What makes good brand writing - good?
...And why I'm not yet worried about the robots.
Brand writing is having a moment.
Verbal identity development, language design, verbal branding - whatever you call it, the strategic older sister of straight-up copywriting is in its glowup phase. (I'm not saying copywriters aren't strategic too - don't come at me).
Although by no means a new discipline, the recent-ish launch of Opening Line Studio’s ‘Between the Lines’ book has populated my Linkedin feed with loads of brand language love. Is it just me, or does it feel like there is a little more space at the ‘brand development’ table for brand writers?
If so, the timing couldn’t be better. There’s been a lot of nail-biting thanks to Chat GPT, and justifiably so, as some clients really have traded in their human writers for a large language model replacement.
Personally, I’m certain there will be ever more demand for brilliant real-life brand writers - because it’s so valuable, and it’s so hard to get right.
Here's what it takes (from my not-totally-expert but absolutely-a-real-person perspective):
Brand writing needs to be strategically solid:
- It needs to be recognisably yours. When done well it can be the clearest indication of your brand personality in action; it needs to be distinct, memorable and flexible. New Zealand Police's copy manages to bring real humanity to their comms, and by extension its staff - flexing between playful and deadly serious as required.
- It needs to know who it’s talking to, and be compelling and authentic to that audience. Reformation's copy is kind of bonkers, unless you're in its audience and therefore in the know.
- It needs to work towards your goals. Every line of copy should be pointed towards your business success. There is so much boring filler copy in the world (the comms equivalent of a conversation with Nick White’s ‘dull coworker’), often because the writer hasn't been given clear objectives. Media is bought, a brand is built, a newsletter is scheduled - and then back-filled with copy. What a wasted opportunity (not to mention budget).
2. Brand writing needs to inspire actions AND reactions:
‘Good’ brand writing is more than knowing where the comma goes and wrangling a metaphor. It needs to provoke a feeling, and it needs to be the boss of that feeling. It’s not enough to ‘get a reaction’ if that reaction runs counter to your brand's personality and goals.
And even if you can write to provoke a reaction, it often needs to go one better and inspire action. Can your copy genuinely inspire people to do. a. thing? Because that is really, properly tough. (Think Nike's Just Do It. A brilliant example that is so obvious I thought of it even faster than Chat GPT).
3. Brand writing needs the balance of a tightrope walker:
It has to work for the client and their strategic goals (point 1), with an understanding of consumer behaviour and culture (point 2) and with an expert understanding of its context. A robust tone of voice should be crafted to consider every environment the brand copy might appear. The brand copy might zing on pack, but how does it hold up when read from 100m away on a billboard? Or in a white paper or recruitment ad or customer support script? Good brand writing should feel recognisable, relevant, and always perfectly in tune with its environment.
4. Brand writing needs to fight for its life:
As a brand strategist, I've helped present countless brand identity and positioning projects over the years. The concepts that have been created collaboratively, with strategy, copy and design evolving the work together from the outset, are always the most robust and compelling.
BUT I think presenting ‘words’ is distracting in a way that design is not. Because not everyone can design - but all my clients and collaborators to date can read and write. And when this ‘expert’ lens is used to critique language, you might as well strap yourself in for tweaks and musings that land you at brandmanifesto_V25 and counting. Exasperating for the client, and soul-destroying for the team. Great brand writers are collaborative - but also tenacious, diplomatic, and know how to argue for their vision, to avoid the tailspin of endless iterations.
I don’t claim to be brilliant at these things, like I said, it’s tough. But this quote from Zosia Swidlicka in Creative Bloq sums up why I’m always trying to level up my writing.
“I think good copy needs good strategy, and good strategy needs to be written in a way that is memorable and distinctive – just simple and clear.”
I believe if you're a strategist, it is critical that you can write. And if you're building brands, there needs to be a place at the table for the writers.
Here’s a bunch of experts I look to - any more to add?
