Is your brand voice in the clutches of cultural cringe?
Alex Moore from brand language studio XXVI explains how the generational cycle influences your brand’s tone of voice and how to avoid getting left behind.
Recently, I spotted a great LinkedIn post about the overeagerness of brands to embrace the ‘bestie’ tone of voice. This ‘YourCoolFriend™️’ expression, as the author calls it, comes across as an “HR manager who sends too many GIFs in Slack”.
The negative overtones are clear. But if you’ve been paying attention to the cultural shift against anything millennial, you knew this was coming. The death of the brand as your best friend is entirely predictable because it’s just how these things work.
Brands, just like people, are deeply influenced by cultural shifts. Each generation is defined not only by its shared experiences and attitudes but also by the language they use.
So as new generations usher in the next wave of expression, do brands need to keep up with the shift? Or is the most authentic thing to break free of the cycle and do your own thing for once?
