How manufacturers discovered their voice in the course of the pandemic – and what's subsequent
The coronavirus pandemic has raised awareness that brands need to consider their tone of voice across all customer touchpoints. It's a long overdue development, says Reed Words' Samuel Pollen
Coronavirus has put the tone of voice high on the agenda. And it's changing the way brands approach their communication as a whole. For a long time the tone of voice was like dish soap salt. Everyone knew it was important, but no one really knew why – and there was no way they wanted to spend money on it.
When a brand update was announced, the agencies spoke enthusiastically about the new tone of voice. Too often there was just talk. The "voice" consisted of a few words – "human," "engaging," "down to earth" – buried on page 347 of the trademark book after the article on web-safe fonts. That's it. There was no guidance on what this actually meant outside of a campaign, no deeper plan for how the brand could communicate in a compelling and distinctive way.
Meanwhile, the brands that were "famous" for their tone of voice – like the ubiquitous Innocent – have reiterated the notion that it's a bit silly and only worth it if you want to sound crazy.
However, coronavirus has changed that picture.