A brand voice keeps you relevant in a changing market
A brand voice is essential for both new and established brands. It can make all the difference when attempting to build a strong connection with consumers.
A mature brand that has existed in the market for a long time can be at risk of losing touch with its consumers if its brand voice is no longer making that connection.
For a newly created brand, the voice is the soul that will help form a more immediate connection.
For example, Wealthsimple’s modern and approachable voice has helped it stand out in the financial industry, keeping it relevant and engaging in a changing market. Simply compare it to any legacy bank that has kept its voice unchanged for decades.
Bubly Sparkling Water was another good example of a new voice when it launched in 2018. Its playful and upbeat tone was unusual, and made it stand out in a beverage market that struggled to find new ways to connect with consumers and remain relevant and engaging.
There are three things you need to know in order to start to find your brand voice:
To effectively establish a compelling brand voice, it’s essential to understand the core elements that define it. Here are three things you need help you find and develop your unique brand voice:
1. Start with your brand truth: Identify the core values and mission that drive your brand.
2. Maintain self-awareness: Collect objective and honest information about your brand’s strengths and weaknesses.
3. Understand your uniqueness: Clearly define what sets your brand apart from others.
How do you determine your brand truth?
First, you can try asking yourself these questions:
1. Was there a back story to the origin of your brand?
2. What need did your brand meet when it came into existence?
3. Are there some key features that make your brand different?
Another option to finding your brand truth is to imagine it as a person, and try to describe the brand as though you met it at a party. Was your brand funny, serious, smart, trustworthy, warm, friendly or some other characteristic that you would use to describe a person?
Distilling ideas into a brand truth
After getting these questions answered, you'll want to refine your outputs down to two or three keywords or one concise phrase.
If you think that’s impossible, chances are you’d be able to describe Nike or Apple in just a couple of words.
For example, Apple might be summarized as simplicity. Most would agree that Volvo could be defined as safety, and Disney as is magical. Those words are brand truths. The undeniable universally understood essence of who you are, past, present and future.
At Crew, we do what's called a "Glass Vault" exercise in a two to three-hour workshop to help companies of all shapes and sizes uncover brand truths.
How do you achieve objective self-awareness?
Lots of ways.
You can collect consumer insights about your brand by listening online. This can provide honest feedback; however, it may lack the depth of constructive criticism. Either way, it should be insightful and valuable.
You can gather information from consumer testing, or online panels. There are also relatively affordable online testing platforms, like Zappy, that can give you detailed reports with consumer verbatims.
Think of these approaches as going to an honest friend that you trust and asking them what they think about you. You might not like what they have to say, but in the long run, it’ll make you better.
Insights collected from these approached will help identify blind spots you hadn’t considered or negative associations you want to avoid, as well as new ideas to help shape your voice and image.
Getting a clear understanding of what makes you unique.
This is not a chronologically ordered consideration, but rather something that should inform you throughout your process. As you uncover your history, the reason for being, and define who you’re talking to, ask yourself: does your brand even matter? Will people even care? Most importantly, is there anybody else out there like you?
If you’ve taken the time to (1) carefully and honestly listen to yourself and your intended audience, and (2) apply the craft of visual and verbal storytelling, people will take the time to listen to you, because you’ve found that meaningful and truthful connection.
