This is part two of a two-part blog series. Read part one, What Is Verbal Identity in Aviation Marketing?
Becoming a bigger, better aviation or aerospace brand is all about the choices you make now. Making the choice to define and implement your company’s verbal brand is a surefire way to gain altitude in the industry. Creating a verbal identity strategy is one of the biggest steps in the branding process. From there, it’s all about integrating this throughout your marketing efforts and branding.
Constructing A Strong Verbal Identity
When it comes to creating a robust, fully-realized verbal identity, it’s important to capture the authenticity of your brand. This can be done by imagining your brand persona’s linguistic style and preferences.
Step 1: Conduct Market Research
Understanding how your brand differs from the competition is key to distinguishing your brand’s voice. You may have completed this step while enacting your brand positioning strategy. If that’s the case, use that knowledge to define how you’re different.
However, if you have yet to define your brand position, what are you waiting for? The more you know about the competition, the better you understand your strengths. Furthermore, you cannot afford to blend in the aviation and aerospace industries.
Step 2: Define Your Brand’s Verbal Identity
While this may feel complex, it’s more straightforward than many people realize. Breaking it down into its parts then defining each aspect individually will take you from planning to doing in no time.
When defining your verbal identity, keep in mind how you’re different from the competition, and be sure to pinpoint your brand’s differentiators.
Voice & Personality
Your voice is how your brand conveys ideas through language. Many brands make the mistake of shying away from having a personality. This often results in major rebranding months or years down the line and countless lost sales.
One way you can pinpoint your brand’s voice is to liken your brand to a character or celebrity. Consider their values, how they respond to the world around them, and how they’d interact with others – and most importantly, study how they convey their thoughts, feelings, and plans.
Diction
Diction is the foundation of your brand’s voice. It is the style of words your brand uses. Your brand can use elevated diction or a more relaxed speaking. It’s all about word choice.
When defining your brand’s diction, consider your audience, specialty, and company reputation.
If your company is known for novel technology, you will want to consider a more scientific, technical diction. However, if you sell PMA parts to aviation repair service companies, a more relaxed diction may be appropriate.
Tone
While your brand’s voice will always stay the same, it can be conveyed through various tones. Different scenarios call for differing tones. In other words, tone adapts to the situation. For example, when you’re speaking to a supplier, you will likely use a different tone than if you’re writing to a customer.
For example, American Airlines always has a professional voice. When discussing their mask requirements, they adjust to a more serious tone. However, American Airlines takes on a more upbeat tone when promoting flight sales.
Grammar & Details
Consistency is key to a successful verbal identity. Defining the details of grammar and linguistic rules for your brand will keep things consistent. Keep in mind that asking your team for feedback and insight along the way can give you an additional perspective on your brand.
When Deciding on Verbal Identity Framework, Answer These Questions:
- What values should it uphold?
- Who is your audience? Include education level, age, interest in your offering.
- Does your brand use contractions? Don’t vs. do not
- How will your brand handle acronyms? Keep in mind that in B2B, your audience likely is more familiar with industry abbreviations and acronyms.
- Does your company capitalize all important words in headings?
- Can your brand get away with breaking grammar rules?
What Shouldn’t Your Brand Say?
Sometimes defining what your brand wouldn’t say is just as important as what your brand does say. Layout how your brand discusses your competition and how it addresses customer complaints.
Step 3: Integrate Your Verbal Identity Throughout Your Branding
Once you have a fully formed verbal identity, the next step is integrating those characteristics into all aspects of your marketing.
After everyone is on-board, start using your verbal identity throughout your rebranding materials. These should include:
- Web content
- Packaging copy and product manuals
- Social media marketing
- Print or other collateral
- Videos
- Email campaigns
- Phone/customer service scripts
Don’t forget to address any changes that need to be made throughout the work environment.
What Verbal Branding is Not
Just as people grow and develop, so should your brand’s identity. The integration process is not static, but ongoing. It’s important to revisit it from time to time to update the language in order to fit trends and contemporary conventions.
Ready to Launch?
Make quick work of creating a compelling, strong, and accurate verbal identity. Haley Brand Aerospace Agency has worked with countless aviation companies for brand marketing campaigns and their elements with soaring success. Become one of them today.
