Tone of Voice London
Discover your brand’s true voice
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Your brand’s tone of voice helps you communicate clearly and consistently at every touchpoint with benefits for your brand, people and business.
Brand – a recognisable brand tone of voice helps create consistency and recognition. Establishing your brand voice in customers minds, creates recognition and memorable communications at every touchpoint.
People – a strong tone of voice helps you and your team express your brand consistently. As brands become increasingly service-led and the digital social world continues to expand, everyone representing your brand needs to be trained and armed to communicate with your customers in the in the right way.
Business – tone of voice helps you address the challenges your business faces in an increasingly transparent world. In good times, it’s relatively simple to communicate clearly but when things go wrong, reputations can be made or wrecked by saying the right things in the wrong way.
What is tone of voice?
It’s the way your brand speaks - it is as simple as that. Like people, brands have a range of moods and things they way to communicate. From making an announcement to handling a complaint or an apology; from delivering good news to dealing with a technical problem or a commercial faux pas. Often addressing a wide range of stakeholders, shareholders, customers, staff and communities.
Brand voice building blocks
When I create a tone of voice for a brand I start with a simple brand equation:
Personality + Attitude + Content = Tone of Voice
Or, to put it another way, who is speaking/writing, what’s their take on the world and what do they talk about? This is a start point that lets you build a brand voice rooted in your brand personality, purpose, mission, vision and values. That way if you’re a serious blue chip company there’s no danger of sounding like a wacky plant milk maker or an anarchic brewer.
One brand, many voices
Once you’ve defined your tone of voice, how do you make sure it is used consistently when there might be thousands of people representing your brand? The answer is found in clear and simple guidelines that are usable and applicable in every channel, from your website to customer services, from a Tweet (an X?) to a conference speech. There should always be space for people to bring something of themselves through the shared values, attitude and personality of your brand. It’s these elements that underpin your tone of voice rather than specific language (although this obviously plays an important part). As the great adman Bill Bernbach put it:
“Most readers come away not with a clear, precise, detailed registration of the contents on their minds, but rather with a vague, misty idea formed as much by the pace, the proportions, the music of the writings as by the literal words themselves.”
If your brand communicates in a tone that draws in the reader and something about your key messages chimes with them, you’re on the right track.
Why work with a tone of voice consultant help build your brand voice?
As a tone of voice consultant in London, I have worked with all kinds of brands in the UK and beyond to help them uncover and express their tone of voice effectively. From luxury automotive brands like Rolls-Royce and Bentley to an anti-money laundering software business and HMRC, from luxury yachts to children’s charities and a national mapmaker. You can see some examples of my work here.
And if you’d like to find out more or have a chat with an experienced tone of voice consultant about how we can work together to bring your brand voice to life, let’s talk.
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Tone of Voice creation and CI guidelines
Created new tone of voice guidelines, expanded guidelines on brand, design, company history, ToV and best practice writing for web and social media.
“Ed has a deep understanding of brands and, crucially, how they are evolving in the increasingly fragmented marketing landscape. His craft skills are a pleasure to peruse and he writes with confidence and credibility across all modern platforms. From a tweet to a tome, Ed is your man. A pleasure to work with and learn from.”
Dave Woods, Head of Copy, Keko London
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Online accounting business – Saas with access to advice from qualified accountants
Refreshed tone of voice as part of brand development project.
“Seriously loved working with Ed. A tune up was required to Crunch’s brand and Ed grasped it perfectly with a process that was effortless. What we have now will take us forward with the clarity and exuberance that our business deserves.”
Darren Fell, CEO & Founder, Crunch
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Tone of voice creation as part of brand development project.
Built a simple, usable guide with before/after examples to bring consistency to the agency’s writing, as well as to telling its own story.
“Ed understood our brief and brand perfectly. We didn’t want to overhaul anything, just refine what we had, which is exactly what Ed did. Throughout the whole process, he clearly explained his work and delivered an output we are extremely proud of. He also went above and beyond the delivery of his work by helping us to educate our team on the importance of the brand.”
Ross Green, Managing Director
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Tone of Voice development
The new brand positioning ‘The Human Face of Tax’ came from the verbal identity/tone of voice I built for HMRC to inform how they address their many audiences. The brand voice is designed to flex across all communications, internal and external, from compliant tax payers to tax evaders, reflecting the positioning and the people who work in the organisation.
Working with Engine Group.
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Tone of Voice development
Building and finessing guidelines, building out a usable guide and applying it to key brand messaging including positioing statements, ‘About’ copy, product and packaging.
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Brand Tone of Voice creation
Built the first comprehensive Tone of Voice guide for the brand, building on the newly created brand positioning.
The ‘Alive’ concept underpinned the brand and this was carried through the guidelines. I then oversaw tone of voice for website, working with a team of four writers, covering every aspect from landing page to detailed product pages.
“Ed writes beautiful endlessly flowing words. If I had to sum up his unique offering, it would be his chameleon-like ability to find the brand voice and write in an absolutely authentic tone. Most importantly, he always writes copy I want to read to the last full stop.”
Piggy Lines, Creative Partner, Spark 44/Jaguar
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Tone of Voice guideline development as part of brand positioning project
“Ed's work on pinning down our brand essence and helping us to develop our brand book has been invaluable. His approach cuts straight to the heart of an issue, through a creative and challenging process. Ed has a wealth of experience, and a network of contacts that together offer a solution to any business problem that you throw at him.”
Georgina Kirby - Marketing Director, Joules Ltd
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Tone of Voice development as part of brand positioning project
Lottie doll is the perfect alternative to the usual glamazon dolls on the market. I built the brand positioning, values and tone of voice based on the thinking behind the doll’s development. I captured the attitude and approach in the strapline: Be bold, be brave, be you.
The tone of voice needed to flex to work for children, giving Lottie a voice, but also allowing us to communicate intelligently with parents.
Since launch in 2012, Lottie has become a best-seller with a worldwide following, winning 35+ awards and even spent 264 days in space on the International Space Station. The brand is deeply involved in promoting diversity and inclusion, positive body image, innocent childhood, sustainability, empowerment and STEM education.
“Thanks Ed, our brand guideline book that we did with you before we started has been the pillar which we built it all on.”
Ian Harkin, CEO ARKLU
(reply my comment congratulating Ian following his TEDX Talk)
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Brand strategy, ToV & Website
Start-up anti-money laundering software developer. I helped them articulate their brand positioning, personality and ToV. The brand strategy guided the visual identity and the tone of voice development – guiding principle: “Speak softly but carry a big stick.” As well as developing guidelines, I also applied the ToV to website copy and video scripts.
“We bought Ed in to help us redefine our brand position and align our messaging with the new brand. He's helped us cut through the noise and really pin down what is important to us.”
Julian Dixon, CEO
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Tone of Voice Development as part of Brand Strategy project
I developed the tone of voice using the new positioning and personality I built for the brand. Comprehensive guidelines featured multiple examples and I later expanded these to create a standalone social media voice.
“WOW!!!!”
Feedback on guidelines from OS content writer.
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Brand tone of voice project
Supporting a brand positioning project for the OS Master Brand, I built on the idea of ‘See a better place’, developing a brand personality that fed into a storytelling approach that reflected the brand attitude and values. It was important that the brand voice could flex to speak to multiple audiences in the UK and around the world.
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Tone of voice as part of ongoing brand positioning and copywriting projects
Working with the marketing director, I’ve spent over five years building the brand positioning and tone of voice for Oyster, delivering it through every channel, from ads, video, website to brochures, magazines and social media.
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Tone of Voice guidelines for global engineering business
Working with Falcon Windsor and the Renishaw team. The challenge was to steer the tone of voice away from PhD–level language to a more human and approachable tone. The year–long project saw in–depth discovery work and I created an in–depth guideline that covered all areas of the business.
“Ed helped us to define and articulate our tone of voice. A challenging task for an organisation which hadn’t formally defined its voice since it was founded over 50 years ago. Our global coverage across multiple markets and distinct business divisions added a potential extra layer of complexity. Ed helped us unravel such challenges through a series of insightful discovery sessions with key stakeholders across the business. These sessions formed the building blocks for a new tone of voice guidance document which is now being used as part of our broader suite of brand style assets across Renishaw. Thanks to Ed and the Falcon Windsor team, we now have the tools in place to communicate with our audiences clearly, effectively and consistently.”
Chris Boey, Content Marketing Manager, Renishaw plc.
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Tone of Voice guidelines
Working on integrated launch campaigns, film, web, eDM and high-end print DM it was clear there was no consistent tone of voice or guidelines. I developed an approach which was applied across the brand, with two entire rewrites of the website setting the tone. As a result, I was invited to work with a strategist from BMW to refresh the brand positioning and expression. My favourite line I wrote for the brand: “When a Rolls-Royce drives down the street, the world stands still.”
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.comDescription text goes here
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Brand tone of voice development and training
Roxhill is a media intelligence software business that connects journalists to relevant people. I developed a tone of voice approach built on a brand personality, purpose and values I created for the brand. This let. me produce a concise, usable guideline, which I introduced to the team in workshops.
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Brand tone of voice and storytelling guidelines & workshops
I was given a very heavy, detailed and theoretical 75-page storytelling guide to translate into a succinct and usable tone of voice/storytelling guide. Relating the voice to the brand positioning led to a much clearer approach, which was introduced to the team in workshops.
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Tone of voice as part of brand positioning project
Personal estate agency based in SE London.
With a sudden growth from a few thousand followers to hundreds of thousands and over 4 million likes on TIkTok, the client was struggling to separate herself from her eponymous agency. Clarifying what underpins the brand then creating a light–touch tone of voice approach, Tanya was able to put some distance between the brand and her personal life, while her team have a simple guideline they can apply to their everyday business.
"Ed has an incredible talent for capturing a brand's voice. He took the time to understand our my personality and translated it perfectly into our website copy for the brand. The content feels authentically 'us' and we've received amazing feedback from clients since launching. I'd highly recommend Ed to anyone looking for copy that genuinely reflects their brand."
Tanya Baker – Founder & Personal Estate Agent
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Brand Tone of Voice development and copywriting
Developed a usable tone of voice guide for the brand, building on existing brand assets. This required a review of the brand elements (purpose positioning, vision, values etc) which I finessed to streamline the approach and make sure it told a consistent story. This was followed with development of new and refreshed copy across elements of the website and marketing campaigns.
“I first came across Ed on LinkedIn while searching for a brand copywriter. From our very first conversation in 2023, it was clear he’d be a great influence on the creative team and the wider business. Since then, we’ve collaborated closely on developing Watchfinder’s new tone of voice, which continues to evolve month by month thanks to Ed’s dedication and insight. He’s an absolute pleasure to work with—super friendly, highly skilled, and deeply knowledgeable in all things copywriting.”
Rachelle Camp – Head of Brand & Design, Watchfinder
If you’d like to learn more about any of these or other projects, or would like to discuss your own tone of voice project, please get in touch.