We were lucky to catch up with Ema Fulga recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ema, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Today’s marketing campaigns typically fall into two categories: those that are very clean and politically correct, and those that aim to shock—and they usually shock with outlandish designs and imagery. (Coupled with a bit of bit but the weight of today’s edgy campaigns falls on images).

However, if we zoom in and focus on the specific slice of marketing that is branding, and then zoom in even further on copywriting, we find that very few consumer brands use shock tactics with words.

Why? Because it’s harder to take back words than it is to apologize for an asset that missed the mark.

A well-defined brand with a distinct tone of voice is careful about what messages it sends out because they are forever. Because of social media, even if you can delete something, chances are, that people will have already noticed it and will have called you out on it.

So, there’s a fear of saying something wrong and alienating people.

But a brand is like a person. Some will think you’re too shy, too loud, or too opinionated but others will embrace your personality. Your people, the ones you want to spend your time with, will love it.

And that’s where decipher. comes in.

We want to cater to those who aren’t afraid of a few people disliking them. Those that truly embrace being different but have trouble finding that exact voice. One that isn’t for everyone but for those that matter to them: their particular audience.

A step further is replicating online the unique brand experience they create for consumers offline. That’s also a complex challenge that involves a mix of finding the right voice, the right communication strategy, and coupling them with on-brand designs. We help with that too.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I wish I could say I knew I wanted to be a writer ever since I was a little girl, but that would be a lie.

I wanted to be a dancer.

What I ended up doing was the “sensible” thing that many people around me did back then: I eliminated anything I didn’t have a clear calling for like being a doctor, and chose something “useful” that would open many doors: business management.

It was also a way of postponing the horrendous decision you’re asked to make at 17 years old: what you’re going to do with the rest of your life. So, like many confused teenagers around me, I studied business management.

During university, I realized two things: I wanted to work in marketing, and I wanted to live abroad for a while, specifically in Barcelona, Spain. I wanted to go to Barcelona for my Erasmus studies but I didn’t know Spanish back then (and didn’t think I could learn it in time) so I went to Porto instead, where you only needed to be proficient in English. And it was the best!

I was fortunate enough to eventually move to Barcelona for a Master’s in digital marketing, and that’s when adulthood hit me. I needed to support myself so I got a marketing internship that paid just enough to live on. I’m particularly proud of that because it was during the financial crisis which hit Spain harder than many European countries between 2008 and 2010, which is exactly when I moved.

After my internship, I worked in affiliate marketing for seven years before deciding to transition into copywriting. What started as a side hustle eventually became my full-time career.

I freelanced for about seven years (noticing a pattern here?!) and during that time I noticed consumer brands were starting to look alike. If you look at skincare companies alone, they all have similar fonts, beige color schemes, and a calming, neutral voice.

I created decipher. to help memorable consumer brands that aren’t afraid to scare off a few people, discover or define their unique voice, pair it with distinct designs, and replicate that brand experience consistently across channels.

How exactly?

Whether it’s through a full rebranding or simply fine-tuning existing copy and designs, we’ll ensure your brand is authentic, attractive to your target audience, and distinct enough to make your competitors feel like you’re playing in a different league.

We also offer a specific service for women-led businesses that are just starting off or simply need to rethink their branding, that’s called decip.her. I’ll let you discover that bit on our website.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to pivot twice in my life: first when I left a career in digital marketing and then when I began seeing the limitations of freelancing and decided to start my agency.

They were both scary for different reasons. The first major pivot meant leaving a career I knew, a network I had built, and a steady income, to start something from scratch. It was both scary and exciting at the same time. My copywriting career began as a side hustle and as I started taking on more and more projects, I had to leave my job.

I was faster in pivoting the second time but not because of a well-thought-out plan. My idea was to start my agency sometime in the second half of 2022. It was even in my Goals sheet for the year, which I worked on before the end of 2021.

Then towards the end of 2022, when I was preparing to launch the agency, something unexpected yet lovely happened: I found out I was pregnant.

So, I decided to postpone launching it but it was always in my mind. It was like when you have a delicious cake in the fridge just waiting for you to eat it and you know it’s there, you can almost taste it but it’s not dessert time yet.

My son was born in August of 2023 and 2 months later I was working on decipher.’s mission, vision, and soon after, its website. I registered the company in the UK in April 2024.

I just couldn’t wait, I had to get that cake out of the fridge and taste it!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I’m going to start by sharing something I kept hidden at the beginning of my copywriting career, and I’ll tell you why in a moment: I was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania.

I have a background in Business Management, followed by a Master’s in Digital Marketing in Barcelona, Spain, and a seven-year career in digital marketing. So, I had no prior experience in anything remotely related to journalism or advertising. The biggest downfall is that I never had those first experiences working in a creative agency nor did I start working on my portfolio until I was about 28, which is when I decided to become a copywriter and a writer.

Needless to say, the first thing I did was study copywriting. I took all the courses I found interesting and read everything I could on the subject.

And yet, the biggest challenge to break into this field wasn’t the lack of experience or not having studied something in particular.

It was the fact that I wanted to build a career writing in English and Spanish, but I wasn’t born in any of the countries where these languages are spoken.

I wasn’t what those that hired copywriters called a “native”.

For context, I started learning English when I was five (and French at eight; my parents were very strict in that sense) and I was extremely diligent with Spanish which I started studying before moving to Barcelona for my Master’s. I have a passion for languages (I’m currently studying for the B1 level in German) and I love diving into their intricacies, connotations, and subtleties more than most, so why wouldn’t I qualify?!

I refused to accept what the market was telling me which was that I could only write in Romanian at a professional level.

So, whenever someone asked me to talk about myself and my experience, I just didn’t mention where I’m from. Nobody asked me anything because they didn’t sense any accent so most of them just assumed I was from one place or another.

Then I learned a lesson that helped me more than any Master’s ever did: if people like you and feel like they can trust you, they’ll ask very few questions. And don’t say more than what you’re being asked.

Slowly, I began building my portfolio by working with everyone—from restaurants and B2B companies to consulting firms and magazines. I never lied; I just didn’t volunteer any information. Whenever I was asked where I’m from, I told the truth but by my third or fourth year of copywriting, when I had built a decent portfolio, it stopped being such an issue. It still influences people’s decisions to this day, which is both ridiculous and unfair.

I’m ok with it now because I learned that this close-mindedness pops its ugly head throughout a project and that makes it impossible to create something you’re proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.decipher.agency/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ema-fulga-decipher/
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/decipher-creative-agency/
  https://www.instagram.com/decipher_agency/