GET HEARD.

NATWEST GROUP:

I CREATED THE TONE OF VOICE STRATEGY FOR THE GROUP’S CORE BRANDS.

I’ve seen way too many guidelines that say things like: ‘we’re friendly, not serious’. Which sounds fine…but what does it actually mean? My idea of friendly will probably be different from yours.

So I created three really easy to follow principles. The main one being to talk like a person, not like a bank.

A simple articulation with a clear objective.

As the guidelines are confidential, I can’t share any pages with you. (I respect my clients’ privacy beyond all else.)

But I can show you a selection of master examples I created for them.

I GAVE THEM A PERSONALITY THAT PEOPLE COULD RELATE TO.

A VOICE THAT WOULD LAND THE BRAND CONSISTENTLY.

I rolled-out the new voice and up-skilled our in-house teams and agency creatives through bespoke workshops, Coaching over 1,800 people - in-house, agencies and partners like Mastercard and Deloitte.

My mission was to get our writers to stop defaulting to clichéd bank-speak.

The ‘we’ve got a mortgage/credit-card to suit you. Look at any big bank and they all sound the same.

the way of talking was a big hit with customers.

This conversational tone was a big departure for NatWest, so we added a feedback mechanic to the first email that went out. Over a third of people who opened it responded. 96% of comments were positive. (The ones that weren’t had an issue with app banking rather than the tone.)