# Brand Voice

> Apply and enforce brand voice, style guide, and messaging pillars across content. Use for brand consistency, tone guidance, and terminology management.

- Skill: `vamseeachanta/brand-voice` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add vamseeachanta/brand-voice`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/vamseeachanta/brand-voice/raw
- Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: vamseeachanta (https://skillmd.com/u/vamseeachanta)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/vamseeachanta/brand-voice

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# Brand Voice Skill

Frameworks for documenting, applying, and enforcing brand voice and style guidelines across marketing content.

## Brand Voice Documentation Framework

### 1. Brand Personality
Define the brand as if it were a person. What are its defining traits?

### 2. Voice Attributes
Select 3-5 attributes that define how the brand communicates. Each attribute should be defined with:
- What it means in practice
- What it does NOT mean
- An example demonstrating the attribute

### 3. Audience Awareness
- Who the brand is speaking to
- What the audience cares about
- What level of expertise the audience has
- How the audience expects to be addressed

### 4. Core Messaging Pillars
- 3-5 key themes the brand consistently communicates
- The hierarchy of these messages
- How each pillar connects to audience needs

### 5. Tone Spectrum
How the voice adapts across contexts while remaining recognizably the same brand.

### 6. Style Rules
Specific grammar, formatting, and language rules.

### 7. Terminology
Preferred and avoided terms.

## Voice Attributes

### Common Voice Attribute Pairs

| Spectrum | One End | Other End |
|----------|---------|-----------|
| Formality | Formal, institutional | Casual, conversational |
| Authority | Expert, authoritative | Peer-level, collaborative |
| Emotion | Warm, empathetic | Direct, matter-of-fact |
| Complexity | Technical, precise | Simple, accessible |
| Energy | Bold, energetic | Calm, measured |
| Humor | Playful, witty | Serious, earnest |
| Innovation | Cutting-edge, forward-looking | Established, proven |

### Defining an Attribute

**[Attribute name]**
- **We are**: [what this means in practice]
- **We are not**: [common misinterpretation to avoid]
- **This sounds like**: [example sentence demonstrating the attribute]
- **This does NOT sound like**: [example sentence violating the attribute]

## Tone Adaptation Across Channels and Contexts

The brand voice stays consistent, but tone adapts to context.

### Tone by Channel

| Channel | Tone Adaptation |
|---------|----------------|
| Blog | Informative, conversational, educational |
| Social media (LinkedIn) | Professional, thought-provoking, concise |
| Social media (Twitter/X) | Punchy, direct, sometimes witty |
| Email marketing | Personal, helpful, action-oriented |
| Sales collateral | Confident, benefit-driven, specific |
| Support/Help docs | Clear, patient, step-by-step |
| Press release | Formal, factual, newsworthy |
| Error messages | Empathetic, helpful, blame-free |

### Tone by Situation

| Situation | Tone Adaptation |
|-----------|----------------|
| Product launch | Excited, confident, forward-looking |
| Incident or outage | Transparent, empathetic, accountable |
| Customer success story | Celebratory, specific, crediting the customer |
| Thought leadership | Authoritative, nuanced, evidence-based |
| Bad news | Honest, respectful, solution-oriented |

### Tone Adaptation Rule
The voice attributes remain fixed. Tone dials them up or down based on context.

## Style Guide Enforcement

### Grammar and Mechanics

| Rule | Options | Example |
|------|---------|---------|
| Oxford comma | Yes / No | "fast, reliable, and secure" |
| Headings | Sentence / Title case | "How to get started" vs. "How to Get Started" |
| Contractions | Use / Avoid | "we're" vs. "we are" |
| Numbers | Spell out 1-9, numerals 10+ | "five features" vs. "5 features" |
| Percent | % / percent | "50%" vs. "50 percent" |

### Formatting Conventions
- Heading hierarchy (when to use H1, H2, H3)
- Bold and italic usage
- Link text (always descriptive, never "click here")
- Exclamation mark policy (limited use)
- ALL CAPS policy (avoid; use bold instead)
- Emoji usage by channel

## Terminology Management

### Preferred Terms

| Use This | Not This | Notes |
|----------|----------|-------|
| sign up (verb) | signup (verb) | "signup" is the noun form |
| log in (verb) | login (verb) | "login" is the noun/adjective form |
| set up (verb) | setup (verb) | "setup" is the noun/adjective form |
| email | e-mail | No hyphen |
| website | web site | One word |

### Product and Feature Names
- Official capitalization for product names
- When to use full product name vs. shorthand
- How to handle versioning in copy
- Trademark and registration symbols

### Inclusive Language
- Use gender-neutral language
- Avoid ableist language
- Use person-first language where appropriate
- Avoid culturally specific idioms that may not translate
- Use "simple" or "straightforward" instead of "easy"

### Industry Jargon Management
- Define which technical terms the audience understands without explanation
- List jargon that should always be defined or replaced
- Specify which acronyms need to be spelled out on first use

### Competitor and Category Terms
- How to refer to your product category
- How to refer to competitors
- Terms competitors have coined that you should avoid
- Your preferred differentiation language

## Related Skills

- [content-strategy](../content-strategy/SKILL.md) - Content marketing strategy
- [competitive-analysis](../competitive-analysis/SKILL.md) - Competitive intelligence

## Sources

- Original: [anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins) (2026-02-03)

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## Version History

- **1.0.0** (2026-02-03): Initial release from anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins