ Shanghai Roastery, the brand’s then-largest and most immersive location globally, I was tapped to develop the narrative for a location-based augmented reality app. The goal: enhance, not distract from, the sensory experience of the physical space.

This meant crafting a supportive digital experience that guided guests through the building’s architectural features, the stories behind its seven beverage bars, and the history of coffee and Starbucks' global craft, all while integrating functional elements like beverage pickup alerts and wayfinding.

The experience is geographically tethered to the Roastery itself, unlocking its full storytelling features only within 100 yards of the building. I partnered with UX teams, technologists, and global brand stakeholders to ensure every word worked in harmony with the space. The ask was to support the story, not steal the show.

My role: Overall holiday theme, product naming, packaging copy, in-store assets, B2C channels, B2B educational materials.

This Holiday

Thrill your list with big, joyful gestures and lavish little moments. Give conversation starters. Give secrets you can't keep. Give Julep—the only beauty gift where 'beautiful' is just a bonus. And get Julep, too. Yes, something for you!

When you look good, you gift good.
Give. Get. Gifted.

This page in order:

Holiday catalog launch sample

PR Gift Guide

Holiday product naming sample

In-store signage for retail partners

I pitched this collab to both Theo and Julep. Owned packaging copy, interviewed collaborators for digital storytelling. 

Julep releases 1-3 hero products each month. Press mentions include: Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Oprah, Rachel Zoe's "The Zoe Report", Byrdie, Refinery29, Allure, and Glamour.  

A hodge podge of Julep things.