Allie Oliver Interview
From shaping brand narratives to writing poems, Allie Oliver shares how great writing starts with being true to yourself and knowing how to make your point of view resonate.
Published on
May 28, 2025
6
min. read
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Where’s your hometown and where do you live currently?
I grew up in north-east London, around Chingford and Walthamstow. I still live in north London, in Finsbury Park – my lungs are probably 95% CO2 particles by now.
In a few sentences, describe what you do.
I help brands sound very “them”. Helping them understand who they are, what makes them different, and express it in ways which feel ownable and compelling.
What are the skills that make the biggest difference in your work?
Finger stamina, emotional chameleonism, being nice.
Can you share a project where you had to punch above your weight at Shelter?
The campaign we did at the height of the cost-of-living crisis. Everyone was talking about how expensive food and petrol was, which meant no-one was talking about housing. At the same time, politicians kept sharing stupid money-saving “hacks", like telling people to put on more jumpers and get second jobs. We thought, instead of ordinary people doing ridiculous things to save money, couldn’t the government just… make housing more affordable? And made that our campaign. And it kinda popped off. Everyone talked about it and it won a place in the Creative Review Annual 2023.
What’s something you’re working on currently that's got you excited?
We’re building a brand in the AI/healthcare space which, all things going to plan, should change the story of cancer. Both because of what they do, and how they talk about it. As a project, it doesn’t feel too dissimilar to another I’ve worked on, Octopus Legacy. Both are a perfect storm of ambitious businesses dealing with interesting subjects in categories ripe for disruption, where most brands (and people) are speaking in a way which feels rote, meaning we can shift the narrative in a radical way.
How has your trans identity influenced the way you think about branding?
When you’re trans, you have to find the right words to express your mental experience of gender and how it diverges from the body and life you were born into. You also have to have the courage to own this difference. When you have that combination of language and courage, it gives you the power to assert yourself in the world, even if it comes at the cost of doors closing or maybe even being disliked. This is true for trans people, brands, or anyone else trying to become the person they’re meant to be. Being able to say: “this is who I am” – and to know what that “this” is – is a powerful thing.
Can you tell us about your creative interests and how they relate to work?
Right now, I’m writing a lot of poetry, exploring memory through feeling. I’ll open my mind’s eye and connect to an emotion – like, a feeling of possibility, or abandonment hurt – and remember all the times in my life I’ve felt it, writing down images, insights, symbols and associations which come to mind, before mixing them all together, letting them take on a fluid rhythm and form.
I like poetry because it reminds me writing is as full of possibility as any other art form. Sometimes, we might want to be literal and realistic, other times we might be more impressionistic, creating a feeling bigger than the sum of its parts. Sometimes we’ll follow the rules, other times we’ll start a sentence lower caps. We can be intimate and personal, grand and visionary, abstract or referential.
What’s one writing rule you love to break, and one you never do?
I love going wild with dashes - - like, using ten in a row, stacking them together intuitively to add more – – – – – – – – or less – – of a pause - - - following my thoughts down tangent - - - after tangent - - - after tangent. Obvi, no clients have wanted this (yet), so they’re contained to my writing (for now).
One rule I never break is to remember that just because someone’s grammar isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean they’re not worth listening to. That good grammar doesn’t equal good ideas, or good writing, even. That’s not really a rule, but whatever. You know what I mean.
Where can The Subtext readers keep up with you?
LinkedIn or Instagram.
Bonus Round
Describe your creative process in three words.
Unleash the ADHD.
Allie is Senior Writer at DixonBaxi, where she brings brands to life through words, stories and ideas. She's worked at Sonder & Tell, a specialist brand strategy and voice agency, and Shelter, where she led nationwide campaigns to reform housing in the UK as part of The Drum's In-house Creative Team of the Year. She's won a Design for Good Award, Gold Drum Social Purpose award, and a place in the Creative Review Annual 2023. She mentors Trans+ people, and is a poet and personal-essay writer.
Where’s your hometown and where do you live currently?
I grew up in north-east London, around Chingford and Walthamstow. I still live in north London, in Finsbury Park – my lungs are probably 95% CO2 particles by now.
In a few sentences, describe what you do.
I help brands sound very “them”. Helping them understand who they are, what makes them different, and express it in ways which feel ownable and compelling.
What are the skills that make the biggest difference in your work?
Finger stamina, emotional chameleonism, being nice.
Can you share a project where you had to punch above your weight at Shelter?
The campaign we did at the height of the cost-of-living crisis. Everyone was talking about how expensive food and petrol was, which meant no-one was talking about housing. At the same time, politicians kept sharing stupid money-saving “hacks", like telling people to put on more jumpers and get second jobs. We thought, instead of ordinary people doing ridiculous things to save money, couldn’t the government just… make housing more affordable? And made that our campaign. And it kinda popped off. Everyone talked about it and it won a place in the Creative Review Annual 2023.
What’s something you’re working on currently that's got you excited?
We’re building a brand in the AI/healthcare space which, all things going to plan, should change the story of cancer. Both because of what they do, and how they talk about it. As a project, it doesn’t feel too dissimilar to another I’ve worked on, Octopus Legacy. Both are a perfect storm of ambitious businesses dealing with interesting subjects in categories ripe for disruption, where most brands (and people) are speaking in a way which feels rote, meaning we can shift the narrative in a radical way.
How has your trans identity influenced the way you think about branding?
When you’re trans, you have to find the right words to express your mental experience of gender and how it diverges from the body and life you were born into. You also have to have the courage to own this difference. When you have that combination of language and courage, it gives you the power to assert yourself in the world, even if it comes at the cost of doors closing or maybe even being disliked. This is true for trans people, brands, or anyone else trying to become the person they’re meant to be. Being able to say: “this is who I am” – and to know what that “this” is – is a powerful thing.
Can you tell us about your creative interests and how they relate to work?
Right now, I’m writing a lot of poetry, exploring memory through feeling. I’ll open my mind’s eye and connect to an emotion – like, a feeling of possibility, or abandonment hurt – and remember all the times in my life I’ve felt it, writing down images, insights, symbols and associations which come to mind, before mixing them all together, letting them take on a fluid rhythm and form.
I like poetry because it reminds me writing is as full of possibility as any other art form. Sometimes, we might want to be literal and realistic, other times we might be more impressionistic, creating a feeling bigger than the sum of its parts. Sometimes we’ll follow the rules, other times we’ll start a sentence lower caps. We can be intimate and personal, grand and visionary, abstract or referential.
What’s one writing rule you love to break, and one you never do?
I love going wild with dashes - - like, using ten in a row, stacking them together intuitively to add more – – – – – – – – or less – – of a pause - - - following my thoughts down tangent - - - after tangent - - - after tangent. Obvi, no clients have wanted this (yet), so they’re contained to my writing (for now).
One rule I never break is to remember that just because someone’s grammar isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean they’re not worth listening to. That good grammar doesn’t equal good ideas, or good writing, even. That’s not really a rule, but whatever. You know what I mean.
Where can The Subtext readers keep up with you?
LinkedIn or Instagram.
Bonus Round
Describe your creative process in three words.
Unleash the ADHD.
Allie is Senior Writer at DixonBaxi, where she brings brands to life through words, stories and ideas. She's worked at Sonder & Tell, a specialist brand strategy and voice agency, and Shelter, where she led nationwide campaigns to reform housing in the UK as part of The Drum's In-house Creative Team of the Year. She's won a Design for Good Award, Gold Drum Social Purpose award, and a place in the Creative Review Annual 2023. She mentors Trans+ people, and is a poet and personal-essay writer.
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