Tone and Voice

Every brand has a voice. In fact, it is the brand’s voice that makes a product stand out more than just about anything else. Think about the most loved brands in the world: Harley Davidson is strong, aggressive and a bit dangerous. Innocent Smoothies is witty, informal and friendly. Nike is empowering, supportive, and inspiring. Tiffany is elegant, simple, and smart. I’m sure if you think about your favorite brands, you can identify certain characteristics that stand out.

Research shows that we think about brands with the same part of our brain that we use when we think about friends and family. That suggests that, at least for some brands that we relate most closely to, we see these brands not simply as products, but as characters in our lives. Maybe even friends.

We adopt the brands and products we use to signal things about ourselves. A person may choose Apple products to signal creativity. Others might reject Apple and choose another PC brand to show they value power and engineering over ease of use. 

Oatly attracts a different kind of consumer than Planet Oat or Silk. 

Monzo attracts a different kind of consumer than KeyBank or WellsFargo.

Jeep attracts a different kind of consumer than Mercedes.

That’s brand voice. And it matters when you write copy. 

Some might argue that brand voice doesn’t play a role in direct response or conversion copy, but that’s not true. Yes, sales copy tends to be more direct and therefore less “brandy”. But you can’t stray too far from your product’s brand voice or you risk losing the trust of your reader. And if your product doesn’t have a unique mechanism, a unique brand voice may be the only thing that separates it from its competitors.

A good brand voice connects the brand to the customer naturally. It taps into their worldview. It signals something about them and the way they want to be perceived. When done correctly, a good brand voice feels more like a friend than a product or service.

Many copywriters help their clients develop a brand voice as part of their services. In fact, we’ve included a module that steps through the creation of a brand voice guide to help direct your writing for your clients. 

If your client has a brand voice guide, make sure you refer to it before you sit down to start your copy. It should guide the voice you use as you write. And if you ignore it, be prepared to rewrite your copy later.