Tone of Voice Case Study: White Bay Power Station

Case study | Brand voice and website copy

When one of Sydney’s most significant industrial heritage sites opened its doors as a cultural venue, I wrote the words that introduced it to the city. I wrote all the initial copy for the new White Bay Power Station website, including the Insider’s Guide editorials, and in doing so helped set the tone of voice the venue still speaks in today.

White Bay Power Station in Rozelle, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Anzac Bridge in the distance — White Bay Power Station, Rozelle, with the Harbour Bridge and Anzac Bridge beyond. Image: White Bay Power Station / Placemaking NSW

The brief

White Bay Power Station in Rozelle, on Wangal land, was built between 1912 and 1917 and once powered Sydney’s trams and trains. After decades closed to the public, Placemaking NSW began transforming it into a venue for arts, culture and community, opening with the 24th Biennale of Sydney in 2024.

A new venue has no voice yet, and this one had a lot to carry. It needed to honour more than a century of history and the workers who kept Sydney running, while making a gig, a festival or a Biennale exhibition feel unmissable. It also had to work from day one, for audiences who had never set foot inside.

What I did

Researched the story. I interviewed stakeholders and gathered internal material to understand what the place meant, where it had come from and what it was becoming.
Wrote the whole launch website. All the initial copy for whitebaypowerstation.com, from the homepage and venue pages to the history section.
Created the Insider’s Guide. Feature articles that turn the building’s past and present into stories people want to read, including The Social Side of Life at White Bay Power Station, Remembering Christmas at White Bay and A Year Since the 24th Biennale of Sydney.
Wrote the launch marketing collateral, carrying the same voice beyond the website.

Archive photo of White Bay Power Station workers playing table tennis — The social side of life at the power station, a story I told in the Insider’s Guide. Images: White Bay Power Station / Placemaking NSW

Archive photo of a man playing piano for an audience at White Bay Power Station — The social side of life at the power station, a story I told in the Insider’s Guide. Images: White Bay Power Station / Placemaking NSW

The voice I established moves easily between two registers: reflective and respectful when it tells the building’s history, playful and inviting when it sells a night out. That range is what lets one venue host a Biennale, a film festival and a sold-out dance party without sounding like three different places.

Crowds at a night event at White Bay Power Station, the building lit in red — A night out at White Bay Power Station. Image: White Bay Power Station / Placemaking NSW

The result

The voice set at launch still carries the site today, across its events, editorials and venue hire pages. The revival also won the Judges’ Choice Award at the 2024 National Trust (NSW) Heritage Awards. Its Power Up Festival was Highly Commended for Place Engagement at the 2024 Place Leaders Asia Pacific Awards, and the venue was part of the work that won Placemaking NSW the 2024 Place Leadership Award. I wrote all three of those award entries too.

Opening something new, or giving an old place a new story? Let’s talk.