Marketing, Advertising and Creative Agencies · Manchester, United Kingdom
Juniper & Hay got 38 hours a week back in 7 days
Juniper & Hay is a 12-person branding and content agency in Manchester. They help consumer and B2B brands name, position, design and produce campaigns across web, social and packaging. Most clients are UK and European businesses that need creative work done quickly without losing craft.
A normal day at Juniper & Hay: designers at work, client decks on screen, samples and moodboards on the wall.
The business
Brand identity and content for ambitious consumer and B2B brands
- Customers
- D2C food and drink brands, independent retailers, SaaS startups and one national hospitality group.
- Team
- 12 people
- Location
- Manchester, United Kingdom
Tools before we started
What they sell, share of revenue
The team
12 people, and what their AI now does for them
The questionnaire
What Rachel Mercer told us before we started
Rachel Mercer, Managing Director, filled in the same questionnaire you can fill in today.
Writing proposals and scope documents from scratch, then turning campaign work into social cutdowns.
Save at least 20 hours a week on admin and production so the team can spend more time on original ideas and client relationships.
AI will make client work feel generic · Junior team might skip learning core craft · Client data could leak into public tools
Keep human
- Client workshops and brand strategy
- Design crits where work gets sharper
- Presenting creative work in person
Take it off our plate
- Formatting and re-writing proposal decks
- Hunting for project files across Asana and Slack
- Turning one campaign into ten social assets
- Chasing clients for feedback
Our advice
ChatGPT Business, and the three things to automate first
The team already runs most work in Slack, Asana, Notion and Figma, so ChatGPT Business fits without forcing a move to Microsoft or Google. It lets them share custom GPTs for brand voice, proposals and content repurposing, with clear business data controls.
Your tools today
We advise
ChatGPT BusinessFit 9/10Set up for 12 people, connected to your toolsAI takes over
- Proposal First Draft Generator
- Campaign Cutdown Machine
- Weekly Client Status Reporter
- Design Asset Brief Expander
Stays human, AI only supports
How each platform fit this business
What we advised to automate first
- Proposal and scope first drafts
- Campaign content repurposing for social
- Project status reports and meeting notes
Their 7 days
One Zoom session a day, from kick-off to AI-ready
- Day1
AI Readiness Audit and Platform Setup
Rachel Mercer, Operations Manager, IT and Studio ManagerReview the questionnaire, map time drains, and set up ChatGPT Business with workspace roles and privacy controls in a Zoom meeting. We agree which workflows to automate first.
- Day2
Brand Voice and Proposal Assistant
Rachel Mercer, New Business Manager, CopywriterBuild a custom GPT trained on past winning proposals, services, pricing bands and tone in a Zoom meeting. Start drafting a real proposal from the pipeline.
- Day3
Content Repurposing Workflow
Copywriters, Account ManagerCreate project folders and custom instructions for turning long-form campaign copy into LinkedIn, Instagram and email cutdowns on Zoom. Test on a live client project.
- Day4
Design and Image Support
Creative Director, Senior Designers, Midweight DesignersSet up AI prompts and workflow for moodboard exploration, mockup variations and resizing specs on Zoom. Train designers on how to brief the AI without losing art direction.
- Day5
Project Reporting and Meeting Notes
Account Managers, Operations ManagerConnect ChatGPT Business to Asana and Slack in a Zoom meeting, then build a weekly status report prompt that pulls open tasks and team updates into a client-ready summary.
- Day6
Team Training and Custom Videos
Whole teamRun individual Zoom setup sessions with screen sharing for all 12 staff, record custom training videos, and make sure each person has their own projects and custom instructions.
- Day7
Automation Handover and Live Session
Whole teamDeliver the main automations, run a live Zoom training session with the team in their own meeting room, and agree the monthly maintenance plan. Everyone leaves with documentation and access to videos.
Rachel and two designers watch on a Zoom call as the consultant walks through the new brand voice GPT.
Training
A live Zoom session, 6 custom videos and a plan per person
Live training on Zoom
A 45-minute live Zoom session on the final day covered real examples from their own projects, common mistakes, and how to prompt for better creative work.
Custom training videos
- ▶ Using ChatGPT for proposals and scopes12 min
- ▶ Editing AI copy in your brand voice9 min
- ▶ Visual AI prompts for designers14 min
- ▶ Project reporting with Asana and Slack8 min
- ▶ Keeping client data safe in ChatGPT Business6 min
- ▶ Personal AI setup for every role10 min
Online training plan, per role
- Creative Director
- Prompting for creative direction and brief writing
- Brand Strategist
- Using AI for research summaries and positioning drafts
- Senior Designer
- Art direction with AI and visual prompt writing
- Midweight Designer
- Faster asset production with AI tools
- Copywriter
- Editing AI drafts in brand voice
- Account Manager
- Clear client update writing and task tracking
- Studio and Operations Manager
- Operations admin and reporting
- New Business Manager
- Proposal drafting and lead research
Automations built
4 automations that now run every day
Proposal First Draft Generator
6hper weekCampaign Cutdown Machine
4.5hper weekWeekly Client Status Reporter
3hper weekDesign Asset Brief Expander
2hper weekThe result
38 hours a week back, worth $87,400 a year
23 hours come from everyone using their own AI every day, 16 from the automations. The team is saving about 21 hours a week on proposals, cutdowns and reporting, and using that time on client workshops and design craft. Rachel says the agency has not replaced any creative judgment, but the first drafts are far less painful.
Where the hours come from, per week
Paid back in week 5
At $50 an hour, the time saved earns back the $7,700 in 5 weeks. Every week after that is profit.
back per year
value per year
Retainer: monthly. Covers monthly maintenance, model updates, one personal training hour, and new automations as client services change.
We used to lose Fridays to report formatting and cutdowns. Now a first draft is ready before the team opens the laptop, and the work still sounds like us.
Your business, AI-ready in 7 days.
Answer the questionnaire and get a free first plan, written for your team and your tools.