Reflections

The use of Tone of Voice in Marketing; one of the least understood, and perhaps most misunderstood and misused, in all marketing communication. How important, really, is it in the larger context of the brand? What should the tonality of your communication be? What determines tonality, and what controls it? Who in the organisation ought to be in charge of this – content, or brand team? Or is the creative team that is responsible?  THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD The problem is that this aspect - Tone of Voice - is by far the least understood in #contentmarketing, and, given that English is not a native fluent tongue to many, is fraught with risk if experimented. Logic tells us that  brand comms should be professional, formal and can be conversational [example - realistically depends on the tone and message structure and heirarchy; problem 2 is few brands create these]. Logic tells us that content teams control this.  That is why logic is just one of many guides; both cases above ma...

In this second article in the change management series, let us go deeper into communication, with particular reference to the Indian Context. Communication is considered to be a major solution to managing change; in my opinion, it is a tool, a tactic used to manage it; not a strategy. The reason why a large percentage of initiatives fail arises from this misunderstanding – that communication is a key strategic tool in the change manager’s repertoire. The difference between the two is that a tactic is deployed along a particular vector i.e. strategy. As someone observed in comments on my previous article – actions and words should align. Treating communication as a tactic is one small part of the process that can lead to ensuring these align. Image Credit  Google Search THE INDIAN CONTEXT Before we go into the specifics of communication in change management, we need to  understand the context of communication in India. Indians operate, by and large, on the spo...