How do you craft a tone of voice that reflects your brand personality?

The only way to define a brand is to define the end user. To them, the brand is a reflection of the way they want to see themselves. A mirror. There is no magic formula. Whatever "dimensions" the brand possesses derive from the emotional needs of those for whom the brand is to be imagined. When a subject in a focus group smiles and nods and thinks "they know my life": the brand is there.

Step away and look at what it wants as if for the first time. Sneak up on it when it’s not looking. If it has to sit at dinner party with all your competitor brands, how're you going to prepare it to always have the last word? Instructions have to be super easy so that everyone who performs the brand on every level of your org gets it and is in sync. Or, you don’t really have a brand. I like to reduce to one thing, if possible. At Bloomingdale’s, told team, if it isn’t fun, then don’t bother presenting to me. Will not sign off. Even more important when subject’s as bland as bathwater: all those boring moments're when brand has opportunity to come alive with relatability, authenticity, and relevance. Bath water tastes like gerbil soup.

"Choose your voice elements" is Exhibit A in "Why People Should Worry Less About AI Replacing Writers In The Near Future." This is about Style. Panache. Making what you write worth reading. It should never, ever sound like the paragraph above. Like a lawyer and a robot sat down to craft some copy. (Nothing against either lawyers or robots.)

Authenticity rules. If you understand the end user and the end user's voice, you'll know how to speak to them. It's very simple. Think of how we speak to children or pets or all the various audiences we deal with on a daily basis. We adapt our voice to their voice. We shouldn't need a chart. We just need ears.

Just be real. Never waste energy trying to impress. Customers will despise you and run away. It’s ok to be a little dumb, sometimes. No one likes feeling like they are expected to be impressed by your wit. At Planned Parenthood Direct, I honed in on precisely who is talking (i.e. What is the voice of PPD) — and came up with something sweet that everyone got: It’s your aunt — your Mom’s hipper, younger little sister who gets you and you totally trust. We were trying to win over 15-year olds. How else?

Methinks this copy jargon above is a touch dated. Always surprise and delight at every customer touchpoint — OG. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is be a touch off, so long as you resonate with benevolent good will and generosity toward all. People love it when their brand betters are vulnerable and human. It’s ok to be dopy and awkward. They want to hug you and buy things. I tend to focus on tone as an aspect of cadence as you build a campaign (or a funnel) towards culmination and fulfillment. Pretend a little cold indifference at first, then reward with increasingly breathy intimacy, just as you do with humans ideally, when you find them attractive.

Culture is king here. And I think that the moment -- maybe more than platform or audience -- is the major consideration when considering context. Given the explosive array of topics that brands are now expected to speak out on (a topic for another post), voice must flex. Friendly and casual may not work in the face of tragedy in the same way that professional and authoritative probably doesn't work on April Fool's Day. I'd argue that you have to start with the cultural context and flow from there, as it's also going to inform your channel and audience mixes.

I disagree with above. In my experience, a brand or even a political candidate has to persevere in their vision and risk everything. It takes time to teach your customer. Prepare for a journey and a cadence to enlightenment. In the end, you will win them forever. And your competitors who embraced a reactive testing agenda will always be stuck at the wrong party with smug and demanding loyalist customers who are always already five years out of fashion.

A good thing to remember is that "tone of voice" is hard to invent. Brands are real. They came into being at the hands of people. They succeeded for a reason, they grew and expanded because what they did or produced was something people wanted. That purpose, that origin should be considered when developing of the tone. It is genuine and often has interesting storylines and quirks that give the tone of voice an edge, a uniqueness that get authentic attention. And it's a good start for a creative platform.

The best for me is playing tensions btw 2 opposites that are inherent in the brand’s core DNA to play a kind of high-low game. Allows for unexpected maneuvers and wit. Did that at BG. We’re the smartest, most sophisticated, smartest store in the world. We’re also not afraid to be frank + ridiculous in nuanced ways. Not caring is how you come across as young, cool, hip. I also try to do this where I am now, always balancing (with double entendre + slight of hand) speaking to the casually curious newcomers and the intense cognoscenti insiders alike. Wink wink. We all get it. That’s how I want them to feel. Also of utmost imperative that the brand voice marry well to the brand look and feel or will register to all as a major disconnect.

I used to speak to various groups about branding and the model I finally came up with was something like this: Imagine you're at a big party. The first thing you do is look for someone you recognize. Okay, you find them. The next thing is: Do I like this person or not? Do they think the way I do and do we get along? Do we share the same values and aspirations? And finally: Can I trust this person not to change? Can I depend on them not to betray my allegiance? Okay. That's the simplest way I know to describe a brand.

I've come to dislike the word "purpose" when talking about an origin point for brands and companies. "Intention" has proven a bit more serviceable for me, as communicator. No doubt that crystal clarity on a brand's intention is critical. But as people assess brands through new lenses, people are looking at a lot more than copy. They consider actions a brand takes as communicating a lot of things that aren't said. So when building your brand voice, ensure that there's alignment between what is said and what is done. Increasingly, people don't want to see a difference. If you're a friendly and approachable brand, then that has to come through in all you do, not just copy.