Mind your brand language

Strong Language: The Fastest, Smartest, Cheapest Marketing Tool You're Not Using

Author: Christ West

Publisher: Houndstooth Press 

Pages: 280

Price: Rs 777

Do words really matter in a world dominated by visuals? Chris West is one of those staunch votaries of the power of words for the simple reason that, as he argues, we invented language to share ideas and deepen relationships. “We invented brands for the same reasons. An authentic, differentiated brand voice is uniquely suited to building understanding, building relationships, and building your businesses,” he adds. That’s precisely what he has been helping several brands do as Founding Partner of Verbal Identity, a strategy agency that specialises in the power of language.

So what goes into the creation of a distinctive brand voice, one that connects deeply with the audience, creates unflinching loyalty, and keeps itself ahead of competition? Strong Language, punctuated by case studies and practical insights, offers a three-layer framework that can help businesses understand what they are doing, what they are trying to create, and how to go about it.

A brand voice always works on three levels: There is an overarching narrative, a personality or tone of voice, and then the ground-level nuts and bolts. To illustrate this, Mr West offers an interesting analogy. He shows us how the images we capture of downtown Mountain View (California) — from a height of 10,000 feet, 1,000 feet, and at ground level — are consistent. In the same way, all three levels have to reinforce each other in successful brand language too, he says.

To achieve this, step one is to define the narrative of the brand’s voice — what it believes in, what kind of person it is, and what it stands against. That’s the 10,000 foot perspective. Being clear on what a brand stands against — an aspect neglected by most — is the best way to make one’s brand voice really stand out, according to Mr West. He explains why: “It opens a gap between people who are also against what you’re against and the rest of the world. And the more of a gap between them that you create, the more definitely divided they become and the more loyal to your brand.” This depth and pragmatism come from his experience of creating the identities of several global and national brands as well as start-ups.

Step two is to define the tone of voice (the 1,000 foot view) that brings out the brand’s personality in writing so that people can relate to it. This entails using a small set of adjectives and then unpacking each with a short explanation. Three is the magic number, he asserts. “… Adding more adjectives gives your writers too much room to manoeuvre, and the voice evolves into a mishmash”. One should also keep off “Apple Pie and Mom” values — things that are so universally true that they hold no specific value for a brand, like “human”, “friendly”, “warm”, and so on. Mr West has an enviable way with words and he deploys interesting syntax to keep readers interested. What herbs are to a meal — that is how he describes the ground level, the nuts and bolts of the brand voice. This includes the words and phrases that are or are not in character for a brand. He goes into detail such as who should be involved in creating the brand voice, why it has to be flexible, the need for clear verbal identity guidelines, when bringing in external help is a good idea, and so on.

Throughout, Mr West strengthens his observations by referring to diverse sources — from Locke and Hobbes to Aristotle to Orwell. While establishing that “short sentences win,” he refers to a discovery by the American Press Institute when it rewrote a newspaper article by varying the average sentence length. “… When you extend your average sentence length to 21 words, your readers increasingly lose their way in the thickets. At 43 words, the average readers’ comprehension wavers as they have to wade through your extended thought, which probably has lots of sub-clauses and ramblings, leaving them remembering only a little and comprehending less than 10%...”

Besides its unique theme, the most interesting part of Strong Language is the chapter on resources for writers and their managers. The thrust is on clarity and reader-friendliness rather than convention. “Grammar’s rules aren’t ‘rules’, decide what you believe in and move on,” he says. Coming from a multi-award-winning copywriter like Mr West is, that’s surely a boost for those grappling with rigid grammar edicts. He has a reassuring line for those dreading the onslaught of Artificial Intelligence — machines are not quite ready to replace writers until the time they can churn out lines like Groucho Marx’s “Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana”. With such nuances, Strong Language is a treat for anyone with a deep interest in language and its innumerable possibilities. And it’s undoubtedly a must-grab for businesses.