The Empire Writes Back ~ We, Me, Them & It ~ John Simmons on Tone of Voice Brand

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Originally published at MarketingProfs.com
©Richard Pelletier
Photo of Tone of Voice Innovator, John Simmons
John Simmons - Author of "We, Me, Them, & It"
This irresistible book with the charming title floats a simple answer to a diffi
cult question. Your organization is struggling to emerge from an overcrowded mar
ketplace and forge a separate and unique identity – to create an enduring and po
werful brand. How do you do it? Simple, says the UK’s John Simmons in his latest
book, “We, Me, Them & It – How to Write Powerfully for Business” — write differ
ently.
Beyond the basics that most firms lean on to distinguish themselves – graphics,
colors, logo’s – a visual identity overhaul – language, and more specifically, t
one of voice, is a powerful way to forge a distinctive identity, writes Simmons.
Branding, after all, is about differentiation. And describing a brand begins wi
th words.
Yet time after time, company after company, the same tired and worn-to-the-bone
words and phrases keep showing up. So your audience, (a word he prefers over sta
keholders) faced with a company that has failed to engage, stimulate, humor, or
excite them, will decide for themselves who you are. Not bloody likely they’ll d
ecide in your favor. Major opportunity lost.
“The basis of the tone of voice process,” Simmons writes, “is a determination to
use words that really mean something and take a risk.”
We| The company; the collective group that “you” as a writer work for.
So how does Simmons – a well-established brand himself – get his message across?
A deeply personal, knowing and assuring tone of voice. Strong openings. Dramati
c closings. Risk.
Chapter one is a jazzy tour of the Simmons working process. We open with the ace
rbic Dennis Potter; “The trouble with words is you don’t know whose mouth they’v
e been in.” At that, Simmons is off and running like a passionate band leader, i
mprovising here, reading the charts there, moving his audience through short sol
os on literature, advertising, politics, culture and creativity.
Here’s David Ogilvy –“People who think well, write well.” There are classic open
ings from Jane Austen, Joseph Heller and from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Love in th
e Time of Cholera. There is much, much more.
All of which is designed to push the boundaries of language. To lead, liberate,
excite, educate and inspire readers (and, of course writers) – to toss aside the
shroud of dreadful conformity that blankets most business writing.
Words are living, breathing entities.
They have a life and mind of their own. Inspiration is all around us and is ther
e for the taking. And yet anyone who admires Dennis Potter knows words can cause
trouble. “Words are your children,” he cautions. “They can inflict small unthin
king acts of cruelty on your neighbors.” Key takeaways: Listen. Read out loud. S
peak the words inside your head if you must, but careful listening will kill off
a lot of bad writing.
And this will surely unsettle as many as it will thrill; “There is no such thing
as correct use of language.”
Me | My Individual Personality as a Writer
“The places where water comes together with other water. Those places stand out
in my mind like holy places.” – Ray Carver, opening chapter two. (Ed. note: When
I landed on Ray Carver in this book, I was finished.)
The tone of voice approach asks that we develop a more personal writing style wi
thin the overall framework of the tone of voice for whoever we are writing for.
We know there are limits to how much individuality can emerge within any corpora
te or organizational narrative. Obstacles abound. So chapter two is about findin
g ways to do it, “gives permission” and offers several case studies (Oxfam and R
oyal Mail) that Simmons and his company Interbrand worked on.
One method that Simmons created to help bridge the personal and public was to in
troduce poetry into the workplace. Why poetry? “What we show at work is the oute
r person. But what is really interesting in the inner person. Can we find ways t
o bring more of the inner person to work? If so, will we be more fulfilled in ou
r total life? If so, will we actually do better work because much of our work ne
eds to have an emotional content?”
He offers poetry as just one method, but advises against trying to franchise the
approach. It worked for him. It may or may not work for you. The bottom line id
ea is that people are happier when they can be “more themselves” at work. People
who are happier, do better work. Bringing more of yourself into your working li
fe is a good thing, but no small trick.
Poetry is one way.
For people who write for a living, reading poetry is a way to stay fresh, to cre
ate anew and to think about and use language in new ways. Poetry may open pathwa
ys to emotions, and depending on the kind of work you do, that can be a very use
ful thing.
Why is so much business writing bad? Neglect. Indifference. The corporate voice
dominates the airwaves. Aversion to risk. The fear of offending. The turn of phr
ase or idiosyncrasy that might signal an individual voice – emanating from famil
y or personal history, cultural tastes, a playful sense of humor, simple, plain
spoken honesty, (or, god forbid, poetry!) have been deleted, scrubbed clean.
And, “because all writing is conversation, not monologue,” a growing, long term
relationship with hordes of potential customers entranced by your unique and eng
aging way of speaking with them, slips from view.
Them | The Audience
The core idea here is about expanding traditional notions of corporate identity
to include language, the words a company uses, and tone of voice, the way that l
anguage is spoken as part and parcel of an organization’s identity. As the defi
nition of “brand” has expanded in recent years to now mean the company itself, r
ather than particular consumer products, then the company’s values, behavior and
priorities, as expressed by the people within this company are central to the b
rand.
If the company is the brand, and the people are the company, then tone of voice
becomes an essential mechanism through which to define, enhance and clarify the
brand to the core audience.
“Them” is about a deeper understanding of that audience. For Simmons, tone of vo
ice signifies understanding. For him, identity and brand differentiation through
tone of voice includes everything. He considers every form of communication – s
ignage, public service announcements, collateral – an opportunity to strengthen
the bonds of loyalty between you and your customers.
Why?
Because brand attachment today is about repeated experience. Think Apple, Starbu
cks, Google. The quality and nature of communications – word choices and tone—ne
ed to emerge from everyday performance and practices, values and belief systems,
not a passing fancy for the latest “branding idea.”
What company these days doesn’t want to be relationship based? Yet how many exam
ine whether the links between products, services, culture and language helps est
ablish, or hinder the relationship they hope to create?
It | The Message, The Stories we Tell
Synchronicity, heaven sent. While working on this article I received a project.
The project is to edit (a better verb might be “fell”) a huge manual that is mas
querading as an encyclopedia. Here’s a sample; “Opportunities for program immers
ion,” and “The application of a system of organization within the infrastructure
as a whole is indispensable to effective presentation.” For 300 pages, a disemb
odied voice carries on, strangling every last ounce of life out of a pretty inte
resting subject.
Corporate identity in the Simmons universe is really about possibility. It’s abo
ut understanding that identity – that profoundly complex mix of positioning stat
ements, values, graphics, culture, colors and language – can help companies and
organizations see themselves and their mission in entirely new ways. The collect
ive stories that live within any organization can form the basis for regeneratio
n and re-imagination. That entails some measure of risk.
On the subject of risk, (and of dramatic endings) one of the best stories ever t
old is of the British explorer, Robert Falcon Scott and his race to the South Po
le. Scott, (an exemplar of the stiff-upper-lip British explorer brand) died trag
ically on his return from the Pole after discovering that his rival, Roald Amund
sen of Norway, had bested him. As he and his men lay dying in their tent just te
n miles away from a supply depot, Scott wrote long, moving letters home to famil
y and friends. When he finally reached his end, he scratched out his final words
. “It seems a pity,” he wrote, “but I do not think I can write more.”
Buy the book.