brand personality
The Tone of Voice premium
26/09/11 17:41 Filed in: Gareth Lloyd
Here’s a thought…agencies actually sell a form of insurance to their clients
This insurance is tone of voice.
We develop (or replicate) a specific tone of voice for each client, then apply it across all the work we create for them. By doing this we create a consistency of language that continually echoes the brand personality. This is reassuring for customers and prevents any confusion about what the brand stands for.
To my mind the tone of voice embodies the brand far more than the visual style – which is why the latter can change with no great consequence, while the tone of voice simply can’t. Imagine, for example, an Audi ad where that classic cold and deadpan delivery was replaced with the decidedly more upbeat and bubbly tone of voice of a Citroen ad. See what I mean?
This is why tone of voice is so critical and demands so much care and attention. As soon as it slips, the whole brand promise can be compromised. Everything achieved to build the brand persona can be undermined.
So if you want an insurance quote for your brand, please give us a call.
Tweet yourself to a new identity
25/08/10 20:00 Filed in: David
Edwards
Several blogs ago I bemoaned the use of Twitter by many organisations, arguing that they seemed to think that just by issuing tweets they were ‘down with the social media crowd’. When clearly they weren’t.
That got me thinking about creative ways to use social media sites to spread commercial messages to users who are, remember, predominantly there to share news, views and have fun.
This is where the big problem lies with ‘monetising’ a social media presence. It’s difficult for companies not to appear like a Dad at the disco if they try to be ‘hip’, whereas their straight sales messages will be unwelcome and reflect badly on them.
To me the solution may be to think laterally and have a completely different social media presence than might be expected. In other words, companies should look at creating an alter ego who, while linked to them, is not a straight spokesperson for their brand.
This allows you to have some real fun, whether by being satirical, controversial or just plain silly. This means you can entertain other people on the platform who are there for that very reason, and in doing so do far more to raise the profile of your brand.
The more you think about it, the more sense it makes. Yet few companies seem to be doing this. The best example of one I have found is comparethemarket.com. Their Alexandr Orlov meerkat is on twitter and tweets regularly in his distinctive style. Alexandr mostly replies to questions from his near 40,000 followers, showing both that the company know how to extend their brand into social media, and are prepared to take the time to talk to people who are prepared to listen to them. Simples.