What is verbal branding?
From blah to bold: how to build a compelling brand story
Verbal branding is the process of using words and language to create a unique brand identity and personality. It encompasses everything from a company’s brand name and tagline to the tone of voice and messaging used in marketing communications. Verbal branding is an important aspect of brand strategy as it helps businesses differentiate themselves from their competitors and connect with their target audience in a meaningful way.
As a branding agency, TMC understands the value of verbal branding and how it can benefit our clients. Some ways your company can benefit from investing in verbal branding include the following:
- Establish brand identity. Verbal branding helps to establish a unique brand identity and personality that sets a company apart from its competitors. By carefully crafting a brand name, tagline, and messaging that aligns with your company’s values and audience, a business can create a strong brand identity that resonates with its customers.
- Build brand recognition. Consistent use of language and messaging across all marketing channels helps to build brand recognition and awareness. This can lead to increased brand loyalty and advocacy among customers.
- Enhance customer experience. Verbal branding can enhance the customer experience by creating a consistent tone of voice and messaging that aligns with the company’s values and mission. This can help to build trust and credibility with customers and create a positive brand perception.
- Increase brand equity. Strong verbal branding can increase a company’s brand equity by creating a valuable brand identity and personality that customers identify with and trust.
- Support marketing efforts. Verbal branding can support a company’s marketing efforts by providing a clear and consistent message that resonates with its audience. This can help to attract new customers and keep existing ones.
- Provide a foundation for brand evolution. As a company evolves and expands, its verbal branding can provide a foundation for continued growth and success. By maintaining a consistent tone of voice and messaging, a business can adapt to changing market conditions while still maintaining its brand identity and personality.
How do you create a verbal identity?
Your verbal identity consists of the names, words, and phrases you use that help your customers better understand what you do. Creating that identity is a process where a branding agency works with a client to develop a unique and consistent language for the brand.
This language includes your brand’s tone of voice, messaging, and key phrases. Creating a verbal identity is an essential part of a comprehensive branding strategy, as it helps to create a strong and memorable brand identity that resonates with your audience.
When creating a verbal identity for a company, a branding agency will work with you to develop the following elements:
- Tone of voice. Your brand’s tone of voice should be consistent across all touchpoints, from print communications to web content to social media posts. Does the brand want to convey a friendly and approachable tone? Optimistic and motivating? Respectful and serious? Tone of voice will vary depending on the needs of your company.
- Messaging. A brand’s messaging should be clear, concise, and memorable. Those catchy slogans you find yourself repeating are a good example of solid messaging: McDonald’s: “I’m lovin’ it”; Nike: “Just Do It”; Bounty: “The Quicker Picker Upper.” Brand messages help tell a story that should get people excited about your services.
- Brand story. A brand’s story is an important part of its verbal branding. It should be compelling and engaging, and help to create an emotional connection with your audience. At Bombas, for every clothing item purchased, a clothing item of the same kind is donated to those experiencing homelessness—a story that is a core part of its brand identity.
What is brand voice?
Brand voice refers to the unique personality and tone of a brand that is conveyed through its communication channels. It is the consistent expression of the brand’s values, mission, and personality in all of its messaging, whether that’s through advertising, social media, or customer service interactions.
A branding agency will work with a brand to define its voice, taking into account its target audience, industry, and competitors. This voice is then woven into brand guidelines, which outline how the brand should communicate, including the language, tone, and messaging style that should be used in different contexts.
Consistency is critical when it comes to brand voice—it helps to create a sense of familiarity and trust with customers and clients. By maintaining a consistent brand voice across all communication channels, a brand can reinforce its identity and build a strong relationship with its audience.
A branding agency can help a brand develop and refine its voice to ensure that it is compelling, effective, and resonates with your audience.
Example: Quality Blacktopping
Quality Blacktopping set an aggressive goal to grow by 20% per year. To reach this goal, they engaged TMC to help strengthen brand awareness to attract larger commercial clients.
TMC created a verbal brand platform and delivered marketing planning/recommendations. This led to digital and email campaign management and reporting.
Through a refined marketing strategy and a highly targeted digital advertising and email marketing plan, Quality achieved their sales target within the first year. They are thrilled with the results and are well-positioned for future success.
Why is verbal branding important?
As an overall element of brand strategy, verbal branding is an important way that businesses can establish a unique identity and build brand recognition.
As a branding agency, we work with our clients to develop a comprehensive branding strategy that aligns with your business goals and target audience, with verbal branding being one component of that strategy. We understand the power of words and how they can be used to create a strong and lasting brand identity that customers will remember.
By developing a consistent messaging, a brand can create a powerful emotional connection with its audience, and differentiate itself from competitors in the marketplace.
Take your marketing to the next level.
Want more? Get our strategic insights and marketing tips delivered to your inbox.
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: The Marketing Collective. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
