Tuesday 12 August 2014

Going beyond chatty copy

The friendly tone of voice has become the norm. But should brands be working harder to sound more distinctive?
  
Like an off duty barmaid on her fourth glass of white wine, brands are getting friendlier and friendlier. These days, you can’t skim read an ad, eat a packet of crisps or glance up at a billboard without being addressed by some sort of needy chum.

It seems that every brand that’s reviewed its tone of voice in the last five years or so has plumped for dialling up the chattiness, adding a dash of quirk and chucking in the odd colloquialism. ‘Warm and bubbly’ has become the ‘stock shot’ for brands – and the easy option for copywriters.

A stopped clock’s right twice
Of course, for the right brands, in the right sectors, this approach works well. For example, we use a friendly tone of voice when writing for a major high street retailer. It suits their company ethos. They’ve been around long enough to have earned the right to be familiar with their loyal customers. However, even here, their core specialist expertise – fashion – always takes precedent over chattiness. Product copy, in-store graphics and any language that relates to product has to be fashion-led.