Finding your brand voice – it’s child’s play!

Paul Downey is interim Internal Communications Director at Blippar. He is interested in the impact employee engagement can make on the productivity and success of an organisation.

“Define what your brand stands for, its core values and tone of voice, and then communicate consistently in those terms.” Simon Mainwaring.

How many parents spend most mornings saying the same thing, over and over again: “Can you please put your shoes on, we’ll be late for school!” As a parent of two young children, I don’t always feel I’m being listened to. Maybe I need to approach my parenting techniques the same way successful companies capture our attention.

Getting your brand tone of voice right is vital in engaging and retaining your target audience. And while I’m not sure I want to start mimicking Peppa Pig to make myself heard, there’s definitely something in the way you express yourself.

A consistent voice, both internally and externally, will help you express your brand’s personality and values, in stand-out ways. It will make you unique and distinctive, setting you apart from other brands. Audiences who become familiar with your voice will grow to trust and remember you. And when they do, they’re more likely to become advocates of your brand and loyal customers. Brand evangelism, whether in a customer’s tweet or on an internal staff forum, has never been more powerful.

So how do you create the right tone of voice for your organisation?

Listen before you talk
Before you’re even in a position to make yourself heard, you need to listen to your stakeholders, offering them the opportunity to shape your voice. How you engage with your audience can’t be decided in a boardroom. Nor should it be pushed out with the expectation that everyone will automatically get behind it. You need to involve staff, customers and key industry stakeholders early on and use their feedback to collaboratively create a voice which resonates with everyone. Holding focus groups will give you the opportunity to listen and take on-board how they perceive your brand and how they want to interact with you. I’m a big fan of making these groups as interactive as possible – get creative with whiteboards, post-its, paints, crayons (I’m sure the kids won’t mind if you borrow a few to use!) I once held a client focus group using Lego, and was asked back to repeat the session, having unlocked a lot of childhood Lego obsessions!

Voice your values
Your tone of voice should represent the values of your brand and company culture – a large part of which is informed by your workforce. It should express what drives you and what you want to share with the world. Therefore, choose your language, visuals and stories carefully because ultimately they will inspire, motivate and attract customers and employees. Innocent is a great example. They perfectly blends their company values with their tone of voice. Anyone who has read ‘A book about innocent’ gets a clear window into the personality, values and culture of the brand. It not only makes you want to be part of the company, but also buy their products. They have a compelling tone of voice and are regarded as pioneers for it.

How do you sound
Working out ‘how’ you say things is just as important as what you say. How you express your brand messages needs to resonate with your customers. But how do you cut through all the other noise to get yourself heard? Defining your own unique humour, slang, brand-colloquialism and creative visuals will distil the personality you are trying to convey. Maybe I need to start drawing a treasure map or devising a catchy limerick to get my kids to put their shoes on each morning…
Ben & Jerry’s is one of my favourite examples of how a brand has been consistent in driving through their tone of voice in everything they do. They use the perfect fonts, illustrations, colours, animation (not to mention a lot of cows!) to bring their brand to life. It represents who they are and fits their personality - friendly, fun and memorable for their customers - I always want a tub of cookie dough ice cream when I see their creatives!

You talking to me?
If you want to connect with your target audience and keep them interested in your brand you need to talk their language. If they don’t have an emotional connection with you, they won’t even notice what you’re saying (or selling).
As a dad of two girls, I’m always on the lookout for products which will teach and inspire them. Our NBF is Lottie – who has a doll body that is realistic and based on actual proportions of a child. Inspired by strong female characters, Lottie dolls encourage girls to enjoy their childhood, in all its facets, with a key motto to be bold, be brave, be you. The emotional connection that both parents and children have to the language, context and ethos of this brand is a powerful example of how brands can be heard by using the right language and being consistent across all their content and channels.

There are many more considerations when developing a tone of voice; but I have to find my daughter’s shoes, so I can’t blog much longer…. Check out MailChimp’s guidelines on the website Voice and Tone. Their systemic approach in describing how to achieve tone of voice in all areas of a company’s vocal range is truly impressive.

It would also be great to hear what has worked for you, so please do leave a comment. And if you’ve any tips on getting small children to listen more, please leave them as well!