Having a strong, unique and consistent Brand Voice is key to creating a successful brand across all marketing channels. This Brand Voice Toolkit will help you build a voice for your brand by first introducing the concept of Brand Voice and why it is imperative for a brand to be recognizable, identifiable, and relatable.
Your Brand Voice Toolkit should contain:
1. Brand Character + Personification
2. Brand Personality
3. Defined Vocabulary
4. Words Your Brand Says + Doesn’t Say
5. Writing Samples
Learn what each of these tools are and how they can be used to craft your Brand Voice in this deck and even explore an example toolkit.
If your voice guidelines are just six adjectives in the brand book you're not alone, but you’re missing a big opportunity.
Your voice has a huge role to play in conveying what you stand for and communicating with your audience. It isn’t just about brand, marketing, or the emotional side of things. It’s also about the rational: if you’re trying to create a great product or service, voice has an impact on your user experience too.
It’s time to give your voice more consideration and your writers better guidance. In this webinar you’ll learn about what makes a good voice, and how to create guidelines your colleagues will actually use. You’ll also hear a case study from Samaritans on how they created and rolled out a refreshed brand voice.
Jonathan Lee, Managing Director, Brand Strategy, and Ken Allard, Managing Director, Business Strategy at HUGE, gave this presentation at "Ambidexterity 2," the VCU Brandcenter's Executive Education program for account planning on June 24th at the VCU Brandcenter in Richmond, VA.
Presentation to the Brisbane Content Strategy meetup.
Meetup description: The language that we choose and the style in which we write can shape our customer's perception of our products and services. It can build trust, create rapport, and set us apart from our competitors. But how do you define voice? And, what about tone? In this meetup, I am going to show you a number of ways you can identify and document your brand's voice and tone. I'll explain the difference between voice and tone, take you through some practical workshop exercises you can run with your team or stakeholders, and provide you with examples of tools to communicate it to your content writers.
The key to building a connection with your audience, and subsequently converting them into loyal customers, is to write in a way that resonates with them and allows them to understand your messages. Tone of voice guidelines will help you do this consistently across platforms, even when your content is produced by multiple writers.
These slides form both a guide to and template for creating your own brand tone of voice guide. You can give your completed guide to your in-house writers and any contract or freelance content writers and copywriters that you may hire.
A startup’s guide to brand strategy: 4 steps to bootstrap human-centered desi...Startupbootcamp
This workshop walks through 4 step by step methodologies based on design thinking principles for how to bootstrap customer insights and begin a brand strategy. Each step is illustrated by a concrete example of a brand and UX refresh conducted at Startupbootcamp Istanbul for Benimcep, a secure online-marketplace for people to buy and sell smartphones at a discount and under warranty. Presented in the final month of the accelerator, it serves as a gut-check for entrepreneurs to see how well they understand their target customers and if they built a brand experience based on that understanding.
Presented by: Megan Colgan is co-founder of The GO Project and a mentor and entrepreneur in residence at Startupbootcamp Istanbul 2014 helping with brand development, customer experience design and marketing strategy. (Find her @MegColgan)
Workshop Philosophy:
Empathy is the impetus of great design. Customer empathy—a fundamental understanding of a customer’s values, needs, perceptions and emotions—is at the core of designing a successful product, a successful user experience and it is at the core of designing a successful brand.
Studies like the Stengel 50 and an analysis by co:collective on Storydoing, prove that brands that connect to and deliver human value are more successful in acquiring customers, creating advocates, earning customer loyalty, and performing financially. Such success is rooted in authentic customer connection which requires digging much deeper than aesthetics and tactics. It requires talking to and understanding customers through constant feedback and iterative testing.
How to Develop Your Brand's Social Tone of Voice360i
Via 360i -- A quick guide for how brands should approach their tone of voice across social communities. For more information, visit http://blog.360i.com/.
If your voice guidelines are just six adjectives in the brand book you're not alone, but you’re missing a big opportunity.
Your voice has a huge role to play in conveying what you stand for and communicating with your audience. It isn’t just about brand, marketing, or the emotional side of things. It’s also about the rational: if you’re trying to create a great product or service, voice has an impact on your user experience too.
It’s time to give your voice more consideration and your writers better guidance. In this webinar you’ll learn about what makes a good voice, and how to create guidelines your colleagues will actually use. You’ll also hear a case study from Samaritans on how they created and rolled out a refreshed brand voice.
Jonathan Lee, Managing Director, Brand Strategy, and Ken Allard, Managing Director, Business Strategy at HUGE, gave this presentation at "Ambidexterity 2," the VCU Brandcenter's Executive Education program for account planning on June 24th at the VCU Brandcenter in Richmond, VA.
Presentation to the Brisbane Content Strategy meetup.
Meetup description: The language that we choose and the style in which we write can shape our customer's perception of our products and services. It can build trust, create rapport, and set us apart from our competitors. But how do you define voice? And, what about tone? In this meetup, I am going to show you a number of ways you can identify and document your brand's voice and tone. I'll explain the difference between voice and tone, take you through some practical workshop exercises you can run with your team or stakeholders, and provide you with examples of tools to communicate it to your content writers.
The key to building a connection with your audience, and subsequently converting them into loyal customers, is to write in a way that resonates with them and allows them to understand your messages. Tone of voice guidelines will help you do this consistently across platforms, even when your content is produced by multiple writers.
These slides form both a guide to and template for creating your own brand tone of voice guide. You can give your completed guide to your in-house writers and any contract or freelance content writers and copywriters that you may hire.
A startup’s guide to brand strategy: 4 steps to bootstrap human-centered desi...Startupbootcamp
This workshop walks through 4 step by step methodologies based on design thinking principles for how to bootstrap customer insights and begin a brand strategy. Each step is illustrated by a concrete example of a brand and UX refresh conducted at Startupbootcamp Istanbul for Benimcep, a secure online-marketplace for people to buy and sell smartphones at a discount and under warranty. Presented in the final month of the accelerator, it serves as a gut-check for entrepreneurs to see how well they understand their target customers and if they built a brand experience based on that understanding.
Presented by: Megan Colgan is co-founder of The GO Project and a mentor and entrepreneur in residence at Startupbootcamp Istanbul 2014 helping with brand development, customer experience design and marketing strategy. (Find her @MegColgan)
Workshop Philosophy:
Empathy is the impetus of great design. Customer empathy—a fundamental understanding of a customer’s values, needs, perceptions and emotions—is at the core of designing a successful product, a successful user experience and it is at the core of designing a successful brand.
Studies like the Stengel 50 and an analysis by co:collective on Storydoing, prove that brands that connect to and deliver human value are more successful in acquiring customers, creating advocates, earning customer loyalty, and performing financially. Such success is rooted in authentic customer connection which requires digging much deeper than aesthetics and tactics. It requires talking to and understanding customers through constant feedback and iterative testing.
How to Develop Your Brand's Social Tone of Voice360i
Via 360i -- A quick guide for how brands should approach their tone of voice across social communities. For more information, visit http://blog.360i.com/.
How to Create a Killer Creative Brief with Wild AlchemyUnited Adworkers
United Adworkers had the honor of hosting Lynette Xanders with Wild Alchemy to share her incredible knowledge and insights on "How to Create a Killer Creative Brief". For more information about Wild Alchemy and Lynette Xanders, visit WildAlchemy.com.
In a time when consumers have been confined to their homes and social contact has been limited, influence has been pulling to the forefront of our increasingly virtual reality. But now that we are beginning the slow transition out of lockdown, how should brands be preparing to future-proof their influence for a post-COVID-19 world?
This is the presentation that I gave to the Young Planners at Cannes 2014. The data herein is taken from survey distributed through @cheiluk, @yellif and @cr
60 Minute Brand Strategist: Extended and updated hard cover NOW available.Idris Mootee
This book includes the very latest thinking on branding and brand strategy. It has been published in different many languages and use by top global brands to train their brand managers. New updated hard cover version is not available from Amazon May 2013
Pls view in full screen mode. Published in more than 5 languages.
Brand voice is something any organization doing marketing communications has–but might not actively manage it.
It's a mix of overall brand voice and how tone is nuanced in different situations.
This helpful guide defines what brand voice and tone are, and provides easy-to-do steps to developing the brand voice for your brand.
A Planner's Playbook - Everything I learned about planning at Miami Ad School...Sytse Kooistra
After being in advertising for 4 years, I needed some new guidance and inspiration as a strategist. And that is exactly what I found: I spent the summer of 2013 with 17 other (soon to be) planners from all over the world attending the Account Planning Bootcamp at Miami Ad School New York.
Thanks to the 38 industry heroes and instructors that shared their knowledge and coached us in those 3 months, I learned more than I ever could imagine about planning.
'A Planner's Playbook' is my attempt to summarize all that wisdom in 30 short nuggets (or plays, to stick with the metaphor of a playbook) and share it with you. I left out all the difficult frameworks and models and kept in simple by just stating, in my opinion (and in that of my instructors), what a planner should be and do.
Enjoy reading.
The Dictionary of Brand by Marty NeumeierLiquid Agency
The Dictionary of Brand: Sponsored by Google. Written by Marty Neumeier. Designed by Liquid.
Before Google came on the scene, advertising was little more than one-way communication—companies talking “at” their customers instead of “with” their customers. But thanks to web communications, customers can now “talk back” to companies, turning brand-building into job one for all competitive businesses. Google recently established BrandLab, an innovative workshop-based program and collaborative center dedicated to helping brands get the most out of the web through education, inspiration, and hands-on practice. One of BrandLab’s first acts was to publish The Dictionary of Brand. Google asked Liquid to write and design this groundbreaking book—no easy task in a world where definitions are evolving daily.
Sponsored by Google. Designed in Silicon Valley by Liquid.
Liquid’s Director of Transformation, Marty Neumeier, has written several definitive books on brand strategy, including The Brand Gap, Zag, and The Designful Company. Now he’s written an exciting reference that is destined to join these titles on every brand-builder’s desk: The Dictionary of Brand. The new book—commissioned by Google—is a “relational” glossary containing 500 interconnected terms in brand strategy, advertising, design, innovation, and management. As part of their curriculum to help companies build their brands and connect with global customers, Google BrandLab provides copies of The Dictionary of Brand to every agency and client it collaborates with—a roster that includes companies such as Capital One, Coca-Cola, and Toyota.
Why a dictionary?
Brands are increasingly built by specialists, and specialists can only succeed through collaboration, which depends on a common language. The Dictionary of Brand is the first step in creating a “linguistic foundation”—a set of terms that allow specialists from different disciplines to work together in a larger community of practice. Although many of the terms are widely used by brand specialists, some haven’t yet appeared in other dictionaries. There are no copyright restrictions on republishing any these definitions word for word; all that’s needed is a credit line.
Want a copy, here you go!
As Marty Neumeier says, “Brand is the most powerful business tool since the spreadsheet.” Since we are in the business of helping companies build brand values, we are making The Brand Dictionary—otherwise available only to BrandLab participants—available free online as a SlideShare document. Download your copy of The Brand Dictionary and begin redefining the ways we speak and think about brand experience.
Developing strong brand strategies is hard, almost as hard as leading great workshops. Keeping people engaged and on task can be a challenge so I created this brainstorm worksheet for some of the workshops I've led. I have found it pretty helpful in guiding the conversation and making it more collaborative and interactive.
Thought I would share the love in case it proves useful to anyone else out there :)
Feel free to leave me comments or feedback on how to make it stronger or more effective.
50 planners to watch in 2014 - The Planning SalonJulian Cole
Twitter list of the 50 Planners - https://twitter.com/emma_hines/top-50-planners/members
thanks @emma_hines and @E_for_M
50 planners to watch in 2014 was picked by The Planning Salon.The list is a mix of the top planning talent from across the globe as well as the next generation of planners. The list has diverse mix of planners from big markets like London and New York to emerging markets like Athens and Cape Town.
The Planning Salon is a platform for all planners around the world to meet and learn from our industry's greatest minds. It was started in 2013 to showcase some of the biggest stars of the industry, guests such as Gareth Kay, Rob Campbell and Heather LeFevre. Check out the interviews here; http://theplanningsalon.com/
Learn how to apply the fundamentals of storytelling and their brand counterparts to your business strategy. Telling a story is the only effective way to connect your brand with consumers. Don’t fall into the trap of posting to social media as one-way dialogue or merely broadcasting promotions. Create compelling stories that hook your audience. This presentation goes through the fundamentals of storytelling and identifies brand parallels.
You can also watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSDlAvDG4_0&feature=emb_logo
We look at the role of the Brand Leader, how to develop marketing execution strategy, tools to make marketing decisions and how to give direction to an agency.
The Creative Brief frames the strategy and positioning so your Agency can creatively express the brand promise through communication.
1, Marketing Execution must impact the brand’s consumers in a way that puts your brand in a stronger business position. The Creative Brief is the bridge between the brand strategy and the execution.
2. Through our Brand Positioning workshop, you will have all the homework on the brand needed to set up the transformation into a succinct 1-page Creative Brief that will focus, inspire and challenge a creative team to make great work.
3. The hands-on Creative Brief workshop explores best in class methods for writing the brief’s objective, target market, consumer insights, main message stimulus and the desired consumer response.
4. Brand Leaders walk away from the session with a ready-to-execute Creative Brief.
This is a presentation that I gave to a USF Masters of Business Administration class on Brand Planning for Clients. My hope was to share some thoughts with the future generation of clients on planning, positioning, relevance and new product development.
Voice and Tone: Creating content for humans (Kate Kiefer Lee)Kate Kiefer Lee
A brand’s voice stays the same from day to day, but its tone has to change all the time, depending on both the situation and the reader’s feelings. This talk focuses on articulating your brand’s personality and writing for emotional humans.
I use MailChimp as a case study to explain how we created VoiceandTone.com, an interactive voice and tone guide, and how it improved the company’s content and processes across departments.
I also share a few of my favorite voice and tone guides, as well as some examples of empathetic (and not so empathetic) content in action.
Workshop for Brand Leaders to help define your brand positioning statement, brand concept and organizing big idea.
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/
How to Create a Killer Creative Brief with Wild AlchemyUnited Adworkers
United Adworkers had the honor of hosting Lynette Xanders with Wild Alchemy to share her incredible knowledge and insights on "How to Create a Killer Creative Brief". For more information about Wild Alchemy and Lynette Xanders, visit WildAlchemy.com.
In a time when consumers have been confined to their homes and social contact has been limited, influence has been pulling to the forefront of our increasingly virtual reality. But now that we are beginning the slow transition out of lockdown, how should brands be preparing to future-proof their influence for a post-COVID-19 world?
This is the presentation that I gave to the Young Planners at Cannes 2014. The data herein is taken from survey distributed through @cheiluk, @yellif and @cr
60 Minute Brand Strategist: Extended and updated hard cover NOW available.Idris Mootee
This book includes the very latest thinking on branding and brand strategy. It has been published in different many languages and use by top global brands to train their brand managers. New updated hard cover version is not available from Amazon May 2013
Pls view in full screen mode. Published in more than 5 languages.
Brand voice is something any organization doing marketing communications has–but might not actively manage it.
It's a mix of overall brand voice and how tone is nuanced in different situations.
This helpful guide defines what brand voice and tone are, and provides easy-to-do steps to developing the brand voice for your brand.
A Planner's Playbook - Everything I learned about planning at Miami Ad School...Sytse Kooistra
After being in advertising for 4 years, I needed some new guidance and inspiration as a strategist. And that is exactly what I found: I spent the summer of 2013 with 17 other (soon to be) planners from all over the world attending the Account Planning Bootcamp at Miami Ad School New York.
Thanks to the 38 industry heroes and instructors that shared their knowledge and coached us in those 3 months, I learned more than I ever could imagine about planning.
'A Planner's Playbook' is my attempt to summarize all that wisdom in 30 short nuggets (or plays, to stick with the metaphor of a playbook) and share it with you. I left out all the difficult frameworks and models and kept in simple by just stating, in my opinion (and in that of my instructors), what a planner should be and do.
Enjoy reading.
The Dictionary of Brand by Marty NeumeierLiquid Agency
The Dictionary of Brand: Sponsored by Google. Written by Marty Neumeier. Designed by Liquid.
Before Google came on the scene, advertising was little more than one-way communication—companies talking “at” their customers instead of “with” their customers. But thanks to web communications, customers can now “talk back” to companies, turning brand-building into job one for all competitive businesses. Google recently established BrandLab, an innovative workshop-based program and collaborative center dedicated to helping brands get the most out of the web through education, inspiration, and hands-on practice. One of BrandLab’s first acts was to publish The Dictionary of Brand. Google asked Liquid to write and design this groundbreaking book—no easy task in a world where definitions are evolving daily.
Sponsored by Google. Designed in Silicon Valley by Liquid.
Liquid’s Director of Transformation, Marty Neumeier, has written several definitive books on brand strategy, including The Brand Gap, Zag, and The Designful Company. Now he’s written an exciting reference that is destined to join these titles on every brand-builder’s desk: The Dictionary of Brand. The new book—commissioned by Google—is a “relational” glossary containing 500 interconnected terms in brand strategy, advertising, design, innovation, and management. As part of their curriculum to help companies build their brands and connect with global customers, Google BrandLab provides copies of The Dictionary of Brand to every agency and client it collaborates with—a roster that includes companies such as Capital One, Coca-Cola, and Toyota.
Why a dictionary?
Brands are increasingly built by specialists, and specialists can only succeed through collaboration, which depends on a common language. The Dictionary of Brand is the first step in creating a “linguistic foundation”—a set of terms that allow specialists from different disciplines to work together in a larger community of practice. Although many of the terms are widely used by brand specialists, some haven’t yet appeared in other dictionaries. There are no copyright restrictions on republishing any these definitions word for word; all that’s needed is a credit line.
Want a copy, here you go!
As Marty Neumeier says, “Brand is the most powerful business tool since the spreadsheet.” Since we are in the business of helping companies build brand values, we are making The Brand Dictionary—otherwise available only to BrandLab participants—available free online as a SlideShare document. Download your copy of The Brand Dictionary and begin redefining the ways we speak and think about brand experience.
Developing strong brand strategies is hard, almost as hard as leading great workshops. Keeping people engaged and on task can be a challenge so I created this brainstorm worksheet for some of the workshops I've led. I have found it pretty helpful in guiding the conversation and making it more collaborative and interactive.
Thought I would share the love in case it proves useful to anyone else out there :)
Feel free to leave me comments or feedback on how to make it stronger or more effective.
50 planners to watch in 2014 - The Planning SalonJulian Cole
Twitter list of the 50 Planners - https://twitter.com/emma_hines/top-50-planners/members
thanks @emma_hines and @E_for_M
50 planners to watch in 2014 was picked by The Planning Salon.The list is a mix of the top planning talent from across the globe as well as the next generation of planners. The list has diverse mix of planners from big markets like London and New York to emerging markets like Athens and Cape Town.
The Planning Salon is a platform for all planners around the world to meet and learn from our industry's greatest minds. It was started in 2013 to showcase some of the biggest stars of the industry, guests such as Gareth Kay, Rob Campbell and Heather LeFevre. Check out the interviews here; http://theplanningsalon.com/
Learn how to apply the fundamentals of storytelling and their brand counterparts to your business strategy. Telling a story is the only effective way to connect your brand with consumers. Don’t fall into the trap of posting to social media as one-way dialogue or merely broadcasting promotions. Create compelling stories that hook your audience. This presentation goes through the fundamentals of storytelling and identifies brand parallels.
You can also watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSDlAvDG4_0&feature=emb_logo
We look at the role of the Brand Leader, how to develop marketing execution strategy, tools to make marketing decisions and how to give direction to an agency.
The Creative Brief frames the strategy and positioning so your Agency can creatively express the brand promise through communication.
1, Marketing Execution must impact the brand’s consumers in a way that puts your brand in a stronger business position. The Creative Brief is the bridge between the brand strategy and the execution.
2. Through our Brand Positioning workshop, you will have all the homework on the brand needed to set up the transformation into a succinct 1-page Creative Brief that will focus, inspire and challenge a creative team to make great work.
3. The hands-on Creative Brief workshop explores best in class methods for writing the brief’s objective, target market, consumer insights, main message stimulus and the desired consumer response.
4. Brand Leaders walk away from the session with a ready-to-execute Creative Brief.
This is a presentation that I gave to a USF Masters of Business Administration class on Brand Planning for Clients. My hope was to share some thoughts with the future generation of clients on planning, positioning, relevance and new product development.
Voice and Tone: Creating content for humans (Kate Kiefer Lee)Kate Kiefer Lee
A brand’s voice stays the same from day to day, but its tone has to change all the time, depending on both the situation and the reader’s feelings. This talk focuses on articulating your brand’s personality and writing for emotional humans.
I use MailChimp as a case study to explain how we created VoiceandTone.com, an interactive voice and tone guide, and how it improved the company’s content and processes across departments.
I also share a few of my favorite voice and tone guides, as well as some examples of empathetic (and not so empathetic) content in action.
Workshop for Brand Leaders to help define your brand positioning statement, brand concept and organizing big idea.
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/
Great content is rooted in your audience's natural language, delivering a great content experience, search discoverability, and engaging storytelling. Quality, informative content that educates, persuades, entertains, or converts content consumers is the way forward for content creators hoping to engage with their audience.
L.E.S.S. Stands for:
Language
Experience
Search &
Storytelling
Your brand voice is how you communicate to the world, and what people “hear” when they read and listen to your communications. Are you doing enough to establish a distinctive voice in your market — and how does it affect how people experience and feel affinity for your brand?
These are the slides for my talk at MarketingProfs 2014 B2B Marketing Forum in Boston. It contains some pretty pictures and checklists for creating personas and tone of voice guidelines.
Unlocking Creativity: How to Harness the Powers of Design, Art Direction & Cr...Digital Surgeons
Using gaming's concept of Progression, this presentation takes viewers on a journey that demystifies the roles and disciplines of Design, Art Direction, and Creative Direction – demonstrating how they can be mastered to take your creative work to the next level.
Memorable companies often make language their own. Learn the tactics to create a brand voice your audience will love and remember. Erica McGillivray from Moz will walk you through what creating branded language means, how to do it, how to scale and advocate for it, and how to keep it fresh. We'll explore:
- Creative language team exercises for defining brand lingo and the psychology behind it.
- What it actually looks like to teach and get input on language from your team.
- Crafting a brand voice guide from statements of purpose and addressing different audiences to dictionaries.
- How to humanize your brand through word choices.
- Empowering your staff or clients to be internal and external advocates of a shared language.
- Using your voice to own your audience and culture across your marketing channels.
- Real life examples from brands such as Stitch Fix, Basecamp, SuperHeroStuff, theSkimm, and more that use language to bring their community in for shared dialog.
Presented at Content Marketing Conference, Las Vegas, May 2016
You’re not the expert. Your customers are, and who your customer is, is changing rapidly. Learn more about the digital consumer, how to bring new life to your customer experience, and inspire your team with workshop activities. Take a deeper look into the key drivers of your business, reinvigorate your customer experience, and gain insight from one of the newest inspiring entrepreneurs, who built his business around an out-of-the-ordinary customer experience. Why not create an experience that will leave your customers talking and sharing your brand with everyone? These musings were gathered after attending the Next Generation Customer Experience Conference in San Diego, March 2015.
How can we build experiences for the devices of tomorrow? Explore the techniques for building performant, maintainable and future-proof responsive designs.
Bio: Adam Chambers is a senior developer at Digital Surgeons, a full-service creative agency based in New Haven, Connecticut. Adam is the lead architect on the Gumby Framework project, creator of ResponsiveComments.js and a web standards enthusiast.
Better Twitch Broadcasting through Rapid Prototyping & Human Centered DesignDigital Surgeons
LIVESTREAMING IS BECOMING MAINSTREAM.
Human Centered Design is more than just another buzzword.
Players are now both the producers and the consumers of video content, creating new challenges and opportunities for publishers and brands.
The eSports industry is turning gaming into a lucrative spectator sport; over 200 million viewers in 2014 with over 3.7 billion hours watched.
The rise of Youtube Gaming, Periscope, and the $970m acquisition of Twitch show both the potential and popularity of streaming in the gaming community.
TWITCH HAS CHANGED THE GAME.
Twitch accounts for more than 43% of all live video-streaming traffic by volume.
BRANDS AND PUBLISHERS ARE STARTING TO SEE THE VALUE.
-Red Bull Twitch ’n Ride - the Red bull Twitch channel has 65,000+ followers
-Old Spice Nature Man - this Twitch campaign alone earned Old Spice over 32,000 followers
-Coca-Cola - partnering with League of Legends
Snickers - partnering with Twitch for their “You’re not You” campaign
WE FAIL FAST, EARLY, AND INEXPENSIVELY IN ORDER TO ARRIVE AT HUMAN CENTERED SOLUTIONS.
“GREAT DESIGN ALLOWS PEOPLE TO ACCOMPLISH THE SAME GOALS IN THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MOVES.”
DAN SAFFER
Author of Microinteractions: Designing with Details
eSports is changing the way we compete - http://esports.digitalsurgeons.com/
Design Thinking: The one thing that will transform the way you thinkDigital Surgeons
What's the one thing that will transform the way you think? Design Thinking. The startups, trailblazers, and business mavericks of our world have embraced this process as a means of zeroing in on true human-centered design.
Design Thinking is a methodology for innovators that taps into the two biggest skills needed in today’s modern workplace: critical thinking & problem solving.
Of course, if you ask 100 practitioners to define it, you’ll wind up with 101 definitions.
Pete Sena of Digital Surgeons believes that Design Thinking is a process for solving complex problems through observation and iteration. At its core, he describes it as a vehicle for solving human wants and needs.
Minds are like parachutes; they only function when open. Thomas Dewar was a Scottish whiskey distiller.
Communicating ideas or insights is often the hardest part of the design process. And PowerPoint and Excel spreadsheets are limited in their ability to do this. But the communication tools used in Design Thinking—maps, models, sketches, and stories—help to capture and express the information required to form and socialize meaning in a very straightforward, human way.
The Five things that all definitions of Design Thinking have in common:
1. Isolating and reframing the problem focused on the user.
2. Empathy. A design practitioner from IDEO, the popular design and innovation firm strapped a video camera to his head and it was only then that he recognized why the ceiling is such an important factor when working with hospital patients. As a patient you lay in bed and stare at it all day. It’s these little details and true empathy that can only be realized by putting oneself in the user’s shoes.
3. Approach things with an open mind and be willing to collaborate. Creativity with purpose is a team sport.
4. Curiosity. We have to harness our inner 5-year-old here and really be inquisitive explorers. Instead of seeing what would be or what should be, consider what COULD be.
5 - Commitment. Brainstorming is easy. It’s easy to want to start a business or solve a problem. Seeing it into market and making it successful is not for the faint of heart. We’ve all read about big “wins” (multi-billion dollar acquisitions like Instagram and WhatsApp). What we don’t read about are people like Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, who work for years before becoming industry sensations.
Pete describes what he refers to as the “Wheel of Innovation” as a process that continuously focuses on framing, making, validating, and improving on your concept. Be it as small as a core feature in your product down to the business model and business idea itself.
Design is about form and function, not art.
What are the business benefits for Design Innovation?
IDEO started an idea revolution when they coined this phrase DESIGN THINKING. Organizations ranging from early-stage startups up to Fortune 50 organizations have capitalized on this iterative appr
A brief primer for designers looking to improve their writing, learn about the historic intertwining of art directors and copywriters, and gain some tips on how to work collaboratively when marrying art and copy to create great work.
Learn how to raise the level of design conversation with clients from tactical design execution, to a strategic framework for expressing organizational goals. Participants will learn the fundamentals of brand planning, research, implementation and measurement. In the end you will have a series of powerful tools and activities you can use to guide clients through the brand process.
An example voice and tone scale -- potentially useful for online writers and content strategists struggling to translate brand promise into web content.
Does all of the content you publish, from online informational articles to print promotional materials, speak to your audience with the same voice?
If you fail to define and manage your brand voice, there won't be any consistency in your content. This means that you won't present a distinct voice to your audience and there's a good chance your branding efforts will fail completely.
"Brand Voice" means the tone and language you use to communicate with your audience. When brand voice is consistent across all communications, it creates a kind of personality for your organization. As a result, your audience knows what to expect and learns to trust you. It is an essential feature of branding which allows you to successfully position yourself in the market.
We’ve all heard those words before, likely from the mouths of teachers or parents. Companies have heard it too, except the language isn’t usually as clear. It comes in the form of a bad review, an irate customer, or worse — total and complete silence. When your brand doesn’t resonate, it dies. There are lots of reasons brands fail to resonate with potential customers, and one of the big ones, though rarely identified, is not having a strong, authentic brand voice.
You know all about your business, but who is it? Determine your brand voice and tone, and how to best communicate with your audience. Leave this workshop with attributes to put toward your company and how best to influence your target demographic.
See webinar recording here: https://wesk.ca/e/webinar-dont-use-that-tone-of-voice-with-me/
As the social and digital media landscape gets increasingly competitive, it’s important to brand yourself by clearly conveying your businesses focus, credibility and unique contributions. You must constantly be creative with how are you going to set your self a part from the rest. This topic will identify ways to identify your brand personality as well as develop a plan of action to build and master your brand.
Tanvi Bhatt at the Social Media Week InfosysTanvi Bhatt
Tanvi Bhatt presented this session at the Social Media Week Infosys, where she spoke on the power of Personal Branding in the Social B2B Eco-system. In this 2 hour intensive workshop, she empowered the audience to celebrate their thought leadership on social media by discovering, designing and delivering a powerful personal brand experience to their communities.
Personal Branding Live Implementation WorkshopShadeed Eleazer
Personal Branding Live Implementation Workshop is a step-by-step walkthrough of how to package your knowledge, skills, and abilities into a clear message that enables each attendee to harness and leverage their influence to support and champion causes that matter to each attendee.
Text PERSONALBRAND to 44222 to receive the free audio download: 3 Personal Branding Tips to Supercharge Your Career in 2016.
How to Interact With the Right CustomersNate Smith
Your brand has a specific archetype that influences your message both internally and externally. It also influences how your brand gains and interacts with customers. In the webinar, we focus on the following:
What is a brand voice?
What are you saying and how are you saying it?
How your brand archetype can grow your business
Is it interacting with the right customers?
DEVELOPING A BRAND ESSENCE TO CAPTURE AND KEEP YOUR CLIENTS 4/8/10
It’s not enough these days if they just remember your name—it’s how they feel about you. A brand essence captures the heart and intrinsic nature of your company. When your brand is strong, you develop lasting emotional ties to and the loyalty of your costumers. In this economic climate, strong brands with strong personal connections will be the ones that persevere. Richard Earl who has over 30 years of experience with notable advertising campaigns for P&G, Johnson & Johnson and more, will discuss how you can create a Brand Essence for your company.
Speaker: Richard Earl, The Regis Group
Co-sponsored by the Small Business Development Center
It’s not enough these days if they just remember your name—it’s how they feel about you. A brand essence captures the heart and intrinsic nature of your company. When your brand is strong, you develop lasting emotional ties to and the loyalty of your costumers. In this economic climate, strong brands with strong personal connections will be the ones that persevere. Richard Earl who has over 30 years of experience with notable advertising campaigns for P&G, Johnson & Johnson and more, will discuss how you can create a Brand Essence for your company.
Speaker: Richard Earl, The Regis Group
Co-sponsored by the Small Business Development Center
What companies deliver exceptional, off the charts, "Better than Best Service?" How do they do it? What are the Success Secrets? A Key Ingredient or Secret Sauce is Engaged Employees.
Discover 6 Keys to Unlock a Culture of Better than Best:
1. Know and Love Your Customers
2. Build Customer Loyalty and Advocacy
3. Engage Employees through Training and Empowerment
4. Communicate Effectively
5. Celebrate, Reward and Recognize Wins
6. Ensure Top Management Drinks the "Culture Koolaid."
red’s complimentary ‘Branding Best Practices’ Conference presentations now av...Aleph Vietnam
Last week the red team had the honour and pleasure of Chairing a Pacific Conference to share ‘Branding Best Practices’. Our presentations highlighted that central to successful brands is the emotional connection or ‘love’ people have with the brand.
Brands don’t just have stories. Brands are stories. The strongest brands know their villain and what it means to be a hero. Like all good stories, they have struggles and conflicts along the way.
Storytelling. It tops the list of business buzzwords—and for good reason. There’s not a more powerful way for a brand to communicate its value.
But how can leaders apply storytelling in their daily lives? And how can storytelling shape their longterm strategy and preserve the integrity of their brand story.
This workshop enables leaders to view their company as a story. They’ll identify their true villain and struggles, and they’ll develop a clear portrait of what it looks like to be a Brand Hero. We’ll clarify these and other narrative elements that differentiate their brand from their competition.
Leaders fully engage in learning skills and tools that help them:
> Clarify their brand story
> Communicate their brand story
> Connect others with their brand story
Brand Harmony is the ultimate goal businesses strive for – to have your brand, product, packaging, and messaging in alignment with each other.
It's about making sure that the product placed in the hands of consumers meets the expectations set by your marketing.
To demonstrate brand harmony's influence on consumer perception and purchase behavior, we conducted an emotional profiling survey on targeted members of our own Smiley360 Community.
Through this survey, we were able to gain significant knowledge on brand resonance and actionable insights for top ice cream brands including Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Halo Top, and talenti.
Similar to How to Build a Brand Voice Toolkit (20)
Our guide will provide you with a roadmap of the current situation, what this means for brands, and what you can do in the coming months to protect your brand’s vitality.
Our Technology Lead Cory Zibell gave a presentation about Machine Learning. The algorithms, processes, techniques, and modules that it entails. It's meant for anyone to grasp, check it out!
Creating great decks: The Origins, the "Why", and 12 Tips to Make Yours Better.Digital Surgeons
A big part of what we do is in the story we tell and how it’s presented. You’re probably thinking… decks, decks, and more decks. We hate em’, yet we love the good ones. There’s a certain formula that is used for every impactful story, speech, slide, and keynote. In this presentation we take a step back and really try to look at the elements of an impactful presentation. We've codified all of what goes into making a great deck, starting with the origins, the why, and ending with few tips to help elevate yours for whatever purposes they serve.
The Science of Story: How Brands Can Use Storytelling To Get More CustomersDigital Surgeons
Storytelling is not only an entertaining source for information, but a way to engage and humanize our messages that helps them stick. Our brains are wired for stories. Like a drug, we seek them out. Good stories create lasting emotional connections that persuade, educate, entertain, and convert consumers into brand loyalists.
Here’s another good reason to believe in the power of stories: You don't have a goddamn choice. We spend a third of our waking hours crafting stories, and the rest of the time consuming them. Our brains are always searching for stories. You need stories. You live your life around stories. Your life itself is a story. So, now find out how you can use them to better understand how brands and businesses can use storytelling to increase engagement and sales.
Unlock Your Organization Through Digital TransformationDigital Surgeons
Digital Transformation allows you to be disruptor, not the disrupted. See what you missed from our workshop at the Carnegie Mellon Engineering and Technology Innovation Management (ETIM) program’s 10th Anniversary Summit with senior leaders from academia and industry. Learn how to digitally optimize your business with principles of human-centered design that put the heart of the consumer at the center of business model innovation.
Digital Transformation
Design Thinking
Radical Candor: No BS, helping your team create better work.Digital Surgeons
Inspired by Google's Kim Scott, the Digital Surgeons team adapts Radical Candor to fit with their agile & innovative approach to designing the future of experiences.
Source: Candor, Inc.
http://www.radicalcandor.com/
Fight for Yourself: How to Sell Your Ideas and Crush PresentationsDigital Surgeons
Don't let your blood, sweat, and pixels be overlooked, great creative doesn't sell itself.
Every presentation is a story, an opportunity to sell not just your work, but what people actually buy — YOU.
This presentation will walk viewers through three core aspects of winning at any presentation, Confidence, Comprehension, and Conviction.
These concepts, central to your work as a creative professional, are backed by science and bolstered by thoughts from some of the world’s leading creative professionals.
How YouTube is Drastically Changing the Beauty IndustryDigital Surgeons
Marketers of cosmetics can no longer simply rely on the photoshopped models of billboards, lifestyle magazines, and urban murals to secure market share.
32% of social gamers say shopping made them happy. There is a large opportunity to engage with these gaming enthusiasts. Here are 3 ways to connect with them.
Top 6 Trends in Packaging. Contract Packaging Association 2014 ConferenceDigital Surgeons
Trends in Packaging 2014 - Contract Packaging Association
CPA 2014 Annual Meeting
Today consumers control brands. The internet and social media have given consumers more of a voice than they have ever had. This rise of the “Experience Economy” and “The internet of things” has changed the retail shopping experience. This always-on digital savvy consumer creates massive challenges for brands on how they have to mobilize their product development and supply chain management to deliver on the ever-shifting landscape of consumer demands. The good news is these changes are causing explosive growth in the contract packaging industry. In his presentation, Pete Sena takes us you through some emerging consumer trends and behaviors to inspire you on some ways you can better service consumer packaged goods organizations who are consistently shifting and evolving to meet the needs and demands of consumers globally.
A framework for top 6 trends and consumer wants in Package Design and consumer packaged goods.
1 - Sustainability
2 - Transparency
3 - Social Media & Connected Technology
4 - Functionality
5 - Entertainment
6 - Convenience
Brands are looking for innovative thinking to transform their business
If we know that 68% of purchase decisions can be driven by packaging an unsatisfied consumer means opportunity for packagers.
Created a Framework of 6 Key Pillars of for the intersection of consumers and packaging worldwide to inspire disruptive innovation.
-when people feel like the brand stands for the values they do, they have a higher affinity towards brands.
sustainability is paramount.
-better environment, better world.
The LOHAS consumer (life of health and sustainability) segment is a 290 billion dollar market in the US alone.
this estimated 13 to 19 percent of the population cannot be avoided.
sustainability matters more than because our customers want it
The choices we make will affect our children's future on this earth.
The land grab for the higher income consume is among us.
environmentally friendly packaging is important to consumers.
Reusable packaging offers people something extra for their money, allows consumers to feel environmentally responsible in their purchase decisions
people care how a product was made.
where possible we must lift the curtain
Focus groups are too slow and don’t offer the power and reach that social media does.
As a society we suffer from Cell Phone Addiction and FOMO (fear of missing out)
Social media paired with ethnographic research can unlock and validate key decisions in the supply chain and brand vision
News media and PR drives consumer interest.
Unilever, L'Oreal, Johnson & Johnson, Avon Products, Henkel, Estee Lauder, Coty, Clorox, LG, Procter & Gamble (P&G), MSW Packaging, Heartside Food Solutions, The Visual Pak Companies, ADCO Manufacturing, Church & Dwight, Revlon, Chanel, Energizer Holdings Inc, Prestige Brands,
Social media is all the rage but what about when things go wrong? A triggering event that creates a significant disruption to an organization, puts its reputation at risk. In this presentation we'll walk you through some tried and true methodologies on how to approach crisis in your social media.
Back in 2010 we created this infographic which showcased the social demographics of Facebook and Twitter. We captured some unique data points as well as explored new ways to visualize data with charts that at that time weren't being used in mainstream infographics
Learn more about Innovation and Creative problem-solving at https://www.digitalsurgeons.com/thoughts/
Creativity isn't a discipline for just designers. Ideas and creativity should come from everyone regardless of their role. Creativity can be taught and I've been heavily inspired by Tina Seelig and Tony Schwartz's presentations at the 2013 Behance ideas conference. They both provided jaw-dropping looks into how they see the creative process, which I will never look at the same way again.
That journey inspired me to prepare this presentation which is my attempt at teaching and spreading this infectious process to others who might not understand how creativity works or can find use from such information.
Unique solutions come from innovative problem solving. Having a framework is critical.
Insight. First find and define the problem.
Saturation. This is the information gathering phase chock full of research. Most designers hate this phase because it isn’t “creative” in their mind. From my perspective, the designers I respect most are all about saturating themselves in data and inspiration.
Incubation. This is where you walk away from ideas and thinking altogether, which Schwartz refers to as “thinking aside.” He explains that when you shut your mind off, your brain is able to spark the best creativity, which is why ideas pop in your head during a shower, while walking in nature or when you are dreaming. This is often an area I totally ignored since I’ve never really had the luxury of time, but one I’ll be looking to learn and apply in my ever-changing creative process.
Illumination. This is one step we are likely all familiar with. The infamous a-ha moment that stops you in your tracks.
Verification. This is the point where things start coming together; the part where you make it real. This part reminds me of the great scientists of history having an idea, testing it and learning from it.
Learn, modify and repeat. That being said, creativity isn’t supposed to be easy, as Cal Newport points out, it takes a level of deep work and focused intent to develop skills and solve problems. Malcolm Gladwell talked about 10,000 hours being the time it takes to master a task. Nonetheless, we have scientific data to back how the brain learns things.
Ideas are nothing without execution.
Tips to Enhance Your Business Through Social Media - Overview: The Basics of Social Media, Communities vs Audiences, The L.E.A.R.N method, Leveraging Social Media for growth and cost reduction, and helpful tools
The session includes a brief history of the evolution of search before diving into the roles technology, content, and links play in developing a powerful SEO strategy in a world of Generative AI and social search. Discover how to optimize for TikTok searches, Google's Gemini, and Search Generative Experience while developing a powerful arsenal of tools and templates to help maximize the effectiveness of your SEO initiatives.
Key Takeaways:
Understand how search engines work
Be able to find out where your users search
Know what is required for each discipline of SEO
Feel confident creating an SEO Plan
Confidently measure SEO performance
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
For too many years marketing and sales have operated in silos...while in some forward thinking companies, the two organizations work together to drive new opportunity development and revenue. This session will explore the lessons learned in that beautiful dance that can occur when marketing and sales work together...to drive new opportunity development, account expansion and customer satisfaction.
No, this is not a conversation about MQLs and SQLs. Instead we will focus on a framework that allows the two organizations to drive company success together.
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
A.I. (artificial intelligence) platforms are popping up all the time, and many of them can and should be used to help grow your brand, increase your sales and decrease your marketing costs.In this presentation:We will review some of the best AI platforms that are available for you to use.We will interact with some of the platforms in real-time, so attendees can see how they work.We will also look at some current brands that are using AI to help them create marketing messages, saving them time and money in the process. Lastly, we will discuss the pros and cons of using AI in marketing & branding and have a lively conversation that includes comments from the audience.
Key Takeaways:
Attendees will learn about LLM platforms, like ChatGPT, and how they work, with preset examples and real time interactions with the platform. Attendees will learn about other AI platforms that are creating graphic design elements at the push of a button...pre-set examples and real-time interactions.Attendees will discuss the pros & cons of AI in marketing + branding and share their perspectives with one another. Attendees will learn about the cost savings and the time savings associated with using AI, should they choose to.
Come learn how YOU can Animate and Illuminate the World with Generative AI's Explosive Power. Come sit in the driver's seat and learn to harness this great technology.
Videos are more engaging, more memorable, and more popular than any other type of content out there. That’s why it’s estimated that 82% of consumer traffic will come from videos by 2025.
And with videos evolving from landscape to portrait and experts promoting shorter clips, one thing remains constant – our brains LOVE videos.
So is there science behind what makes people absolutely irresistible on camera?
The answer: definitely yes.
In this jam-packed session with Stephanie Garcia, you’ll get your hands on a steal-worthy guide that uncovers the art and science to being irresistible on camera. From body language to words that convert, she’ll show you how to captivate on command so that viewers are excited and ready to take action.
Short video marketing has sweeped the nation and is the fastest way to build an online brand on social media in 2024. In this session you will learn:- What is short video marketing- Which platforms work best for your business- Content strategies that are on brand for your business- How to sell organically without paying for ads.
Digital marketing is the art and science of promoting products or services using digital channels to reach and engage with potential customers. It encompasses a wide range of online tactics and strategies aimed at increasing brand visibility, driving website traffic, generating leads, and ultimately, converting those leads into customers.
https://nidmindia.com/
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
AI-Powered Personalization: Principles, Use Cases, and Its Impact on CROVWO
In today’s era of AI, personalization is more than just a trend—it’s a fundamental strategy that unlocks numerous opportunities.
When done effectively, personalization builds trust, loyalty, and satisfaction among your users—key factors for business success. However, relying solely on AI capabilities isn’t enough. You need to anchor your approach in solid principles, understand your users’ context, and master the art of persuasion.
Join us as Sarjak Patel and Naitry Saggu from 3rd Eye Consulting unveil a transformative framework. This approach seamlessly integrates your unique context, consumer insights, and conversion goals, paving the way for unparalleled success in personalization.
4. WHAT BRAND WOULD CHOOSE
YOUR GEEKY LITTLE BROTHER
AS ITS SPOKESPERSON?
5. BRAND VOICE IS HOW A BRAND
SPEAKS TO ITS AUDIENCES.
It’s the overarching standard for tone, vocabulary, and
personality tied to a brand’s messaging and attitude.
6. THE BRAND PLATFORM
Before you start building, make sure you have a solid foundation.
MISSION PERSONALITY VISION VALUE VOICE
A strong brand is created by having firm alignment on all five components of the
brand platform and implementing them across all communications. Brand Voice
is best created when a mission, personality, vision, and values are preexisting.
8. WHOSE VIDEO GAME REVIEW
WOULD YOU TRUST, YOUR GEEKY
LITTLE BROTHER'S OR YOUR
GRANDMOTHER'S?
9. IT’S ALL ABOUT BEING RELATABLE
AND BUILDING TRUST.
Of course you trust your grandmother, but not necessarily
her opinion on first person shooter games.
10. YOUR AUDIENCE WANTS TO
KNOW THAT YOU CARE.
Along with identifying with your audience, your brand
should make people feel like they belong and are
understood. Your brand voice will help build the belief that
your audience truly does belong with your brand.
11. THINK ABOUT THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL BRANDS.
How do they generate brand loyalty in
such extreme degrees?
12. THE APPLE PHENOMENA
Apple customers have long been referred to as “cult followers.”
From wearing Steve Jobs costumes to camping out at the local
Apple store, few consumers are as brand loyal as Apple
consumers. Over the years, Apple has done an excellent job of
attaching incredible emotional appeal to quality products. There is
a feeling surrounding their brand.
Part of this comes out of excellent customer service, while the rest
stems from truly listening to their consumers and their desires.
Apple knows what their consumers want, and gives it to them.
13. TO PUT IT SIMPLY:
Consumers want to feel important, listened to,
informed, and respected.
14. CAUTION:
Your brand shouldn’t talk to a TV audience
the same way it talks to its social audience.
15. YOU WOULDN’T TALK TO
YOUR GRANDMOTHER THE
SAME WAY YOU TALK TO
YOUR FRIENDS, RIGHT?
16. BE THE BRAND YOUR CONSUMERS
WANT YOU TO BE.
Know what they want. Use their language and
vocabulary. Speak the way they speak. Listen.
18. IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PEOPLE
WANT, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE
PEOPLE THEMSELVES.
19. THESE BRANDS DON’T TALK TO
THEIR CONSUMERS THE SAME WAY.
Their consumers have different needs, wants, and concerns, even
though they are both owned by the same parent company.
20. WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?
Ask the right questions.
AGE? GENDER? MARITAL STATUS?
LIVING SITUATION? INTERESTS?
NEEDS? WANTS? CONCERNS?
21. IF YOU WANT TO CONNECT
WITH ROBOTS, BE A ROBOT.
Otherwise, you’ll want to appear human. Stick to
words that will give your brand voice personality,
making it easier for your audience to relate.
23. SO YOU CAN WALK THE WALK,
BUT CAN YOU TALK THE TALK?
Using the proper vocabulary is pivotal to a successful
brand voice. Identify the vocabulary used by your
audience and use that language to your advantage.
24. HOW DOES YOUR BRAND SAY “GREAT?”
As a test, take the time to explore how your brand would
express colloquial terms like “great.”
Peachy Super Stupendous
Brilliant Cat’s Pajamas Sweet
Wonderful Fabulous
Awesome
Superb
Excellent
25. YOUR GEEKY LITTLE BROTHER WOULD SAY
“SWEET,” WHILE YOUR GRANDMOTHER
MIGHT SAY “CAT'S PAJAMAS”
DOVE MAY SAY “WONDERFUL” WHILE AXE
MIGHT SAY “AWESOME.”
26. BE UNIQUE AND DEFINED.
We each have a vocabulary and there are words that we
would and wouldn’t say. Defining these words is imperative
to having a clear and easily transferrable brand voice. You
can tell when you are receiving text messages from a
friend’s phone that has been taken captive, right?
28. IN YOUR TOOLKIT, YOU SHOULD HAVE:
1. Brand Character + Personification
2. Brand Personality
3. Defined Vocabulary
4. Words Your Brand Says + Doesn’t Say
5. Writing Samples
30. PRETEND YOUR BRAND IS…
A gluten-free snack for families with a target audience
of women aged 30-45, who have children, and have a
household income of $65K.
31. YOUR BRAND CHARACTER MIGHT BE:
“Busy Betty is a 36 year old mother of 3. She’s married and college
educated. Her HHI is $65K+. She works from home as a blogger and
most enjoys spending time playing with her kids, photography and
scrapbooking, home decorating, and skiing. Her main priority is being a
good mother and her biggest obstacle is lack of time. She has gluten
sensitivities and is always looking for healthy, gluten-free meals and
snacks the whole family can enjoy – that don’t cost a fortune.”
Checklist:
✓ Well-defined
✓ Unique
✓ Demographics
✓ Interests
✓ Needs
32. SOMETIMES A CHARACTER
ISN’T ENOUGH.
A brand character may not be enough for everyone on
your team to grasp how the voice will actually sound.
Help your team or client by identifying your brand with
a personality they are already familiar with.
33. USE A CELEBRITY PERSONIFICATION
Reese Witherspoon epitomizes our brand voice because she…
✓ Is an all-American woman and mother of 3.
✓ Is busy and on-the-go, but wants to eat
healthy and stay fit.
✓ Is fun and peppy, but a career woman with
serious goals.
✓ Is seeking balance in her busy life.
34. EXPANDING YOUR PERSONALITY
Our gluten-free snack brand has the following traits
that will inform her personality:
Fearless
Honest
Credible
Classic
Charismatic
Practical
Confident
Loyal
Knowledgeable Self-Assured
Energetic
Comforting
Upbeat
Approachable
Sociable
Compassionate
35. DEFINING A VOCABULARY
For a gluten-free snack, it is imperative to
know and understand the following terms:
Barley Gluten-Free Wheat
Oats Celiac Disease
Rye
Gluten Sensitivity
Natural
36. WHAT YOU DO SAY IS AS IMPORTANT
AS WHAT YOU DON’T SAY.
Busy Betty Says:
• Wonderful
• Decadent
• Simple
• Guilt-free or Satisfying
• Amazing
Busy Betty Doesn’t Say:
• Awesome
• Delish
• Easy
• Pleasurable
• Cool
37. WRITING SAMPLE
Use an example of how your brand speaks and what
your brand character believes:
“I know my snack will be healthy, delicious, and satisfying. I trust
the brand to use superior, natural ingredients and accommodate
the gluten-free preferences of my whole family. The snack appeals
to my busy and active lifestyle, as I can simply take it anywhere.
Paired with great taste, guilt-free, it’s irresistible.”
38. FINISHING TOUCHES
Share your complete toolkit with
teammates and clients, and don’t
forget it’s always a work in progress.
39. Sources
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
GO SCULPT YOUR BRAND VOICE TOOLKIT
http://www.brandchannel.com/education_glossary.asp#BrandPlatform
http://www.amazon.com/Primalbranding-Create-Zealots-Company-Future/dp/1451655312
http://voiceandtone.com/
by @JackiSchroder