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Found Your Brand Voice?

January 17, 2022 · John Dodds

Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash

Many of us lost our voices at the weekend. Probably no surprise. There were some big games on television.

The bigger question is whether you have you truly found your voice. And whether your company has found its voice.

The Challenge

This was a challenge that my company at the time Air Products faced over 20 years ago. We were a very successful global Industrial Gases company selling a range of products and services to different markets. But we approached each market with a different voice.

Then along came a chap called John Simmons, who, together with some of our other very smart partners crafted a unique voice to fit our new brand.

Nowadays the concept of “Tone of Voice” is bandied around on Linked In and elsewhere by those who think they have uncovered the Holy Grail.

Actually John crafted that Holy Grail in the form of Verbal Identity and Tone of Voice at the time that the Denver Broncos captured the Super Bowl and Manchester United claimed the FA Cup.

Publish and be damned

The book that John wrote at the time “We, Me Them, and It” is being republished in the Uk this month and in the US in April.

It is an enchanting read. Part history, part biography, a few case studies including the company I worked for, and a bit of poetry thrown in for good measure.

Not your typical “How to discover your Tone of Voice without giving a F%#K “ kind of book at all.

More like a well worn Barbour jacket, it has weathered the storm well and like the Barbour remains a pleasure to hang up on the shelf.

Well worth dipping into the original rather than some of the cover bands knocking around.

You can download the Tone of Voice booklet created at the time, on the Air Products web site.

https://www.airproducts.com/company/brand

May the voice be with you!

 

 

Thoughts?