Chapter 4: talking WTF, factory sample update, recipe for 'parent & child' rice bowl
(W)ords, (T)one, (F)requency
Be Specific. B-E Specific: copywriting insights from a real, honest-to-goodness writer.
I’ve spent the past few weeks working on my Brand Voice Guidelines (oh and trying to avoid Omicron like the plague that it is.) I started reaching out to writers to work on site copy and blog content and then I was like whoah whoah, I am getting way ahead of myself. And I couldn’t help but wonder…how can anyone create good content when I haven’t even fully crystallized how I want the brand to sound?
If you work in Marketing, run your own business or have done any tangential work with a brand, you have probably seen various brand guidelines document in some shape or form. The document likely has many pages describing the logo lock-up, dos and don’ts of logo usage, color palette guidelines, proportional use of color, typography usage, etc. And then at the end of a 15-20 page document talking about design and colors, there may be one page on brand voice. And the directions are likely pretty generic in terms of the type of tone and words that should be used. Things like use language that is “friendly”, “approachable”, “upbeat”, “inclusive”.
I myself am guilty of doing this - the brand voice notes in Native’s brand guidelines were so short and generic that no one followed them. Even when you know deep down your brand voice guidelines are garbage and needs to be fixed, it somehow always falls to the bottom of your priority list. But, what a brand says and how a brand says those things are as important as the visual aesthetics in building a reputation and increasing recall. In the age of ‘content is king’ and the ever increasing volume of content that is vying for people’s attention across all kinds of mediums, it’s never been more important to have a consistency of voice across channels. I think Liquid Death is a brand that does a great job of creating a unique voice that sounds the same whether you read a product detail page or an Instagram post.
I worked with Justin Blackman on creating a more detailed Brand Voice Guide for Huhu with the goal of creating a comprehensive reference tool that any writer can pick up and use to sound on brand and consistent. We talked through the who, what, whys of the brand and product, the competitive landscape, the brand voice of competitors. We also talked about who I do and do not want the brand to sound like. In my case, Twitter Broetry? No. Ali Wong? Yes, but without the raunchy stuff! The final Voice Guide clocked in at a whopping 47 pages. I asked Justin for his take on what people and brands can do to improve voice guidelines and and why WTF (words, tone, frequency) matters:
Q: What are some common things that you see brands doing wrong when it comes to defining their voice?
A: The biggest problem is that they don’t go deep enough. For a designer, brand guides tell you the exact pantone color to use and how many pixels wide your logo should be. But for writers? They basically tell you whether or not use oxford commas. They use generic lines like, “write friendly” and “be professional-yet-casual.” Those terms mean nothing! And they result in everyone involved having an opinion and everyone being right! So the copy gets pulled in a million directions and results in corporate generic blah.
Q: What is the one thing you would like to see more brands do when it comes to brand voice and copywriting?
A: Define the process. Get granular. When you create measurements that eliminate the loosey-goosey-ness of what voice ACTUALLY is, (Vocabulary, Tone & Cadence) you can verify that the copy is on brand. The thing about creative work is that everyone wants to put their fingerprints on it. They feel it’s subjective. And while that’s mildly true, a strongly defined system will inform all decisions and limit the amount of people who can water it down to generic nothingness influence it. Strong copy comes from tighter rules. Boundaries make voice accurate.
Q: What are some of your go-to sources of inspiration for great copywriting?
A: Once you learn the basics, it’s time to look into the details of everyday life. Listen to great conversations and podcasts about history. Research the origins of things like elevators and suitcases. The more stories you collect, the bigger arsenal of information you’ll have to pull from – and that’s where the big ideas come from.
An Update on the Backpack Factory Sample
The factory sample arrived, hooray! This is the first time I’ve seen in person the quality of construction from the contract manufacturer I’ll be working with. Overall, the backpack feels really well made - it’s very sturdy and feels like it can withstand a lot of wear and tear. After months of looking at graphic renders and pictures of samples, it’s exciting to finally have close-to-final product in hand. I made some minor tweaks to the design and updated the colorways (incorporated more color on the exterior, made the color of the interior lining a light tan color, so that it’s easier to see and find items inside the backpack.) Now I wait for the second factory sample, which will hopefully be done in about 4 weeks.
Another kid-friendly recipe
I heard from a bunch of people after my last post that they experience the same dinnertime battles with their kids. I find some comfort in the fact that I’m not the only one who frequently deals with power struggles during mealtime. I’m sharing this easy and fast meal that recently passed the taste test:
This recipe for Oyakodon, which directly translates to “parent and child rice bowl” in Japanese. This recipe is a slightly modified version from a cookbook that has beautiful pictures and interesting anecdotes on the origins of Japanese homestyle cooking:
Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1.5 pounds of boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sake (any cheap bottle of sake will do)
1.5 teaspoon of dashi stock powder
4 eggs
optional toppings: sliced scallions, furikake seasoning
Cooking instructions:
combine onions, chicken, mirin, soy sauce, sake, dashi powder in a large sauté pan over high heat. Once liquid comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15-20 min (until chicken is cooked through), place lid on pan, stir the ingredients occasionally.
Lightly beat the 4 eggs - the yolk and whites should still be slightly separated
After chicken has been cooking for 15-20 minutes, spread the egg mixture on top of the chicken.
Cook on low heat for another few minutes, until the egg mixture turns solid but is still slightly runny.
serve with rice and optional scallions and furikake seasoning
If you make this dish, I hope your kids eat it. No guarantees.
Misc. Links
I leave you with links to some content I’ve been consuming this week:
If you are watching And Just Like That and simultaneously loving/hating every moment of it like me, check out the Every Outfit Podcast, where the hosts recap and analyze every episode in hilarious detail.
There is some strange discourse happening around #WestElmCaleb on Tik Tok. Taylor Lorenz has some opinions with a capital O. It went from light and funny to angry and mob-ish in the span of 36 hours. If you have more productive things to do with your time than follow useless internet drama, this creator posted a good recap video. Someone already recreated West Elm Caleb’s Spotify playlist that he allegedly sends to all his Hinge dates.
