How to turn a client's top past ads into a reusable style system, and sell "brand style setup" as a paid offer. Style rules template, prompt blueprint and Claude skill included, all copy-paste.
On Oct 7, Synthesia announced Syren, launching Friday, Oct 9. You upload videos a brand has already made and it learns how that brand looks and moves: colors, fonts, how text animates in, pacing, edit rhythm and tone of voice. Then one prompt makes a new video in that style, and you refine it in a chat.
Synthesia's own pitch is "$20K agency videos for $5 in 5 minutes." That is their claim, not ours, and the product is aimed at corporate and enterprise video. You don't need Syren to take the lesson from it: on-brand consistency is becoming the expected standard. When a big tool sells "it already knows your brand", clients start expecting every video to look like it came from one team. Being the person who can lock that in is a skill clients pay for, whatever tools you use.
02
02Collect
Pull the client's top ads
Ask the client for their best-performing ads, or pick them yourself from their ad library and social pages. Aim for 5 to 10 pieces that the client agrees "look like us". Mix formats if they run them: a few videos, a few statics.
For each one, save the file (or a link plus screenshots), note the platform and format (9:16, 4:5, 1:1), and ask the client one question: "Which of these feels most like the brand?" Their pick becomes your hero reference. If the ads disagree with each other, don't average them. Ask which direction they want to keep and drop the rest.
03
03Rules
Write the style rules
Go through the ads and write down what repeats. Be concrete enough that someone who has never seen the brand could match it. Cover five areas:
Color: 3 to 5 hex codes, which one is the background, which one is the accent, what never appears. Type: font names (or the closest free match), weights, case, where text sits on screen, max words per line. Motion: how text and products enter (cut, slide, scale, type-on), easing, camera moves they use and ones they never use. Pacing and edit rhythm: rough shot length, when the hook lands, cuts on the beat or not, how the ad ends. Voice: tone in three words, words they use, words they avoid, how the CTA is phrased.
Add a Never list. It is often the most useful part. Use the STYLE RULES template below.
STYLE RULES template (copy paste, fill the brackets)
# STYLE RULES · [BRAND NAME] Source ads: [list the 5-10 ads you pulled, hero reference marked with *] Formats: [9:16 / 4:5 / 1:1]
# COLOR Background: [hex] · Primary: [hex] · Accent: [hex] · Text: [hex] Mood: [e.g. clean, cool, high contrast] Never: [colors or treatments that never appear]
# TYPE Headline font: [name, weight, case] · Body font: [name, weight] Placement: [where text sits, safe margins] Max words per on-screen line: [n] Never: [e.g. script fonts, drop shadows, more than 2 fonts]
# MOTION Text enters by: [cut / slide up / scale in / type-on], easing [snappy / smooth] Product moves: [e.g. slow push-in, 360 turn on a plinth] Camera: [locked / handheld / slow dolly] Never: [e.g. spinning text, glitch transitions, whip pans]
# PACING + EDIT RHYTHM Hook: [what happens in the first 1-2 seconds] Shot length: [short and even / mixed / long holds] Cuts: [on the beat / on action / on the line] Ending: [product hero + logo + CTA card, how long it holds]
# VOICE Tone in 3 words: [e.g. calm, confident, direct] Words we use: [...] · Words we never use: [...] CTA wording: [exact phrasing they use] Voiceover: [none / male / female, pace, energy]
# NEVER LIST [Everything that makes it look off-brand, one per line]
Rules on their own don't make ads. Turn them into a prompt blueprint: one fixed block with the brand's look that never changes, plus a few slots you fill in for each new ad (product, angle, hook, format). Paste the blueprint into whatever you generate with: an image model, a video model, or an LLM that writes the scripts and shot lists.
Test it on one brief, compare the result side by side with the hero reference, and fix the rule that drifted, not the single output. When three new ads in a row look like they belong next to the old ones, the blueprint is done.
Prompt blueprint (copy paste)
# BRAND BLOCK (fixed, paste every time) You are making a new ad for [BRAND NAME]. Match this style exactly: Colors: background [hex], primary [hex], accent [hex], text [hex]. Type: headlines in [font, weight, case], max [n] words per line, placed [placement]. Motion: text enters by [method] with [easing]; product [movement]; camera [style]. Pacing: hook in the first [1-2] seconds by [hook type]; shots [length pattern]; cuts [rule]; end on [end card]. Voice: [3 tone words]. Use words like [...]. Never say [...]. CTA: "[exact CTA]". Never: [never list]. Style reference: [hero reference ad, attach the screenshot or frames].
# PER-AD SLOTS (change these) Product: [product + one key detail] Angle: [the one message this ad sells] Hook line: [first line on screen or spoken] Format: [9:16 / 4:5 / 1:1], length [seconds]
# OUTPUT 1) A 3-line concept. 2) A shot list: shot number, on-screen text, visual, motion, duration. 3) A generation prompt per shot for my image/video model, each one repeating the color, type and motion rules. 4) Voiceover or caption copy in the brand voice. Before you answer, check every shot against the Never list and fix anything that breaks it.
05
05Agent
Optional: make it a Claude skill
If you produce for the client every week, turn the rules and the blueprint into a Claude skill or project. Paste the agent instruction below, attach the STYLE RULES doc and a few reference screenshots, and the agent turns any brief into an on-brand script, shot list and generation prompts, then checks drafts against the rules before you send them.
This step is optional. The rules doc and the blueprint already work on their own. The agent just saves you rewriting the same context every time, and it lets you hand the system to the client's team.
Claude skill / agent instruction (copy paste)
# CLAUDE SKILL / PROJECT INSTRUCTION · [BRAND NAME] Brand Style Role: you are the brand style director for [BRAND NAME]. Your job is to keep every new ad consistent with the brand's existing best ads.
Knowledge: the attached STYLE RULES doc is the source of truth. The attached reference screenshots show the hero ads. If the rules and a reference disagree, follow the rules and flag it.
When I give you a brief: 1. Restate the angle in one line and ask at most one question if something essential is missing. 2. Write the concept, the shot list (shot, on-screen text, visual, motion, duration) and a generation prompt per shot. Every prompt repeats the color, type and motion rules word for word. 3. Write the voiceover or caption in the brand voice, using the exact CTA wording. 4. Run a style check: list each rule (color, type, motion, pacing, voice, never list) with PASS or FIX, and fix every FIX before you hand it over.
When I paste a draft or a screenshot: Review it only against the STYLE RULES. Reply with what breaks a rule, which rule, and the smallest change that fixes it. Don't redesign what already passes.
Never invent new brand colors, fonts or claims. Never add prices, results or numbers that aren't in the brief.
06
06Offer
Package it as a paid setup
You're selling a system, not one-off clips. Call it Brand Style Setup and make the deliverables concrete:
1. The STYLE RULES doc (color, type, motion, pacing, voice, never list). 2. The prompt blueprint, tested. 3. Optional: the Claude skill set up for their team. 4. A small set of test ads made with the system, so they can see it holds.
Price it as a fixed one-off setup, then offer ongoing ad production on top, since you're now the fastest person to make on-brand work for them. Set the price from your own costs, time and market; we don't give numbers here. The pitch is simple: show one of their old ads next to a new one made with the blueprint, and use the copy-paste pitch below.
Pitch message + offer outline (copy paste)
# PITCH MESSAGE (copy, then make it yours) Hi [NAME], I went through your recent ads and pulled the ones that look most like [BRAND]. I can turn them into a style system: written rules for your colors, type, motion, pacing and voice, plus a tested prompt blueprint so every new ad looks like it came from the same team, whoever makes it. It's a one-off Brand Style Setup. You get the rules doc, the blueprint, a few test ads made with it, and optionally a Claude agent your team can use. Want me to show you one of your old ads next to a new one made with the system?
# WHAT'S INCLUDED (paste into your offer doc) Brand Style Setup for [BRAND] - Review of [5-10] of your best ads - STYLE RULES doc: color, type, motion, pacing and edit rhythm, voice, never list - Prompt blueprint, tested on [n] new ads - Optional: Claude skill set up for your team - Optional add-on: ongoing ad production using the system
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