We’re often asked who needs a brand voice agency. In other words, what kind of clients come to us for help?
Well, every kind actually. But three sorts in particular.
Three types of client who need a brand voice agency
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Startups looking for funding
We say it until we’re blue in the face: “The investor pitch is the customer pitch is the investor pitch”. In other words, the best way to engage investors is to present what your eventual customer will see. Show them the excitement and vision of your brand. Sure, there’s going to be a lot of money talk. But the best way to persuade an investor to part with some is to first get them excited about your brand.
That’s why we work with a lot of startups to help them distill the essence of their offering into something snappy, memorable and motivating. Get the words right, and it gives a designer more of a target to shoot at. Startups who start with brand voice, end up with investor pitch decks that are much more considered, persuasive, and slick. -
Startups with funding, ready to launch
A lot of clients come to us once they’ve raised funds and are ready to launch themselves into the market, usually starting with a website. We help them uncover an organising thought that can either inform design. Or if design already exists, add brand language to it, that makes the design more effective. Once we’ve done the groundwork of creating the brand voice, writing any kind of communication from the website, to social posts, to advertising is much easier.
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Established brands at an inflection point
The clients with the most demanding projects tend to be the most established. Very often they’ve been around for five or 10 years. And usually, the impetus to reconsider their brand (and brand voice) is being driven by a new hiring, for example the arrival of a CMO. Other times, the existing management of an organisation has decided that it may be time to professionalise their public face.
In these cases, we tend to find that the brand has grown like a house without planning permission, with a shed tacked on here, a wonky loft extension there, and an unsightly granny flat added round the back. Our job is then to help the company rationalise where they’ve got to and why, and what elements are worth taking forward. These kinds of clients tend to have a little more time to think about their direction than the other two sorts. And of course, better budgets too. At the same time, it can be challenging to unlearn old habits, and a lot of our effort is focused on stakeholder engagement. Listening to the different views around the organisation to ensure everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
