A note on branding (part 2)
People can only get to know a brand if it looks and sounds the same everywhere.
Consistency, my friends.
And tone of voice is as much a brand asset as a logo.
Don’t believe me?
Think about some of the biggest brands around—Google, Microsoft, Walmart.
We remember how they look, how they talk and how they make us feel.
We recognize them because they created their brand personality and they’ve used it consistently.
They don’t stop pushing the established brand voice and style.
For example, if you went into a Nike hotel, you’d know it immediately.
You wouldn’t be asking yourself, “is this a Double Tree or Residence Inn?”
You would immediately know you’re in a Nike establishment.
These brands have offices around the world. They employ thousands and target millions. They manage to make all their communications and campaigns look and sound like they come from one place.
It’s one company with one distinctive and consistent brand personality and one tone of voice.
They don’t just do it in the big campaigns, but in the small stuff too…even in the postcards.. :)
(See the featured image of this post for one of my favorite lines for Heare Brotherhood)
Here’s one example:
Virgin Holidays shows off its flamboyant brand personality in everything from its big-budget TV ads right through to its website’s call to action buttons.
The buttons that are often ignored by brands because they think that when it comes to a transaction, their tone should switch to straight and direct rather than stay fun.
But Virgin Holidays land their brand at every opportunity and say things like “Take me there” instead of “View more” and “I’m outta here” instead of “Book now” because that’s how they talk.
That’s their tone of voice.
When a brand creates and commits to their brand personality and tone of voice, it’s easy to be consistent.
They’ve determined who they are and what they stand for, so they know how to express themselves on any day and in any situation.
The story might change, but the way they tell it doesn’t.
Here’s another example:
At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, brands rushed to say something to keep connected to their customers, and it was the brands with strong personalities that got it right.
Nike wrote, “If you ever dreamed of playing for millions around the world, now is your chance” to encourage everyone to stay at home, but in a way that was unique to them.
In times of panic, it’s natural to panic. And it’s natural for a brand to mistakenly think they should drop their personality to match the serious tone of serious times. A serious tone often includes cold and formal messages.
That’s not what people need.
Brands sell your favorite pop. They make your favorite jeans. They produce your favorite TV series.
If brands lose consistency, they lose their relationship with their customers because people stop feeling comfortable with them.
Why is all this so important? Why is it so important to create a brand personality and tone of voice?
Customers are busy and distracted.
They’re getting up, getting in the shower, taking kids to school, going to work, working out, cleaning the house, cleaning the car, walking the dog, feeding the family, reading a book, seeing friends, seeing a movie, doing the shopping.
They’re doing stuff.
They’re not looking to see what a brand has to say. “Hold up, babe. Let me see what Adidas put out recently about…”
Nope.
They’re not wondering what brands are up to.
But!
(that’s a big but)
Brands are everywhere.
We see brands on TV, online, and on billboards.
The brands want us to notice them and pay attention to them.
So they must earn our attention.
How?
A brand personality and tone of voice that talks directly to us in a way we find so interesting, we can’t wait to click, buy, share or whatever it is.
Now go out there and be interesting!
Yours in the battle against boring,
Morgan
