On parle souvent pour les marques d’identité visuelle, beaucoup moins d’identité verbale. Un récent article publié par l’agence Wolf Olins, What is Verbal Identity? What your choice of words says about your brand, met à l’honneur cette approche trop souvent négligée.
Parmi les conseils proposés, on peut retenir la différenciation entre les concepts de “Tone” et de “Voice”, généralement accolés :
The language of ‘tone of voice’ leads to easy conflation of voice and tone. In reality, the two are complementary but quite different.
Voice is: an expression of a brand’s personality. It often takes the form of a simple set of principles, unpacked into detailed writing guidance. A brand’s voice should be recognisable and come through everywhere it speaks.
Tone is: one level down from voice. It acknowledges that a brand’s voice is composed of a number of principles, but that each one can be dialled up or down to suit the audience, message, and medium. Think about pretty much anyone that you know. They likely have a distinct voice, but the way they speak shifts depending on where they’re talking and who they’re talking to. This is no different for brands. User journeys and empathy spectrums are great tools to use to map out this tonal flex.
A noter également dans cet article trois études de cas portant sur ViacomCBS, Zillow et TikTok.
