You remember what I was saying about brand stories? Well, here's a great execution of one such yarn for Nike.

If a brand is to achieve real stand out in the marketplace, then everything about it, from its services to how it behaves, must be different — and that includes how it ‘talks’.

How you say something is just as important as what you say. Saying things in the right manner — in a way your customers understand and can relate to — can influence brand trust and loyalty. This is what we call Tone of Voice. 

Every business has a brand; and every brand has a tone of voice. However, if your business is one of the many that does not actively manage its brand, then that tone of voice is likely to belong to whoever happens to be in charge of knocking up that month’s newsletter. You have to ask yourself, is that the voice you want your customers to hear in their heads whenever they think of your business?

Well-managed brands do it differently. Take a couple of giants like Apple and Innocent, the smoothie manufacturer. The way they speak to us is an integral part of everything they do. When they get it right, we warm to them. We become familiar with their voices, and whenever we hear or see their words, a connection is made. It’s emotional. 

It’s not by accident either. These brands have spent time thinking about how they want to be perceived. They understand the importance of getting it right — and they have internal people who police every official piece of brand communication. That’s how much it means to them. 

However, you don’t have to be a giant before you start thinking about your brand’s tone of voice (in fact, I’d argue that unless you do while you're still 'small', then you are unlikely to reach those heady heights). Business of all type and sizes are already doing it. They know that if they talk to their customers in unique and engaging way, the chances of those customers responding positively is dramatically enhanced. 

So, you remember all that time/money you spent thinking about how your brand should look? Now it’s time to do the same on how it sounds.  

A skilled copywriter can help you establish your brand's tone of voice from scratch, based on its values (I’ll talk about these in a later post). He or she will then be able to develop a tone of voice guide, specifically written for your brand, for other writers to follow. Alternatively, you can ask the copywriter to audit the language you already use and determine where improvements can be made.

Every brand has a story. Of course, some are more interesting than others, but yours has one whether you like it or not.

Well-managed brands use their stories well. They use them to articulate and emphasise their values. 

You may have heard about Adolf (Adi) Dassler who started producing his own sports shoes in his mother's wash kitchen when he returned from fighting in WWI. In 1924 his brother, Rudi, joined Adi and they began a very successful business called Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik. However, being brothers, they fought. A lot. And in 1948 their irreconcilable differences drove them apart. That was when Rudi set up Puma and Adi formed Adidas AG.

Is this a true story? I don’t know. What I do know is two very powerful values are expressed through it — heritage and competitiveness. And, as we know that Adidas is the more successful of the two brands, the story works in its favour.

People love stories. 

We use them to make sense of the world — to understand the complexities of human nature. 

They form moving pictures in our minds, which we play with, identify with and share.

That's why a good brand story is so effective — it's your chance engage with people on a meaningful and emotional level — to generate a degree of loyalty that's greater than can be explained by the benefits of your service. 

A strong, engaging and believable story gives people something to believe in beyond the product and logo — and can help them make their minds up when choosing between your services and those of a rival.

What to do with a brand story

• It can drive every inch of your brand, providing its values, and guiding and explaining everything you do.
• It can be a sales tool — your salespeople use to capture people's imaginations. 
• It can fuel your advertising creative.
• It can be used as a highly effective and successful piece of word-of-mouth marketing.
• It can even give your own people something to believe in — something to be proud of.

But really, it should be all of these things.