Lessons from mice. And werewolves.
Superheroes and shampoo. Werewolves and washing powder. Writing for telly might feel a million miles away from writing for businesses. But it doesn’t have to be. That’s what we learnt when we got together with scriptwriters Andrew Burrell and John Jackson.
Over a drink or two, they talked to us about digging out the flaws of a flawless mouse. Or getting under the skin of a zombie. Because if they manage to do that, then people feel something for these characters. The more viewers know about the people (or mice) Andrew and John create, the better they’ll understand their reactions – whatever happens to them, or wherever they end up.
The same’s true when we’re writing for brands. Businesses and brands have their quirks and superpowers. And the better we know a brand’s character, the easier it is to bring that brand to life on paper – so we’re ‘on brand’ all of the time. Just as Andrew knows exactly what Danger Mouse would do if the milk was out of date, someone who’s clued up on their company’s brand personality will know exactly how to frame their tweets in a crisis.
So get to know your business or brand as well as you know your mum, or your brother, or your best friend. You’d know how those people would act if they’d been caught lying. But do you know how your brand would behave if someone revealed it hadn’t been telling the truth – as was the case with Volkswagen?
Dig deep to work out your brand’s personality. And get the people who work with you to do the same. That way, whenever you have to write about your brand or business (in a hurry or otherwise), you’ll do so in character.