Think about an engaging character from a television show or movie. What about them is memorable for you? Is it the way they hold their own during a conflict or how they talk (and laugh) just like you do when you’re hanging with your best friends? Is their sarcastic wit comforting and familiar or does it trigger a response of unease? When we immerse ourselves in entertainment, we come to feel like we know the characters as if they were real people in our lives. The same can be true of the brands we love.
Whether we like to admit it or not, distinct and consistent voices in our lives leave an impression. Sometimes it’s the voice of a loved one you hear in your head, other times it’s a slogan you just can’t forget (trust me, we would “Just Do It” if we could). Like a mother passing down wisdom – or instilling the fear of God – through language, word choice, sentence structure, and tone, a distinct and consistent brand voice conveys an organization’s mission and culture in an authentic and engaging way.
We can’t really dive into the nuances of brand voice, however, without first touching on brand personality. While a brand’s core values are the “why” of an organization’s purpose and serve as its fundamental guiding principles, brand personality is more the “human characteristics” assigned to a brand. They’re the emotional, psychological, behavioral, and intellectual patterns that portray a style, illicit a feeling, and influence how a brand is perceived by the public. In other words, it’s very similar to all the memorable stuff that sticks with you about a character (or person) you love.
At insight180, when we take a client through a brand refresh, one of the first things we want to know is what characteristics you would attribute to your own brand. How do you think you’re perceived and how would you like to be perceived? What’s real and authentic? Are you more creative or practical? Casual or sophisticated? Friendly and approachable or buttoned-up professional? Knowing who you are at the core AND what impression you want to put out into the world helps us determine the brand characteristics and what kind of voice that “character” would authentically own.
For example, if one of your brand characteristics is “quirky and fun,” we know that your tone of voice would be “approachable” and “casual” vs. “no-nonsense professional.” You would appeal to the humor in your base and your cadence may be a little good-natured cleverness. Your sentences would be short and sweet, but every word would count. The Dos and Don’ts of your brand voice may look something like this:
Do: keep it positive, engage and entertain, champion the product/service (and prospect) in fun ways.
Don’t: cause offense, over-sell, lose sight of the audience/messaging.
What is your unique brand voice?
Need a few more examples to really understand what we mean? Here’s a chart we created based on some of the clients we work with:
With a distinctive brand voice, consistent messaging, and insightful design, a brand will convey its mission and culture in a way that is authentic and engaging for anyone interested in learning more. If you’re struggling to find your brand voice, reach out to insight180. We’d love to help.
