Brand Voice

Your brand's voice is comprised of its tone and its word choice among other components. Together with your brand's archetype, personality and visual style, your brand's voice helps you to personify your brand. 

Any or all of these might be components of your brand's voice:

• Tone
• Accent (socio-economic, regional or foreign)
• Young or mature
• Vocabulary (frequently used words and phrases and never used words and phrases, grade level of vocabulary)
• Syntax - the structure of the words and other linguistic elements
• Verbose versus concise (length of sentences, use of parenthetical phrases)
• Use of slang, jargon or buzz phrases
• Use of analogies, metaphors and other figures of speech
• Coining a new phrase unique to the brand
• Sense of humor
• Sonic qualities (including volume, pitch, male versus female)
• Tempo and cadence (lilting?)

When thinking about different brand voices, consider Faulkner versus Steinbeck. Or Alister Cooke (Masterpiece Theatre) versus Tom Bodett (Motel 6: "We'll leave the light on for you."). Consider GEICO's gecko or Ernie the pistachio-loving elephant. Or even consider Columbo the unassuming but shrewd homicide detective with seemingly incoherent circumstantial speech in the television series of the same name.

The following are different tones of voice that you might consider:

• Friendly
• Sincere
• Accessible
• Authoritative
• Sophisticated
• Professional
• Erudite
• Informative
• Wise
• Lively
• Energetic
• Laid back
• Folksy or "down home"
• "Every man" or "every woman"
• Cute
• Quirky
• Soothing
• Soft spoken
• Nurturing
• Aspirational
• Upbeat or optimistic
• Uplifting
• Passionate
• Self-depreciating
• Terse
• Poetic

And following are different tones of voice that you probably want to avoid:

• Arrogant
• Pompous
• Sophomoric
• Pedantic
• Ignorant
• Clueless
• Distracted
• Self-absorbed
• Mean-spirited
• Uncouth
• Impatient
• Ditzy

Sometimes, it is easiest to point to a well-known personality who embodies what you want your brand's voice to be. Perhaps you would use that person as a brand spokesperson or at least as a shorthand for what you want your brand's voice to be.

If you do not have one marketing agency presenting your brand across all media, you should consider  including a detailed description of brand voice as a part of your brand positioning statement. This may include a brand voice dictionary of frequently used words and phrases.

The more you are able to personify your brand in a unique and highly compelling way by defining its archetype, personality, voice and visual style, the more your brand will come to life as if it were a person. If you need more help in this endeavor, contact us about our brand voice (and visual style) worksheet(s). Good luck.

Brand Tonality

Whether writing an elevator speech or advertising copy, it is important to get the brand's tonality right. This should be informed by the brand archetype, personality and voice, which are part of the strategic brand positioning exercise. 

For instance, do you want Tom Bodett ("We'll leave the light on for you."), Alister Cooke (PBS Masterpiece Theatre host) or someone else to represent your brand? Is your brand edgy or conservative? Does it have a sense of humor or is it serious? If your brand has a sense of humor, is it witty, sarcastic, slapstick, highbrow, dry or something else? Is it erudite or homey? Is its vocabulary large or small? If it were a writer, would it be John Steinbeck, William Faulkner or someone else? Is it hip and trendy or is it timeless? What sort of music is appropriate for the brand? A James Taylor ballad, a Beyoncé hit, a Mozart concerto or something else?

Don't leave your brand's tonality to a copywriter's guesswork. And don't allow every communication to assume a different tone on behalf of the brand. Decide upfront on your brand's tone and then stick to it.