Comments on: Copy with personality

By: rctrucks

rctrucks — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 18:49:00 +0000

Your post has really made me think. Your so right and the examples you have given were and the perfect choice. I love Innocent and I Want One Of Those, they are so fun. I enjoy just reading their comments, and product descriptions. Very current, very fun. ______________________________________________- gift ideas

By: Amazing Gadgets

Amazing Gadgets — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 21:58:41 +0000

More than three specialities to develop a website, I will say more than ever it's very important to have a seo specialist in the very begining to help with all design and code. A website with good code and good design it's not always an seo friendly website.

By: Paul Boag

Paul Boag — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:05:26 +0000

@Wade, corporate tone does certainly exist but is more subtle than B2C. Check out http://getfeedback.net/. They are one of our clients and write excellent copy. He is an extract…
“We’re all about making businesses better by changing how employees operate. The evidence suggests that people or ‘talent’ offer the best opportunity for improvement and change in a business. Our approach is very specific and tangible: identify the commercial challenge, find out what ‘success’ looks like, then find a way to get there using new and existing employees.”
Its clear, friendly and avoids jargon. They write how they speak and engage with the reader personally.

By: Wade

Wade — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:19:51 +0000

More than just reading Paul’s article, you actually agreed with what he was saying!
My question though is what’s an example of a site that shows a good corporate tone? I could list sites all day that have a great ‘zany’ tone, but I can’t think of one that stands out with a good ‘corporate’ tone.
So please enlighten us, what does a good corporate tone in the copy look like?

By: Marcus

Marcus — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:51:19 +0000

A rare moment… I find myself reading one of Paul’s articles :-)
@funkygorilla – I think the point here, with the vast majority of websites, is that no appropriate tone is taken i.e. no-one even thinks whether ‘corporate’ or ‘zany’ is appropriate, they just mindlessly ‘plug in’ the content.
Doesn’t happen in traditional publishing and it shouldn’t happen online either. This is the next big thing in our world – trust me ;-)

By: funkygorilla

funkygorilla — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:58:05 +0000

This is true for the right site, but you may have a site that needs to portray a corporate image, in which case unfortunately no personality is the best option!
If you look at all your examples they are aimed a specific audience where a less formal, more friendly, and occasionally daft style is appropriate. You have to say though that for every Lynx there will be a bigger Radox appealing to a broader audience. Similarly Wilson tennis balls, and if I was in the UK I could tell you a juice manufacturer, but I will say Australian Fresh over here.
From a marketing point of view what these companies are doing is attempting to appeal to a specific market segment. Lynx will probably be made by the same people as Radox, but are more likely to sell if they segment. Segmentation is also a great way of getting into the market. If you look at innocent, or nudie over here (not sure if they are related or one copied the other), they are picking up on a younger generations emphasis on health, design, non-corporate feelings etc and are creating a very successful brand by just targeting them.
btw – when writing this style of copy, having personas is very handy, as you can really aim your copy at them and the things that are important to them.
Anyway enough of the marketing. Bottom line is you can add appropriate personality, where it is appropriate!

By: Neil

Neil — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:57:44 +0000

Website design should be split into 3 specialist areas – copy, graphics and code.
But how many people split these areas?! They’re 3 different areas that require 3 different specialist qualifications. Its all too often that a coder thinks they can do the graphic design etc etc.

By: Paul Randall

Paul Randall — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:08:49 +0000

Good copy is very important for the web, as conveying a ‘tone’ is more difficult than it is in audio.
Having good copy makes a huge difference to a website, but the key is to not alienate your audience.
More often than not, the words are the last thing to be given to a Web Developer, and have been written by the client with no thought as to who they are trying to talk to. Many talk ‘at them’ rather than ‘to them’