Leeds University Union’s refreshing focus on verbal identity
Brand words
Despite the growing recognition of verbal identity, it’s rare for brands to really explore tone of voice in a creative way. So it was great to be part of a project where Leeds University Union did exactly that.
Verbal identity in action inside the union building. Photo: Leeds University Union
Brand identity should be verbal as well visual — in the words of Jason Baer from brand consultants Interbrand, it should be verbisual. A unified approach creates a deep, consistent brand. Unfortunately, not all organisations pay enough attention to their words. So we were really pleased when the union put words at the heart of its refreshed brand.
The team wanted the union’s new charitable status to shine through in all its communications. They wanted to connect all the union’s activities to its overriding purpose — representing its student members.
To start things off, we ran a workshop to help them develop an effective tone of voice — one that was honest, clear, relevant and friendly. (You can read a case study about the project).
Having explored how to create and work with a voice that could talk effectively to different communities — and how to roll it out across an organisation — the union’s marketing team set about putting it into action. The resulting words feature prominently in the refurbished union building, with wall graphics bringing them to life.
“The words we use are now as important as the visual elements of our brand,” explains Tom Salmon, the union’s marketing manager. But you don’t have to take his word for it; have a peek at some pics of the union building.
Writing on the wall. Photo: Leeds University Union
We think the union’s in-house marketing team should be really proud of their work here. And we’re proud to have helped kick things off with the tone of voice workshops. The results speak for themselves: 93% off students surveyed said they like the new-look union building.
You can see more photos of the union on Facebook