Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Comment, Culture, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail
… then many brands are killing themselves with theirs.
I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’m shocked how few brands really understand ‘tone’.
They either confuse it with a template look or using a corporate monotone full of buzzwords.
Brand voice is not a look.
It’s not even a tone.
It’s the expression of your individual values and beliefs, communicated in a way that resonates with the culture around your category.
Of course NIKE is probably the best example of this.
Regardless what they do.
Regardless what sport they’re talking about.
Regardless how an execution looks.
The moment you see or hear it, you feel it.
And ‘feel’ is the key word here.
That is no accident.
In fact, I’d say we often spent more time on the voice than the strategy.
They know the athlete so well that it is reflected in all they do.
And maybe that’s the problem so many brands face, because they don’t know their audience very well.
They define them in broad, ambiguous ways that are convenient for the brand to embrace.
It’s either that or the fact many brands seem to have values and beliefs that are designed to not alienate any potential customer … without realising they don’t resonate with anyone either.
There’s only one thing worse than a brand patronising it’s audience and that’s one that doesn’t even realise they’re doing it which is why brand voice – or tone – isn’t something you get by just scribbling some random words on a creative brief, it’s a commitment to finding it and then doing it right because to paraphrase Dan Wieden, great brands don’t discover the power of advertising, they discover the power of their own voice.
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May I have your permission to put this on our Facebook and LinkedIn page with reference to you as the writer?
Lucy Hoffman
VP of Sales
P) 800-325-3824
C) 864-884-8145
http://www.RedIronBrand.com
“Leave a Lasting Impression”
Comment by redironbrandsolutions July 28, 2017 @ 12:25 pmErrrrrrm, sure. But are you sure you want to?
Comment by Rob August 17, 2017 @ 8:35 amlucy hoffman. are you fucking mad?
Comment by andy@cynic August 17, 2017 @ 6:37 amPutting my bad taste to shame.
Comment by Rob August 17, 2017 @ 8:36 amfuck me campbell, i like this post. what the fuck is happening to me.
Comment by andy@cynic August 17, 2017 @ 6:38 amThis is very good. Who wrote it?
Comment by John August 17, 2017 @ 6:51 amDan Wieden.
Comment by Rob August 17, 2017 @ 8:37 amFantastic Robert. Even if it required help from Mr Wieden.
Comment by George August 17, 2017 @ 8:05 amhe sure as fuck didnt do it himself.
Comment by andy@cynic August 17, 2017 @ 8:55 amExcellent Robert.
Comment by Lee Hill August 17, 2017 @ 8:34 amI’ve run out of my annual allowance of compliments to tell you I liked this.
Comment by Bazza August 17, 2017 @ 11:05 am