Take a second to consider how many different brands out there are trying to make their mark on society and gain recognition. Now think of how many continue to fail, despite their advertising efforts or level of product or service. There is an unfathomable amount of logos and copy floating around in the universe, which makes leaving your mark quite a challenge. What helps make a brand memorable and a step up from the competition you ask? Well, it can be as simple as finding your voice!
How are you perceived and are you properly connecting with consumers?
Let’s take a look at Coco-Cola. Of course they have the iconic white lettering against the bright red can that seems impossible to miss, but when you dive further into their branding and understand how the company makes you feel, you can see it goes far beyond appearance. Their most recent line of commercial advertisements are recognizable despite the logo because of a constant focus on togetherness and acceptance amongst diversity. People from around the world are enjoying life with a Coke as “America the Beautiful” plays in multiple languages. This campaign shows consistency with their usual message of sharing and spending time together. You may also remember this from the famous Coca-Cola polar bears or the “Share A Coke” campaign. The voice Coca-Cola presents is one that produces a feeling of kindness and love for those around you with a joyful tone. This consistency helps create a connection from brand to consumers.
The secret to finding the perfect voice for your brand is authenticity. Nobody knows your business better than YOU! Now you just need a way to convey that to the rest of the world (or at least your targeted audience).
Take yourself back to the inception of your business and remember why it was built in the first place. Define your morals, or reason for existing. What do you want your audience to know about you and take away, aside from the physical product or service? Are you family oriented? Innovative? It may help to think of three to five key words or phrases that best define you to keep circulated throughout your branding when possible.
Once you have your core values, decide how you want them perceived. Is humor something that will drive your brand forward? Or maybe a factual delivery will do the trick. Deciding on a tone can seem daunting at first, but if you stick to your true self, it should begin to develop naturally. You can also try playing around with different tones and testing them on focus groups to gauge a reaction. An emotional connection worked for Coca-Cola, but that does not mean it will work for you. This is not one size fits all!
You now have a message and a way of portraying it, so lock it down and develop that content flow! Try not to steer too far from your voice when using different platforms or types of outreach. Everything from a simple social media post to your website content or email blasts should show some sort of connection. Keep your messages fresh, but consistent. When hiring a marketing team to enhance your brand and its awareness, it is important to inform them about your voice if you already have one, to avoid anything getting lost in translation. Keeping a consistency enhances brand recognition.
Novocent helps you connect with customers by creating the building blocks of communication. We work to articulate the intangibles that differentiate your organization and can transform that messaging into actionable projects like:
Are we a ‘good fit’ for your team? Toss us a small project and let’s find out.
