portfolio
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portfolio *
professional overview
Hey there! I’m Katrina Day Schaefer (but you can just call me Kit). I am a Brooklyn-based writer, strategist, producer, and creative director whose experience spans marketing, branding, publishing, and entertainment.
As a creative director, copywriter, and strategist, I define and refine brands of all sizes. Whether I’m leading a ground-up rebrand for a small business or fine-tuning the perfect tagline for a streaming series, my objectives remain the same: help my clients find their voice, communicate their vision, and connect with values-aligned audiences.
My background in writing for film, theater, and fiction informs my story-driven approach to marketing and branding. Whatever the industry, medium, or genre, I strive to create work that’s effective, affecting, and narratively satisfying.
projects
marketing & branding
Cottagecore Eclectic branding
Project Type: Brand Strategy, Identity, and Design
Client: Cottagecore Eclectic
Agency: Day’s Work Creative
Role: Creative Director, Copywriter, and Strategist
I was hired by Cottagecore Eclectic, a new NYC-based up-cycling boutique, to create a comprehensive Brand Guide outlining its strategy (positioning and values), verbal identity (voice and story) and visual identity (imagery, color palette, and typography). I also brought on a graphic designer to create a suite of logos for Web and retail.
You can view the full Cottagecore Eclectic Brand Guide below:
March of Dimes awareness Campaign
Project Type: Naming & Messaging Architecture
Client: March of Dimes
Agency: SJI Associates
Role: Senior Copywriter
“Low Dose, Big Benefits” was an awareness campaign centered on preventing preeclampsia with low-dose aspirin. I developed the campaign’s name, brand manifesto, and messaging architecture.
Sherlock Global Sales Pitch Deck
Project Type: Presentation Copy and Structure
Client: BBC Studios Global Distribution
Role: Copywriter & Strategist
Description: I was hired by BBC Studios Global Distribution to organize and develop copy for a Sherlock global sales pitch deck. I outlined the structure of the presentation, pairing compelling data and pull quotes with a persuasive narrative through-line. I went on to write headline and body copy to take viewers through the presentation. The structure I created informed the designers’ work, resulting in a story-driven deck that was used to sell the streaming rights to this hit BBC series.
one foot productions website
Project: Website Content & Copywriting
Client: One Foot Productions
Role: Content & Copywriter
Description: I collaborated with the live event production company One Foot Productions to build out their website with landing page copy that clarified their services, expertise, and key differentiators, tongue-in-cheek team member spotlights that captured their offbeat personality, and articles detailing their past productions that demonstrated their wide-ranging capabilities. I also built out a secondary website for their signature music festival, Bear Music Fest. Here are a few of the articles I wrote for One Foot Productions:
taglines
I’ve written taglines for several TV series, films, and brands. The examples below are taglines I wrote for key art projects as the Senior Copywriter at SJI Associates:
VIDEO PROJECTS
I’ve concepted and written scripts for many branded video projects, including TV commercials, brand spots, explainer videos, vlogs, sizzle reels, web shorts, internal presentations, and webseries.
Project: Philo TV brand spot
Client: Philo TV
Agency: Sibling Rivalry
Role: Copywriter
Project: Smithsonian Channel Plus digital ad
Client: Smithsonian Channel
Agency: Loyal Kaspar
Role: Copywriter
Project: “The Windsors” digital ad
Client: CNN
Agency: Loyal Kaspar
Role: Copywriter
Project: “Candid Casting Calls” Digital Short
Client: Upworthy
Production Company: Lady Parts
Role: Producer
additional Brand Stories, Manifestos, and scripts
In the deck below, I’ve collected several additional samples of brand manifestos, brand stories, and branded video scripts I’ve written for clients in entertainment, publishing, news, healthcare, finance, and the nonprofit sector.
These samples demonstrate my writing style and approach—and how it can flex across industries, formats, and brands.
entertainment
podcasts
UNDERWATER
I wrote and executive produced the narrative podcast Underwater, starring—and soundtracked by—Jason Derulo, alongside Alex Shipp. The story follows Ana (Shipp), a woman who will do anything to outrun her past, and Nico (Derulo), a man who will do anything for a better future. This music-driven romantic thriller is a collaboration between Clamor Media, Temple Hill, and Warner Music Group.
THE KING OF THE PESO
I co-wrote the multigenerational true crime thriller The King of The Peso, based on the memoir by Pietro La Greca Jr. (aka Picho). The series is guided by Picho, (Harvey Guillén) as he reckons with the legacy of his con man father, Pietro La Greca Sr. (Peter Stormare) in a story that spans Italy, Mexico, and the US. The series was directed and sound designed by Louise Abbou, and is available on Audible.
ALETHEA
I co-created, co-wrote, and produced the audio drama Alethea. This sci-fi thriller was a finalist in the 2018 Austin Film Festival and was released as an Audible Original in 2023. Alethea was directed by Mark Henry Phillips (Serial, Homecoming) and stars Helen Hunt, Beau Bridges, Julia Rehwald, Chace Crawford, Justin H. Min, Rachel Dratch, and Jessica Barden. You can listen to the entire series on Audible.
HYPERTHETICAL
I wrote two episodes (“CTRL+Z” and “Mixed Signals”) of the FilmNation sci-fi anthology podcast HyperThetical, hosted by Kerry Bishé and distributed by Realm Media. Every episode of HyperThetical delves into a sci-fi “What if?” premise through a genre-bending blend of grounded speculative fiction and interviews with expert scientists. You can listen to the series on Apple Podcasts.
LIVE entertainment
THEATER
I’ve written several one-act and full-length plays, including Where to Begin—a play for young actors exploring mental health through the tradition of fairy tales—which was performed by The Fellowship of the Ravens at Columbia University and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2014.
DRAG
I’ve created and hosted several recurring drag and burlesque productions in NYC, including THEATER CAMP, the musical theater drag show in residence at Culture Lab LIC, SAD GIRL HAPPY HOUR at Ginger’s BAR, and IT’S MUTUAL, a fundraising series for community gender-affirming care.
FESTIVALS
As a writer and strategist at One Foot Productions, I helped to produce their signature music festival, Bear Music Fest. I produced a range of marketing materials, from their website to artist profiles, and even volunteered to drive the camp shuttle through the woods of Pinecrest, CA during the festival!
BENEFIT CONCERTS
I’ve written and produced benefit concerts like Music for Changing Times—a multi-media retrospective of protest music in America for the nonprofit Music to Life, which was headlined by Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul, and Mary—and the Apollo Theater’s Spring Gala.
lady parts: blog and webseries
Lady Parts was a blog, webseries, and online community dedicated to calling out sexism in casting (and entertainment at large) and celebrating the work of women artists… with comedy!
I first launched Lady Parts in 2014 to shine a light on the heinously (often hilariously) sexist ecosystem of online casting calls I found myself wading through as a young actor. The blog quickly accrued a following of 25K+, and was featured by Buzzfeed, Jezebel, the Huffington Post, and many other outlets around the world.
The popularity of the Lady Parts blog inspired and empowered me to create Lady Parts: The Web Series, a collection of ten comedic digital shorts that I wrote, directed, produced, and starred in (as one does). The Lady Parts web series was covered by BUST, Bitch Media, and the Daily Dot, and screened at film festivals around the country.
In 2018, the nonprofit FACES (Female Artistic & Commercial Entrepreneur Support) re-released Lady Parts on their platform.
publishing
ghostwriting
fiction
From 2012-2017, I was a ghostwriter and editor at Elite Digital Publishing, an indie ebook publishing company. Under the pen name Colleen Masters, I authored 24 romance titles, with multiple entries reaching Amazon’s Top 10 and Top 100 Bestsellers lists. I collaborated closely with the publisher to craft engaging storylines, characters, and series. Additionally, I provided development and editing support for fellow writers' work and produced audiobook versions of several titles.
nonficiton
I ghostwrote the medical memoir Surrender, by the motivational speaker Jessica Zampieri. This nonfiction book tells the story of Jessica's emergency liver transplant at the age of twenty-eight, her connection to her eighteen-year-old donor Dustin and his family, and her subsequent work as an advocate for organ donation. Utilizing interviews, primary documents, and additional research, I helped Jessica share her story of survival and self love, with the world.
bust magazine
As an editorial intern at BUST Magazine, I contributed news and culture stories, film reviews, short fiction, and interviews to the blog and magazine. I also edited content, managed email campaigns and newsletters, and proofread print pages to ensure accuracy and quality. Here are a few of my favorite pieces from my time at BUST: