Setting the Tone: How Tone Impacts Messaging, Influence, and More… (pt 3)
Overall, people are becoming far more immune to the ads around us compared to the past. But it’s not what you think – that brands are just running out of ideas – no, we’re just smothered with ads constantly. Ad here, ad there, everywhere you look on the streets of any city, you’ll see an ad within 10 yards of you. Editor Sam Anderson from The Drum was intrigued (and frankly annoyed) like the rest of us and found out that the number of ads we see in a single day is “clustered around three figures: 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000.”
I mean, that’s far too many ads.
Do you realize that you’re ‘turning off’ your brain in a way, to see these ads without overwhelming your brain with trying to digest them all?
It doesn’t matter – we still see them. Even when it’s not super noticeable to us, our brains are still having to do the work of processing and filtering these things, without hesitation.
So – why do we care about some ads but couldn't care less about others?
This question makes me glad I’m not in Marketing. This causes marketing professionals stress galore, rightfully so. If they could figure out the answer, they’d have some power over other companies. One thing that does give a company some superiority, and isn’t as impossible to understand, is tone and what it does for businesses.
Any person that encounters people (so… everyone) – at parties, dinner with your family, or even phone calls to your hometown friend who drives you crazy more often than she doesn’t – you know tone’s role. It’s that really helpful or really hurtful nudge that helps you know if you’re on good terms with someone, or need to stress out about the current state of your relationship.
Don’t get it? You will. Here, let me give examples:
Your roommate gives you lip after you stack your dirty spaghetti plate on top of all the other dirty dishes from the week. → Yeah, you know she’s thinking you’re a slob. Better start washing those dishes now!
Your boss tells the team about a promotion that’s anyone’s for the taking! When she talked with your cubicle buddy, her voice showed zero enthusiasm. When she told you, she was peppy Patty. → Mhm, you’re feeling good. You may go home that day and put an offer on your dream home, knowing that the promotion and (more importantly) raise is all yours.
If people’s tone is that obvious, and literally changes the way we behave, then brands’ tones must be impacting our thoughts, perceptions, habits, and (I know, capitalism.. I hear you) the way we buy.
Do we always notice it? No, probably not. Does it resonate? Duh. That’s why well-known brands are so dang good at executing this, because they know it matters.
Apple has their simple, confident tone that kind of sounds like they’re not really trying, but of course they are. Everything they do is intentional, even if it’s a 2 word ad and a half-eaten apple logo.
Kroger is uplifting and energetic. It’s Kroji’s might be cringey, but they’re memorable, right? Unfortunately, yes.
Coca-Cola is inclusive, light-hearted, and optimistic. They’re commercials are always just cheesy enough, making people feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside after.
Maybe these tone explanations are all new to you. Even if they are – news flash – the tone is still resonating with you. You’re probably like “ohhhh, yeah, Apple does do that” and “Coke ads do make me feel all warm and fuzzy”. I told you! It’s working.
There’s a method to their marketing madness – and I do mean madness. You couldn’t sign me up for their job even if they paid $1 million… which… Apple probably does. Apple, Kroger, and Coke all make us feel similarly because they’re freaking geniuses who consistently use the same effective tone in everything they do.
The way they send a message alters the way we pickup on it.
That’s why businesses are crazy not to find and use their own unique voice. You better start now if you haven't:
Hire a copywriter. No more excuses. Just do it, and see the ROI for yourself.
Figure out what you represent and stand by it. Is there a way that this can “sound”?
Churn and burn. Make content and write copy that uses this tone. Keep it consistent. If you get discouraged, just remember that at one point, Steve Jobs, Barney Kroger, and John Pemberton didn’t know what the heck they were doing either.
I’ll say it once more in case you zoned out on me; the way they send a message alters the way we pickup on it.
Would you believe me if I told you this blog post is intentionally written with a specific tone in mind? It’s spunky, sassy, and cynical.
Did it work? Do the words — spunky, sassy, and cynical — describe the way you heard it in your head?
Blunt, abrupt speech (short sentences, very direct points) and audacious language — like the words freaking, smothered, stop, duh, and literally — gives it this specific, almost brash tone. Plus, the use of parentheses to give insight on the writer’s thoughts, works as a medium for inserting some extra spunk.
Go back to part 1 of the blog series and see if you can notice a difference in its tone.
1. Sam Anderson, How many ads do we really see in a day? Spoiler: it’s not 10,000, (The Drum, 2023)