BEYOND THE LOGO: FINDING YOUR VOICE, IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY!
YOU'VE FOUND YOUR MESSAGE, NOW IT'S TIME TO FIND YOUR VOICE!
In my last blog, we ascended Mount Brand to explore what truly makes your school unique. Now it’s time for Part 3, to work out the big picture of how you communicate this brand vision before you update your website or create a nifty flier. To do that, we’re leaving behind Mount Brand to instead explore a galaxy far, far away (more on that in a minute).
Developing a brand voice that is clear and easy for all staff members to use is essential for consistent messaging across all your touch-points.
It can be defined into a few key elements…
uniformity in your word selection
the attitude presented through those words
values suggested whilst talking to your parents
In short, it's how you speak to your parents, and how this then, in turn, humanises your brand - building confidence and trust in your school and cementing your individual place in the market.
HOLD THE PHONE, THAT ALL SOUNDED PRETTY SERIOUS!
Sorry, I slipped into information mode! I tell you what - to help make this a little more relatable let's reach out to the wonderful Star Wars universe and look at how you react to certain characters. Take Obi-Wan, for example. He is Luke Skywalker’s wise guide who uses the tone of a trusted advisor to (spoiler alert!) inspire Luke to take up the Jedi mantle and defeat the Dark Side.
If your school was a film character, what would they sound like?
Could your school be described as “The Obi-Wan of schools?” Trusted and wise, guiding students on a path to enlightenment and lightsaber battles (well, maybe not the last bit).
Maybe it's not that easy, so let’s explore this a little more...
First, try to describe your school with just a few select adjectives (aim for somewhere between 3 and 5). For example, if we were to define Obi-Wan we might use:
Empowering
Knowledgeable
Authentic
Now apply that same process to your main competitor schools. Scan their website copy, look at their print items, and jot down how you would best describe their brand voice. Chances are, they might not have done this themselves, but don’t worry, its a huge help to you). Maybe they are…
Han Solo
Rebellious
Innovative
Vibrant
C3PO
Articulate
Intelligent
Elite
Chewbacca
Loyal
Hairy
Incomprehensible
At this point, it's best to make sure that you are not overlapping with your competitor schools to ensure that you stand out with your brand voice.
Once you’re happy with your adjectives, we can have some fun with what I’m going to call a “brand voice playbook.”
STEP ONE: Take your first adjective, which we will call your “voice characteristic.” Obi-Wan’s first one would be “Empowering.”
STEP TWO: Turn this into a description of what your school (or Obi) is going to do, e.g “Give you the knowledge you need to grow, bloom, and succeed.”
STEP THREE: Make a do and don't rule to help keep this characteristic on track:
BRAND VOICE DO: Be supportive and encouraging, give actionable help that Luke can use
BRAND DON’T: Mock, or put down Luke, preventing his growth.
STEP FOUR: Repeat for your other adjectives and you will have a brilliant little cheat sheet that you can share with your school community to keep them speaking the same way that you do (or your school does!).
Feel free to share your own “brand voice playbook” with me on Twitter or Instagram and we can chat about how this should flow through the rest of your brand! Don’t forget to catch up on Part 1 of the series, where I break down the essentials of logo thought construction.
Stay tuned for more exciting episodes of Tim Weaver’s BEYOND THE BRAND!