Brands are increasingly cottoning on to the need to have a ‘voice’ in the market. This should not be confused with a ‘tone of voice’, which traditionally refers to the look and feel of a company, and its specific style of speaking to its audience in written copy. No, I’m talking about the actual speaking voice of a brand, which may appear in ads, in apps, even on the customer service line when you call them.

Branding in this area is currently muddled, and, in comparison to visual identities, often inconsistent. In part, this is due to the rapidly changing landscape of voice. With the rising popularity of voice assistant products such as Alexa or Siri, we are becoming used to the idea of talking directly to machines, but does every brand need a full AI voice experience? And if not, how can they remain distinctive in the voice market?