The way brands talk
September 13th, 2009 | Tags: | 3 CommentsI’m looking for examples of brands that have a really distinctive tone of voice. Good examples are Innocent (which has spawned lots of imitators with its friendly tone) and Marks and Spencer (which has spawned lots of parodies and come to typify the speaking voice of ‘food porn’). Do you know of any brands that sound a bit unusual in their marketing communications?
I’m trying to find examples to do some detailed analysis of the constituents of register (linguist-speak for ‘tone of voice’) in branding. In particular, I’d like to find examples of tone that used to sound distinctive but now don’t, in the hope of modelling the life-cycle of tone a bit more clearly.
Answers by email, in the comments or @alexsteer on Twitter. Thanks!
Alex – it seems you are conflating two issues: one is brands which convey a particular tone eo ipso, as it were, and others which acquire a particular resonance through association or familiarity.
The two examples you provide illustrate the point: I wouldn’t say there’s anything ‘Marks & Spencery’ about ‘Marks & Spencer’: it’s just the name of two guys, which as a brand has acquired certain associations over time.
Dan – thanks for your comments. Both those factors (what you might call acquired vs constructed tone) are relevant, though I disagree I’m confusing them. I’m also not sure they’re entirely distinct, though. Brands acquire a
reputation in part because of their tone and in part due to other factors, and these two often end up reinforcing each other. It’s hard to imagine Rolls Royce using rappers in their marketing, for example, or UniQlo using an endorsement from Margaret Thatcher. However, brand tones do need maintaining. It’s hard to remember now, but M&S’s ‘food porn’ tone was quite a departure. Some brands construct their tone (and whole brand identity) according to their reputation, others consciously try to break from it. It’s possible, though, for brands to change their register without sacrificing their brand image. M&S did this quite well, maintaining a classy tone but losing a certain stuffiness. It’s got a tough job to shift that tone again to stop it sounding too indulgent now that posh food is less in vogue. (The tone of its clothing ads is still flawless, though.)