We are intoxicated by the influence of words.
86% of consumers believe authenticity is critical when deciding whether or not they will support a brand. Authenticity is not theatre; it is grounded in truth and strategically expressed through language.
Strategy drives our process.
Tone of voice isn’t a thesaurus of glossy words plugged into copy as you go along. It is as essential to your brand’s identity and success as your mission, values, visuals, and the product you sell.
Every word we write is guided by strategy customized for your brand. This ensures a stronger return on your investment and copywriting that delivers clear, captivating solutions to your critical business goals.
Elevated art direction is excellent, but to be a visionary you have to speak like a visionary.
We wield words to help brands express themselves with nuanced, human-centered messaging powered by expert strategy, meticulous consistency, and gilt-edged clarity.
What we do
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Tone of voice strategy
Tone of voice positioning
Lexicon
Digital voice guidelines
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Brand book
Brand positioning
Mission, vision, values
Brand naming
Product naming
Brand tagline
Campaign direction
Audience strategy
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Email marketing
Brochures and printed collateral
Advertising copy
Visual merchandising
Event copy
Mobile app copy
Direct mail
Education and artistry content
Newsletters
Video storytelling and scripts
Interviews and ghostwriting
Press releases
Packaging copy
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Landing page
About storytelling
Founder and team bios
Product descriptions
PLPs
UX and executional copy
SEO optimization
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Social media style guides
Social campaign strategies
Caption copy
Content strategy
Video supers
Blogs
Video scripts
Social imagery photography + editing
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1:1 brainstorming
Copywriting workshops
Copywriting consultancy
Team mentorship
Copy processes audit
MERAK (SERBIAN)
The pursuit of small, daily pleasures that all add up to a great sense of happiness, fulfillment, and oneness with the universe.
Our clients
Our clients lead their industries and demand distinction.
Meet our team
We are an agile, clever senior team who brings a potent knowledge of brand messaging to your project, with in-house and agency experience at some of the largest, most influential organizations in the world. We’re a good hang, too, who loves what we do.
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Amanda Aldinger is a lifelong storyteller and worshipper of words. She founded Antonym to let others in on the action.
She began her writing career as an actress. Inhabiting diverse human voices, developing rich backstories, and grounding dialogue in immutable objectives, are, coincidentally the fundamentals of exquisite copywriting and brand voice strategy. As an actress, she performed on the stage; as a copywriter, her theatre plays out on the page.
She received her Master’s in Arts Journalism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with a focus on fashion history, and began her writing career in Chicago as a journalist. Eventually, New York City pulled her in.
In New York, she joined the editorial department at M·A·C Cosmetics, where she was the Editorial Director for nearly seven years. Amanda fell for the transformative, shape-shifting allure of brand voice strategy, crafting stories, names, and assets for 90+ launches a year while flexing her journalism muscles interviewing legendary creatives like Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Philip Treacy, Patricia Field, Iris Apfel, Lynn Yaeger, and many others for the brand’s print and digital magazines.
In 2017, Amanda left M·A·C to embrace deeper collaboration with a broader spectrum of clients. In 2019, she founded Antonym, a luxury brand voice strategy studio that offers a 360-degree suite of copywriting services and messaging strategy for beauty, food, travel, and lifestyle brands.
She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Matt, and poodle, Tilda (of course, after Tilda Swinton). She is a voracious reader and is fueled by green tea, vinyasa, and marathon training. Over a decade ago, she unapologetically glommed onto her husband’s 30-year quest to hike every national park in America, and that’s probably where she is when you see her out-of-office pop up.
Favorite untranslatable word: Komorebi (n. Japanese): the scattered light that filters through the trees when hit by the sun.
Favorite writers: Lisa Taddeo, Lauren Groff, Ann Patchett, Elizabeth Strout
Favorite non-writing writing practice: Reading
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Mary Nunes is a copywriter, storyteller, and word aficionado. As a voracious absorber of stories herself, she has a passion for bringing brand voices to life with a creative, razor-sharp edge.
Mary earned her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing at Loyola Marymount University, then took her talents to San Francisco to work at Sephora HQ where she got a front-row seat to see what makes a beauty consumer tick.
After visiting friends in New York City for the second time, she felt called to move there (this epiphany came in the most romantic, albeit cliché, way: standing in the middle of Central Park on a crisp, fall afternoon). She was then brought on as the first and only copywriter for amika, where she was able to immerse herself in all things copy and strategy, finally putting her devotion to words into everyday practice.
Mary currently lives in a studio apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where the thrum of the city’s pulse never fails to inspire her. She’s an avid reader, coffee guzzler, and lover of pilates and pottery.
Favorite untranslatable word: Meraki (Greek): To pour yourself wholeheartedly into doing something with soul, creativity, or love that you leave a piece of yourself in your work.
Favorite writers: Emily Henry, Jodi Picoult, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Favorite non-writing practice: Listening to music, reading, people watching (sometimes all three at once!)
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Libby Bartley is a brilliant copywriter, strategist, and content creator with a passion and skillset for crafting meaningful stories for brands. As a natural-born storyteller, a career in copywriting was an instinctual fit for Libby. She earned her degree at the University of Oregon’s esteemed School of Journalism and soon soared into the world of advertising. Her career’s inception centered around consumer product goods and evolved into copy development for MLB The Show, Folgers, LensCrafters, Pampers, Wings & Rings, Bounty, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, and more. A fanatical skincare lover, her interests soon led her to pursue content opportunities in the beauty and lifestyle space.
Throughout her career, Libby has worked with globally-renowned agencies, including VMLY&R and LPK, as well as several beauty brands at Procter & Gamble, such as Olay, KeepItAnchored, Gemz Beauty, and Kiwi Botanicals. As Antonym’s Editorial Manager, she leads projects from product naming to website and email copy to campaign concepting, brand voice strategy, and more.
An enneagram 2 and social maven, Libby values her role of fostering relationships between products and people. “Brands can play such a pivotal role in our lives, and when the products genuinely add value, offer joy, or function as a catalyst for connection, it creates a memorable consumer experience.”
Libby is an avid reader, always has a disposable camera in hand, and spends her spare time learning to speak French. She enjoys painting, traveling, and continuing her search for the best espresso martini in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Favorite untranslatable word: Ailyak (n. Bulgarian): the subtle art of doing everything calmly and without rushing, whilst enjoying the experience and life in general.
Favorite writers: Yung Pueblo, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Favorite non-writing writing practice: Collaging or reading magazines
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Maeve Roughton is a copywriter, strategist, and creative director who produces award-winning brands, content, and campaigns.
A true Gemini, her career has been guided by curiosity: literary consultant for Questlove; director of comms for world-renowned health and wellness practitioners; head of content at Thinx during *those* high-growth years; co-author of a monograph-meets-manifesto with prestigious architecture firm ODA; head of studio at Colossal Media, the global leader in hand-painted outdoor advertisements; and freelancer-for-hire by big names and cool-kids alike, including Salesforce, VW, Jägermeister, Jajaja Plantas Mexicana, and Happier Grocery.
With every role, industry, and product, Maeve creates and controls brand messages that earn and evolve community trust.
Maeve is a graduate of Fordham University and very unnatural redhead.
Favorite untranslatable word: Serendipity (noun): the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.
Favorite writers: Ray Bradbury, nikki giovanni, Rumi, Emily Dickinson, Jacques Derrida, whomever is responsible for 27 years of the unexpected tenderness that was The Jerry Springer Show’s Final Thought.
Favorite non-writing writing practice: Distance running and marathon cuddling sessions with her boyfriend, er, cat.
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Hayley Grundy is an experienced project manager and strategic communications expert. She delights in developing clever organizational systems, streamlining cross-functional communication, and fostering strong client relationships.
Hayley earned her Bachelor’s degree in Art History at the University of Victoria, and went on to complete a Master’s degree in Art Business at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. She has worked at leading art auction houses in London and New York, and has led business development and North American territory expansion for an innovative Danish art tech startup. In addition to her work with Antonym, Hayley is the Communications Manager for a contemporary art gallery on the Lower East Side in New York City.
Originally from Canada, Hayley now lives in Palermo, Italy, where she is on a continued quest to master Italian (and perhaps Sicilian one day). She spends her time seeking out the quiet parts of the city (difficult to do!), taking long drives in the countryside, and experimenting with Italian recipes. She’s an avid traveler, and some favorite destinations so far include Isla de San Cristóbal in the Galápagos Islands, Rome, and East Africa. In the coming years, Hayley hopes to hike several of Italy’s famous long-distance walking routes, learn to confidently drive a manual, and move to Milan.
Favorite untranslatable word: Sprezzatura (Italian): Studied carelessness, effortless grace, nonchalance and ease, embodiment of the Italian ideal of living life with grace and enjoyment.
Favorite writers: John Steinbeck, Isabel Allende, Ross King, Maya Angelou, and, from my childhood, Cynthia Rylant (The Van Gogh Cafe being a treasured favorite)
Favorite non-writing practice: Hiking and cooking for other people
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Courtesy of a partnership with Magical Teams, Olivia joins Antonym to bring organization, order, and optimization to our daily operations. Her passion for people and processes led her to a career in operations, specifically working with small, women-led, and purpose-driven businesses. As a generalist, Olivia uses her Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing and her diverse professional experience in real estate, hospitality, health and wellness, and customer service to help small businesses thrive from the inside out.
Olivia finds the puzzles that come with operations to be the most intriguing. Whether it’s digging up the ideal technology to add to the tech stack or determining the optimal process, Olivia uses her meticulous attention to detail and eye for quality to find creative solutions. She thrives in human-centered organizations that prioritize their people first.
Along with her love for creating order out of chaos, Olivia is also passionate about the beauty industry. Pursuing a cosmetology certification, she is intrigued by hair design and the science behind hair health. When she’s not running operations behind the scenes, she’s likely painting highlights, researching Argan oil, or testing a new all-natural shampoo.
Staying still is a struggle for Olivia, with her lifelong goal of not just visiting but experiencing all 50 states and a never-ending bucket list of international travel dreams. In her spare time, she enjoys skiing, cooking, reading, and exploring the outdoors with her sweet pup, Nala.
Favorite untranslatable word: Gezelligheid (Dutch)—the idea of being in a comfortable, cozy atmosphere with loved ones, catching up with an old friend, or just the general togetherness that gives people a warm feeling.
Favorite authors: Jeneva Rose and Colleen Hoover
Favorite non-writing writing practice: Music and long walks in nature.
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Matt’s a writer, designer, and strategist who loves coming up with ways to capture your attention. His editorial approach to marketing subverts expectations, creating messages that inspire people to engage with not simply a product, but with a mission.
He’s worked for creative studios, private companies, government agencies, and major nonprofits, learning how tone, truth, and wit are an essential combination when communicating with (and within) all of them. He’s managed events, written compelling case studies and articles, deployed digital marketing strategies, built partnerships that foster vibrant communities, and produced engaging, creative social content.
Matt co-hosts No Show, a bi-monthly-ish podcast about all things related to the business of travel. Hotels, tourism, consumer choices, and brand evolution are all part of it, but what the pod really gets into is the beautiful, wild intersection of design, architecture, emotion, and experience.
Also! He loves Las Vegas but doesn’t enjoy gambling. Loves gardening but doesn’t have a backyard. He reads tarot cards but thinks we shouldn’t take it too seriously. He’s surrounded by Brooklyn concrete but he’s on a quest see every National Park in America.
Favorite untranslatable word: Articles, essays and books have been dedicated to defining the iconic French word flâneur: someone who strolls around a city all day with no other mission than taking in sights and sounds and people. Others describe this person as an “idler” or “lounger,” but they just don’t get it.
Favorite writers: Joan Didion, Chuck Klosterman, Tressie McMillan Cottom, Amanda Fortini.
Favorite non-writing writing practice: Listening to preposterously dramatic, cinematic scores from movies and TV as he’s working.