Brand voice
Over 25 years’ experience writing tone of voice guides, brand values and strategic propositions. The language below is a selection of brand narratives that bring it all together. They are a little more interesting to read than a brand guidelines document and a little more discreet for the brands featured.
Brand theme and narrative for Slo, a neighbourhood coffee shop in Vancouver.
Be a little more comma, slightly more semi-colon; with a pause, suddenly time becomes your friend, not your enemy. To be savoured and enjoyed, not worried about or chased across road and rail and flight paths. But don’t just take your time. Take ours too. Gather it up by the armful, by the bucket-load. We’ve plenty to spare.
All sorts of varieties, too. Good time. Quiet time. Quality time. Even got a bit of work time - over there in the corner. We keep it hidden, but ask nicely and we’ll show you where.
Time is in your head, not on your wrist, so ignore its made up rules and ticking hands that tick you off for being late. Time is yours. Take it.
Brand story for Antrim Hills mineral water.
Rain falls softly on the basalt of County Antrim in Ireland's uppermost right corner. Laid down by volcanic eruption millions of years ago, the rock slowly filters gentle rainwater through its densely porous thickness until reaching belts of ancient sandstone and chalk, protected from erosion by the once molten shell.
The Antrim hills of Knocklayd, Trostan and Slieve True catch the rain first, high above the flatlands and that extra percolation makes all the difference. It is a unique landscape and produces distinctively pure water. But purity isn't the only quality Antrim's hills offer up.
For hundreds of years their rolling splendour has inspired poets and songwriters, artists and performers. Sharp edges softened by falling rain; ragged outcrops now cushioned by moss; rough planes worn smooth by ancient walkers. This is a landscape full of fable and fortune, the stories it inspired are now as much a part of the landscape as the hills themselves. A history you can touch, taste and best of all, drink in.
Brand narrative for the dining experience at Finn Lough, County Fermanagh’s luxury hideaway.
We are connected to this land. Its wild, authentic ways have shaped our own, an honest landscape but one whose hidden depths add character and nuance. It influences the fine dining experience at Finn Lough, a menu in perpetual motion, chasing seasons across the land.
Local, genuine and of the place. Of the season too. Ingredients, hand grown in our earth, hand-picked from our surrounding fields and forest, or sourced from nearby farms. They haven’t journeyed far.
Most of our ingredients are brought here on foot. It might not be the fastest way, but it’s the kindest. And it influences the pace and rhythm of the restaurant itself. The gap between time’s tick and tock expands. Meals are measured in mouthfuls, not minutes. Our food is more about conversation than consumption; about togetherness rather than splitting the bill.
Brand narrative for the Cowichan tourism region of Vancouver Island .
An open-armed embrace and warm smile welcomes every visitor. Sharing what’s ours comes naturally, in fact we take great pride in it - not just what we make and grow, but our land, water and mountains; our heritage, simplicity and optimism.
There’s an honest, open pride in the air. We are proud, in an understated way, of our individual communities and the way their quirky, diverse character shapes the entire region. Visitors take pride as well, in standing out from the crowd, trying something different and being rewarded by something more.
And quite often, something more is actually something simpler, analogue and more straightforward - an approach to life enjoyed by all our communities. For real. Every day. It’s not a marketing gimmick or a profit-driven privileged premium. You don’t have to pay extra for this sort of simplicity, you only have to turn up.
Brand story for ötzibrew, wild Siberian Chaga health drink.
The world was a busy place, 5,000 years ago. In Marmara, the Hittites built the city that would eventually become Troy; Egypt’s First Dynasty was only on its third or fourth pharaoh, while closer to home, Stonehenge’s construction was coming along nicely.
Away from all of that toil and heavy lifting, a lone adventurer lay motionless, high up in the Ötzal Alps, between the countries we now call Austria and Italy. Around his neck was a small leather pouch, crammed full of Chaga mushrooms, freshly harvested from a nearby frozen birch forest. We know of this intrepid traveller’s whereabouts and cargo because the freezing winds, heavy snow and permafrost preserved him perfectly in place until 1991. That year, two hikers stumbled across him and scientific researchers later identified the contents of his satchel as medicinal Chaga.
To travel across the Alps today on foot is a daunting prospect. To do it over 5000 years ago was bravery of the highest order. How prized and valued must his Chaga horde have been for him to take this final journey? The good news is that all you require today to treasure your own rich pickings of medicinal mushroom goodness and all the health benefits it bestows, is an adventurous palate and curious culinary mind. The purest, wildest Siberian Chaga is available online from ötzibrew, our brand named in honour of the pioneering, Copper Age forager. Raise a glass of our Chaga to big Ötzi and begin your own journey to clearer skin, lower cholesterol and sharper thinking. A journey definitely worth taking.
Brand narrative for Halo body-worn cameras.
Halo redefines what it is to be a SAAS. We’re safety as a service. Security as a service. Sanctuary, shelter and safekeeping as a service.
Software, firmware and hardware in a state of continual innovation, powering the protection of your world, while developing future technology that will break ground and shatter limitation. Our ambition is unmatched: to protect everything and everyone that matters most, by thinking more intelligently than most.
We’re building a community of fearless protectors and close-knit partners. A cohort, a legion - brothers and sisters in arms doing tough jobs, but never doing them alone. We are Halo. We are the progress the world needs to stay safe.
Brand narrative for Richard Bennett, Australia’s legendary yacht race photographer.
A daring mountaineer and tireless trekker, Richard fused his love and skill of photography with his fearless, adventurous spirit, 400 feet above the Sydney Hobart yacht race in a tiny Cessna 172.
In the 50 or so years that have passed, the aircraft he shoots from and the equipment he uses may have changed, but his ability to tell the story of a yacht’s race in a single frame has remained. It’s a rare skill, bolstered by a resilient passion. Artistry and tenacity in equal measure. Richard’s pictures take us to places that we could never go ourselves and show us moments and memories that would otherwise be lost to time. Chasing boats across white-flecked water canyons; battling weather and improbable odds. Richard shares all of this generously on his website. His annual quest to capture drama and achievement are gathered there, charting his never-ending search for perfect light and shade.
AGENCY CREDITS. Slo Coffee, Cowichan: Loki. Antrim Hills and Ötzibrew: Thought Collective. Richard Bennett: The Claire Bennett Agency. Finn Lough and Halo: Pale Blue Dot.