Verbal identity and why you probably need it
What is verbal identity?
Sometimes called “verbal brand” or “verbal design,” verbal identity is the foundation for why, what, and how to write (and who you’re writing for) across every marketing and advertising touchpoint. It’s the best parts of research, brand strategy, and storytelling mixed together, and it creates universal tools for a brand that fit hand-in-hand with the visual side of things.
How is it different from copywriting or content writing?
Verbal identity is the step before writing. It gives writers guidance, and gives them answers to important questions.
What am I trying to get people to do?
What angle should I use to approach copy?
What emotional response am I trying to evoke?
What topics or themes might make a customer stop and say, “Where has this been all my life?”
Who is the audience, and what do they really care about?
How should I address that audience?
What kind of personality should I use?
Which key phrases are important and what kind of language should I use?
How can verbal identity guidelines set you up for success?
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When everyone's on the same page about what creative success looks and sounds like, it’s generally easier to write winning copy early on, which can mean fewer rounds of review and less time spent overall.
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Instead of repeat fights about serial comma usage or random comments like “The word tomato makes me feel weird,” verbal identity guidelines establish a framework for decision-makers to clearly evaluate work and steer it in the right direction.
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Clear guidelines mean copywriters and content writers are free to do their best work, and decision-makers can offer better support and more targeted pushes.
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If the entire company knows and gets the verbal identity (including differentiation points like features, benefits, and reasons to believe), then deliverables like sales enablement tools, customer experience scripts, dev notes, microcopy, and recruitment materials may need less oversight. That can lead to an overall smaller lift for Creative, Compliance, and Legal teams.
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Just like a logo or color palette, when your whole company sounds the same across every touchpoint, it’s easier for current and future customers to identify you in the wild. The more consistency you show in why, how, and what you say, the more your audience can learn to trust you and understand why you’re the right choice for them.
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At the end of your verbal identity project, you'll get a set of guidelines (and possibly training modules) you can use to educate team members or external agency partners. These guidelines are a reference point for building brand consistency, and may include deliverables like:
Brand character or archetype
Brand ladder
Brand mission
Brand positioning
Brand promise
Brand purpose
Brand narrative
Brand strategy
Brand values
Brand vision
Brand voice/tone attributes
Content auditing and competitive creative research
Core messages
Copy ideas and examples
Elevator pitches (small/medium/large versions)
Empathy maps
Functional guidelines including do's/don'ts, glossaries as needed, and observed grammar rules
Manifesto
Messaging matrix
Naming including naming architecture, naming ideation, related branded terms, descriptors, and endorsement strategies
Positioning statements (small/medium/large versions)
Tagline
User persona(e)
Value proposition
Writing strategies