Grey isn’t good.
A lot of my site is about tone of voice copywriting, because I think its important and missing from a hell of a lot of corporate writing. But tone goes beyond writing – it’s the whole attitude of a brand or company. Take dress codes, for example. Plain suits or dresses, plain ties, black shoes. Corporate policies vary, but the implied emphasis is usually on the drab and dour. I could think of only two other times when people dress like that: court appearances and funerals. Is that really the image businesses want to project?
And here’s why I think it’s a bad thing. Companies spend so much time – and money – trying to get into the shoes and heads of their customers (financial services folks, I’m looking at you). Yet their work environments are as far removed as possible from everyday lives of normal people. They dress differently, speak differently (corporate jargon is the language of evil) and even behave differently. How is that empathising with the customer?
Clients are often surprised by the apparently relaxed attitude taken by advertising agencies in their approach to everyday working life. Jeans and t-shirts are the norm. Meetings are kept to a manageable number. And people usually speak the same way they would to a friend in the pub. Most clients I’ve met go out of their way to arrange time with their agency, probably just to get away from the grey for a day.
My point is, it doesn’t have to be that way. Old school rules don’t apply any more. With the advent of social networking, we’re starting to understand that people want to be listened to. And if you’re going to start a conversation with a customer, it pays to be speaking their language, not yours.