Prompt Engineering for Creatives: How to Get AI to Think Like Your Brand

By Jeff Schenck, Boss of Many AI Personas @ Donarus AI doesn’t have taste. You do. Teach it.

Let’s get this out of the way:

• AI isn’t your creative director. It’s your intern. A very fast, very literal intern.

• If your prompts are vague, boring, or robotic, guess what your output will be?

• The solution?

Treat prompt writing like brand voice design. 

Not a one-off—but a system. A tone guide. A vibe map. A blueprint that tells your AI tools:

“This is what we sound like. Now follow my lead.”

Here’s how to get there.

Step 1: Stop Describing Tasks. Start Describing Tone.

Most creatives prompt like this:

“Write a social media caption about our new product.”

AI will reply like:

“Check out our exciting new product now available!”

Yawn. Instead:

“Write a social caption in the voice of a confident but approachable strategist. It should feel like a smart recommendation from someone who knows their stuff but doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Use punchy sentences and a slightly cheeky tone.”

That’s voice coaching, not command-giving.

Prompts aren’t instructions. They’re briefings.

Step 2: Include Brand Traits in the Prompt

Ask yourself: if your brand were a person…

• How would they talk in a client meeting?

• What words would they never use?

• Do they quote Beyoncé or cite data?

• Are they the type to use periods or em dashes?

Now bake that into your prompt:

“Use clear, active voice. Avoid corporate jargon. Keep it playful but not goofy. No buzzwords. Feels like a chat with a smart, friendly colleague who knows what they’re doing.”

Step 3: Teach Emotion Like a Director, Not a Developer

When you say “Make it emotional”, AI has no idea what emotion you’re aiming for.

You have to be specific:

• “Make the reader feel a subtle mix of urgency and reassurance.”

• “This should land like a soft nudge from a friend who’s one step ahead.”

• “Channel the vibe of an indie filmmaker pitching a big idea in a quiet room.”

Now we’re directing. Not dictating.

Step 4: Use Anchors (Cultural, Voice, Visual)

If you’re writing for AI, make it feel something.

Use references:

• “The tone should sit somewhere between a TED Talk and a campaign by Mailchimp.”

• “Imagine this was read aloud by Phoebe Waller-Bridge during a product launch.”

• “Make it feel like the copy lives on a Notion page run by a smart startup.”

Anchors help AI triangulate style in ways raw adjectives never could.

Step 5: Create a Modular Prompt Library

Once you find prompts that hit, save them.

Break them down by use case:

• Newsletter Intros

• Social Posts

• Landing Page CTAs

• Video VO Tone

• Persona-Based Prompts

Turn your brand voice into a prompt system, something junior writers, freelancers, or even clients can use.

Now you’ve scaled consistency.

For The Road

• AI won’t magically understand your brand. That’s your job.

• But if you treat prompts like strategy tools, not just instructions, you’ll stop wrestling with output and start directing it.

• Creative Directors who know how to brief AI?

• They don’t get replaced. They build the playbook.

Let’s Build Better Prompts

Want the modular prompt system I use for tone training and campaign alignment?