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Staying- Curious
Where story meets intention, and insight fuels imagination
We’re an independent creative studio rethinking what brand stories can be.
Founded in 2025 to create longer-form content that offers more for your audience. We believe deeper stories connect us, open new perspectives, and spark cultural conversations that drive change.
We're storytellers and strategists: blending narrative CRAFT WITH BRAND BUILDING
With global broadcast and brand expertise, we layer content with meaning. Our Story X Design process builds memorable narratives that move your audience and reveal the human face of your brand.
Our Founders
Founded in 2025 to live at the meeting place of Broadcast Storytelling + Brand Strategy.
Nicola Pointer
Co-Founder
Nicola Pointer
Co-Founder
Story architect and format creator, fluent in brand and broadcast.
Born in the UK and now based in Australia, Nicola has spent her career turning blank pages into bold, culture-shifting ideas. As an Executive Producer, she’s shaped innovative work across drama, documentary, arts and lifestyle for Netflix, BBC, Channel 4 and global brands.
She’s led format-first projects for digital and prime-time broadcast, pioneered interactive storytelling, and spent a decade creating hit series and impact campaigns with Jamie Oliver (watching takes with fork in hand). Whether working with celebrities, communities or changemakers, her focus is always on stories that move people, and ideas that make things happen.
At The Counter, she brings her rare blend of creative strategy and story craft to brand storytelling, building work that’s insightful and ambitious.
Jamie Balliu
Co-Founder
Jamie Balliu
Co-Founder
Creative innovator, known for bold ideas and strategic insight.
Born in Bondi and evolved in East London, Jamie kicked off his career directing award-winning brand campaigns and channel identities for the likes of MTV, Disney, BBC and Channel 4 Music. A craving to explore deeper storytelling led him into documentary and culture-focused projects across Europe and US.
An early adopter (often a bit too early), he’s always worked at the edges – across film, animation and emerging technologies. From a feature doc Exec’d by Oliver Stone to an interactive platform for Arte, and an award-winning VR trip through a musician’s world, his work always invites new ways of both seeing and experiencing.
Now back in Australia, Jamie brings that restless creativity to brand storytelling, merging strategy with craft and visual style to help shape stories with purpose and impact.
Counter theOrdinaryAnd shapeThe story.
CountertheOrdinaryAndshapetheStory
Counter is our creative mindset: change the view, surface what matters, and thread a bold, human line through it. It's how we shape stories with a clear identity.
Story Principles
We craft brand stories that feel like films, not ads: human, alive and memorable. Because the best content isn’t just watched, it’s felt.
STAY HUMAN
+The most powerful stories speak to who we are. We zoom out to see the cultural currents and zoom in on real people’s lives, finding the deeper truths that make a story feel lived.
LEAD WITH CURIOSITY
+We start with questions, exploring culture’s edges and seeking out the unexpected. We look for the unseen worlds, characters and themes that speak to the aspirations of your audience.
SEE DIFFERENTLY
+It’s not only what you share, but how you frame it. We look for the lens that repositions a story, shifting perspective so it feels personal and clear. This is how your brand finds a voice that’s both distinct and relatable.
ADD TO THE CONVERSATION
+Don’t chase trends; share stories that contribute to the conversation. By sparking new ways of seeing or adding nuance to the moment, your brand earns cultural relevance.
FOLLOW THE THREAD
+Every strong film has a through-line; every strong brand does too. We craft narratives that engage and entertain your audience, while consistently reflecting your values and worldview.
SHOW MORE CHARACTER
+Audiences follow people, not logos. Their struggles, growth, and moments of choice reveal values in action – and invite viewers to reflect, connect, and feel part of the journey.
FIND THE SUBTEXT
+The plot is what happens, but the theme is what it’s really about. Beneath every story lies a universal human experience, this is the subtext that turns storytelling into something lasting and meaningful for your audience.
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