Intuitive,
Creative Copy
for Visionary Brands

Specializing in brand development, strategy, concepting, and copy direction for businesses large and small, both independently and in collaboration with creative agencies.

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What I Do

Creative | Strategy | Storytelling

I work across a broad spectrum of industries and bring an agility to my projects that comes from having both a highly strategic mind and off the charts intuitive creativity. I work within the space where inspiration resides, seeing beyond what is immediately evident and into what is possible. This means I can easily hold many aspects of brand development at once, allowing me to identify immediate needs and how they must be met to strategically work toward long term goals.

About Me

My Services

+ Competitive Review & Positioning Strategy

Can’t see the forest for the trees? I’ll review your direct competitors and immediate landscape to give you the pointed, no-holds-barred insight you need to develop effective, differentiated positioning for maximum market impact.

+ Naming

What’s in a name, you ask? Potentially, everything. There’s nothing I love more than empowering my clients to push the edges of possibility with a name that helps your concept reach its full potential.

+ Brand Foundation & Messaging Platform

The big brand book, the navigational system, the architecture that sustains your growth and evolution. Short for Concept, Brand Story, Positioning, Tagline, Mission, Vision, Promise & Key Messaging, a brand toolkit will help align your team around the true meaning of your brand for consistent execution.

+ Copywriting

From website structure and copy, to all manner of promotional collateral, I create emotionally resonant messaging that helps convert the casually curious to the delightfully devoted.

+ Campaign Concepts

There’s an art to cutting through all the noise to actually reach the consumer. Let’s talk about your end goals and design a campaign that gets you there.

+ Investor & Media Decks

Pie charts and profit margins do not a compelling outreach asset make. I take a weird level of satisfaction in transforming all of your granular data and selling points into a purposeful, branded experience that convinces your intended audience of your prowess.

+ Team Workshops

Trained in facilitation and having tough conversations when they’re needed, I help teams explore the meaning of their brand, often refining and realigning in the process so that everyone understands both your collective vision and goals right along with their own roles in making it all happen.

About

Meet Sarah

Sarah McGowan Dear helps her clients find clarity in their vision, confidence in their strategy, and connection with their messaging. With a degree in psychology, Sarah puts an insatiable interest in humankind and over a decade of experience to work for each project.

 

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A thoughtful combination of brand strategist, conceptual storyteller and wordsmith, on any given day she might be free-associating for a naming project, pairing the perfect words for a print ad, or massaging website copy to keep clients on brand and in conversation with the consumers who need them.

Sarah lives on an avocado ranch in the foothills of Santa Barbara with her husband and daughter.

Work With Me

Above The Glass

For the woman who longs to break through

We want women to do what they love, the way they want to do it. Unapologetically and without compromise. With time to raise their children and time for themselves. It’s the perfect moment for women to embrace entrepreneurial life. Join us in helping more women make it Above the Glass.

Bucketnote

Be there.

Capture the magic as it happens. Bring family lore to life. Create a lasting archive of your thoughts, special messages and wishes. From the little moments to your major milestones, your life lives on with Bucketnote.

Cumbé

Celebrate the good life

Here in Colombia, our music, culture, traditions – they all inspire living life to the fullest. That’s why so much of what we love revolves around gathering with our friends, family, and compadres to celebrate. A unifier, a national pastime, a treasure shared for every ritual and rite of passage, we are proud to share our heritage with our own premium Aguardiente. Crafted to sip and share, awaken your senses with Cumbé, the spirit of Colombia.

Daily Bloom

A resource, the remedy, a vital way of life

At Daily Bloom, we believe that food is medicine, but we also know that cutting out every joy-inducing indulgence does not a happy person make. Daily Bloom is about looking at things holistically. About recognizing what you need, and finding the sweet spot that tastes great and makes you feel even better. We are two sisters, with two perspectives: the medical doctor and the experimental chef. Meet us in the middle at Daily Bloom.

Hoopnotica

Find yourself inside the hoop

Lagralane

From tales told round the kitchen table to the electric poetry of our generation’s artists–we are both a rapt audience and willing co-conspirator. We are artists, financiers, and investors. We are social disruptors, activators and shift changers. We are the champions of stories for those who have come before. We are the dreamers and architects of those that have yet to be written.

We are Lagralane

Umami Burger

Umami Burger 2.0

Taking our cues from Japanese art, design and architecture, we return to our roots. We nod to our earliest burgers being served out of a sushi bar by our founder. We reflect the thoughtful science that we took for our name and the patient culture that birthed it. To remain true to ourselves, we interpret its influence through an entirely modern, youthful, American lens.

Featured Work

I Help Brands Develop Deep Meaning, Powerful Strategy & Resonant Messaging

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TESTIMONIALS

Lovely Words

“I am so grateful to you for your gentle and focused guidance, support, and honoring of my work and process – my work has grown beyond what I ever thought it could be, because of your belief in me.”

 

Laura Gasparrini

Founder, Om Tara

“Thank you for creating a Tone & Manner deck for our rebrand! You absolutely nailed it and we are so pleased.”

 

Katya Libin

Co-Founder, HeyMama 

“Everyone LOVED your presentation and came away energized to dig deep into their branding. Thank you for sharing your extensive knowledge and passion with us.”

 

Christine Cowles Bergamin

Board Member, International Live Events Association, Santa Barbara Chapter

“Thank you for your amazing press release! The fact that Manifest Destiny was selected to participate in The Hammer Museum’s very first art exhibition on scent is beyond thrilling.”

 

Meike Kopp

Owner & Scent Alchemist, Manifest Destiny
 

“Love working with Sarah! She is such a talented person. She has this great blend of intuition and logic to take concepts and create absolutely on-target copy.”

 

Brenda Spivack Stoudt

Creative Director, Campbell’s Bolthouse Farms
 

BLOG

Journal

Getting to Your Growth Edge
What happens you realize you’ve outgrown who you once were? When market forces push the change. Especially when you realize you are no longer connecting in a meaningful way with your market. What to do next. Recently a friend texted me to ask for my philosophy on...
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Talking Story
Since the beginning of human existence, our need to communicate has been central to our evolution as a species. The first speech is thought to have originated with the gatherers – usually women and children – who foraged in small groups while the men hunted. Spread...
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Tip of the Iceberg
When you read the title of this I bet I know what likely popped right into your head. This is a perfect example of one thing (the iceberg) becoming synonymous with something else (the Titanic). This is also one of the overarching goals of branding, and certainly the...
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What’s In a Name?
There’s nothing I love more than the challenge and reward of naming. Over the years I’ve come to specialize in naming exploration and have developed a process that consistently delights clients in its creativity and ability to start deeper conversations about brand...
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The Power of Purpose
It seems like a few lifetimes ago when I worked in the nonprofit sector running programs for at-risk youth. Even though it felt purposeful and rewarding, long hours, ridiculous amounts of coffee, and more than occasional heartbreak were but par for the course.   On...
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The Science of Rebranding
I have a special place in my hearts for companies or organizations that need a rebrand. From a psychological standpoint, it’s akin to finding yourself up against your growth edge, and while you know it’s needed and will be so good for you, there’s still no getting...
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What’s An Elephant?
In India there’s a story about three blind men and an elephant. Lacking one of the key senses, they have only their hands to explore what an elephant is all about. One feels the tusk, “Clearly an elephant is like a spear, sharp and dangerous!” Another feels a leg,...
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