The un-coerced and unpaid (except with love) truth from former (and current) agencies, collaborators and clients.
Jim and Inna were brought in at the very beginning of an ambitious and audacious campaign. Their task was to help us get attention for our Enterprise brand in a very noisy, busy marketplace. And they blew us away. Their initial proposals clearly demonstrated that they “got” our goals, our story, our personality. The chosen “Go Allwhere” campaign immediately gained support and interest from our organization because it was bold and creative and fun. They came to the table with stunningly good content and creative, and then worked endless hours – night, day, weekend – to deliver the highest quality finished product. They both work at the extreme end of professionalism, integrity and personal responsibility for both the concepts they present as well as the finished product. This campaign is as much their “baby” as ours. Despite the hard work and often crazy deadlines, they remained positive and supportive. I would definitely recommend them to other organizations who are seeking to build, renew or reinforce their brand with captivating campaigns.
Manish Gulyani
VP, Enterprise Marketing and Communications, Nokia
"Seriously kick ass Giving Tuesday email. I just scanned 10 other org's emails and they are all so, so bad compared to yours. Who wrote the copy (the creative is great too but the copy is basically perfection)?"
A note received by my client, about a fundraising email I wrote in December, 2017 (available upon request)
There are writers, then there are Writers. The difference, to me, has always been the quality of the thinking behind the words. The capacity to string words together in an understandable sequence is a shared quality. We all have it, more or less. But it’s the quality of the ideas that drive those words, the thinking, that makes people stop and listen. May I introduce Jim Diorio, Writer.
Terry O'Reilly
Host, Under the Influence / Author: The Age of Persuasion
Ian Mackellar
Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy Toronto
There are writers and then there is Jim Diorio. I’ve personally worked with some truly great ones these past 25 years both in the US and here in Canada. From Steve Hayden, Co Creator of the Apple 1984 spot to Terry O’Reilly before he started Pirate. And very high on that list sits the amazing Jim Diorio. He wrote some of the finest Mercedes-Benz work we ever did in our 10 years with that client and his IKEA Germany work was hilarious. Now if only Jim would freelance instead of doing “worldly good” as he has done over the last few years. Then the rest of us could benefit once again from his prodigious talent.
Geoffrey Roche
Founder, Lowe Roche
I had the pleasure of working with Jim at the very early stages of developing a new wine brand close to my heart called D’Ont Poke the Bear. Jim invested a great amount of time listening to the origin of the thinking that lead us to where we are, and spent hours developing story lines and themes before we pared it down to what is written on the back of our label today. When I watch our customers read the label for the first time and see their smile, laugh or just plain appreciation for what we are all about, I think about how important it was to have Jim aboard to shape the copy from day one!
Andrew Von Teichman
Founder, D'Ont Poke the Bear Wines
It has been my distinct pleasure to work with the team at Touchwood on the development of a new brand identity and roll out for Headwaters Tourism’s consumer brand. The experience was exceptional from our very first meeting. They listened, they observed, they asked questions, they delved and they prodded. At the end of it, I think they understood us better than we understood ourselves. And then they got creative. They distilled the complexity of the task into a simple, yet rich, nuanced identity. They also “got” our reality, our budget and our political sensitivities. And they still made it work – brilliantly. This was truly collaboration at its finest. The passion, innovation and ingenuity that they brought to this project was world-class. If you want to talk about “real” – Touchwood is truly the “real deal”.
Michele Harris
Executive Director, Headwaters Tourism
Jim Diorio is one of the most gifted writers I have ever worked with (and I've had the pleasure of working with some great ones). Whether it was a campaign for a new business pitch, a mission statement for the company, or a great Christmas card headline, you could always count on Jim to be brilliant. He thinks before he writes and his writing makes you think. Somebody once said, 'it takes a tortured soul to wield a mighty pen.' Both are true of Jim.
Brett Marchand
President & CEO, Cossette
Jim Diorio, I give immense respect to you as a rare creature who matches a splendid sense of humour with a linguistical talent that puts me to shame. Thank you for cleaning up my clunky manuscript.
Burkard Mausberg
Author, The Greenbelt: Protecting and Cultivating a Great Ontario Treasure
Jim’s a treat to work with. He’s got the depth of experience to make an impact on any client’s business. He’s got a collaborative spirit that makes everyone value his opinion. He’s got the skill to bring clever concepts to the table and a deft way with words that makes his copy sing. Whether you bring him in on for a project, a pitch or for ongoing creative support, it’ll feel like he’s always been part of your team.
David Jones
Owner/Creative Director, JAW Advertising (formerly Ryan-Edwards)
Jim Diorio is a conjuror of copy. He has transformed our ideas - and our sometimes vague directions - into concise pieces that have made us look witty, clever and clear. He listens very, very carefully, scribbles something in his notebook and then there is this economy to his wordsmithing that is quite astonishing. We don't exactly know how he does it, but his work ... is magic.
Jamie Stam
Founder, Grand Spirits Distillery, Ontario
Lance Martin
ECD/Partner, Union
Jim was a complete pleasure to work with. He brings enthusiasm then backs it up with talent and a quick "get-it". He is professional, inspired and a multi-dimensional writing talent. I recommend Jim for whatever writing challenge you are up against.
Dorothy McMillan
Creative Director, Bob's Your Uncle
Jim's a heavyweight. He can distill the most tedious brief and say what needs to be said in a split second and in killer copy. His copy will make you laugh and cry and think and act. Jim's infinitely patient with clients because he really gives a damn. In fact, Jim gives a damn about so many things. Hire Jim to give a damn about your issue/service/product/your cat. You'll never look back.
Inna Gertsberg
Writer
Blindfolded trust, surprise, and total excitement is how to best express gratitude about Jim's marketing campaign for Vivo Musique’s first concert with the young classical pianist, Pinchas Antal. The post designs, choice of words and images, and advice he gave on how to share, time, and post on social media was most definitely the reason for the wonderful success we had for this event.
Reticent media suddenly responded, reacted and booked after I shared the series of posts; The venue was full, with a cross demographic of public, media and industry; Social media conversations and phone calls lit up. The copy created a dialogue that demystified a cultural community, broke down barriers and opened an audience for this pianist, where in classical music it is sometimes feared or intimidating. Everyone complimented MY company on the marketing work.
Glenda Rush
Vivo Musique, Owner & Principal
I have worked with many creative people in my long career and writers in particular. I have never worked with a writer and creative mind as exceptional as Jim Diorio. He is talented in all ways a writer should be – he has original ideas, a rigor with the language that is unparalleled, a unique style, and he is exceptional wordsmith. However, what makes Jim even more extraordinary as a creative guy is his business acumen and productivity. He is so fast in his understanding (he needs only the briefest of briefings) and then so fast in producing something that takes your breath away. He doesn’t fall in love with his ideas or a turn of phrase the way some do; his measure of success is aligned with the business needs, not just the artistic. His breath of ability and experience is huge – he can work on virtually any type of project. If I had only one writer to ever work with on any project, it would be Jim Diorio. Hands down.
Bonnie Hillman
President, Arts and Communications
Jim’s writing has made us a significantly better agency. His work is always our best work. Strategically and creatively Jim takes us to a level we couldn’t reach on our own.
Chris Macfarlane
President, Company B Communications
