brand-strategy
Use this skill when defining brand positioning, voice and tone guidelines, brand architecture, or storytelling frameworks. Triggers on brand positioning, brand voice, tone guidelines, brand architecture, brand story, messaging hierarchy, competitive positioning, and any task requiring brand strategy development or documentation.
marketing brandpositioningvoice-tonestorytellingmessagingidentityWhat is brand-strategy?
Use this skill when defining brand positioning, voice and tone guidelines, brand architecture, or storytelling frameworks. Triggers on brand positioning, brand voice, tone guidelines, brand architecture, brand story, messaging hierarchy, competitive positioning, and any task requiring brand strategy development or documentation.
Quick Start
- Open your terminal or command prompt
- Run:
npx skills add AbsolutelySkilled/AbsolutelySkilled --skill brand-strategy - Start your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, or any supported agent)
- The brand-strategy skill is now active and ready to use
brand-strategy
brand-strategy is a production-ready AI agent skill for claude-code, gemini-cli, openai-codex. Defining brand positioning, voice and tone guidelines, brand architecture, or storytelling frameworks.
Quick Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Category | marketing |
| Version | 0.1.0 |
| Platforms | claude-code, gemini-cli, openai-codex |
| License | MIT |
How to Install
- Make sure you have Node.js installed on your machine.
- Run the following command in your terminal:
npx skills add AbsolutelySkilled/AbsolutelySkilled --skill brand-strategy- The brand-strategy skill is now available in your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, OpenAI Codex, etc.).
Overview
Brand strategy is the long-term plan for developing a brand's identity, positioning, and perception in the market. It answers three fundamental questions: who we are, who we are for, and why we matter. A strong brand strategy gives every piece of communication - from a product UI to a tweet to a sales deck - a consistent, recognizable character. This skill covers the full brand strategy toolkit: positioning statements, brand voice and tone, messaging hierarchy, brand archetypes, brand storytelling, competitive mapping, and brand audits.
Tags
brand positioning voice-tone storytelling messaging identity
Platforms
- claude-code
- gemini-cli
- openai-codex
Related Skills
Pair brand-strategy with these complementary skills:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is brand-strategy?
Use this skill when defining brand positioning, voice and tone guidelines, brand architecture, or storytelling frameworks. Triggers on brand positioning, brand voice, tone guidelines, brand architecture, brand story, messaging hierarchy, competitive positioning, and any task requiring brand strategy development or documentation.
How do I install brand-strategy?
Run npx skills add AbsolutelySkilled/AbsolutelySkilled --skill brand-strategy in your terminal. The skill will be immediately available in your AI coding agent.
What AI agents support brand-strategy?
This skill works with claude-code, gemini-cli, openai-codex. Install it once and use it across any supported AI coding agent.
Maintainers
Generated from AbsolutelySkilled
SKILL.md
Brand Strategy
Brand strategy is the long-term plan for developing a brand's identity, positioning, and perception in the market. It answers three fundamental questions: who we are, who we are for, and why we matter. A strong brand strategy gives every piece of communication - from a product UI to a tweet to a sales deck - a consistent, recognizable character. This skill covers the full brand strategy toolkit: positioning statements, brand voice and tone, messaging hierarchy, brand archetypes, brand storytelling, competitive mapping, and brand audits.
When to use this skill
Trigger this skill when the user:
- Wants to write or rewrite a brand positioning statement
- Needs to define or document brand voice and tone guidelines
- Is building a messaging hierarchy or messaging framework
- Wants to develop a brand story or origin narrative
- Is mapping competitive positioning in a market
- Needs to choose or define a brand archetype
- Is creating or reviewing a brand guidelines document
- Wants to audit brand consistency across channels
Do NOT trigger this skill for:
- Visual design decisions (logo, color palette, typography) - those are brand identity execution, not strategy; use a design or UI skill
- Content calendar planning or social media scheduling - use a content marketing skill
Key principles
Positioning is a choice, not a description - A positioning statement does not describe what your product does; it stakes a claim. The claim requires an enemy - the alternative your audience currently accepts. Without contrast there is no position.
Consistency builds trust - A brand that sounds different in every channel is not a brand, it is a collection of messages. Audiences build trust through repetition. Repeat the same core idea in different contexts, not different ideas.
Voice is personality - tone adapts to context - Voice is who you are (always the same). Tone is how you express it given the situation (changes with context). A confident brand still adjusts tone from celebratory in a launch email to calm and direct in an incident report.
Simple beats complex - The best brand strategies fit on one page. If you need ten slides to explain your positioning, you do not have a position. Ruthlessly edit until a stranger can repeat your core idea after hearing it once.
Brand is a promise kept - Strategy documents are worthless if the product, support, and people do not deliver on what the brand claims. The strongest brand asset is consistent experience. Every brand touchpoint is a vote for or against the promise.
Core concepts
Brand pyramid is the hierarchy from functional attributes at the base to emotional benefits and brand character at the top. The base is "what it does," the middle is "what that means for me," and the peak is "who I am when I use this." Messaging flows down from the peak - lead with the peak, support with the base.
Positioning statement is a structured one-sentence claim that names the target audience, the category the brand competes in, the key benefit, and the reason to believe. It is an internal working document - not ad copy - used to align the team. See the common tasks section for the template.
Brand archetype is the character the brand embodies, drawn from twelve universal
archetypes (Innocent, Hero, Outlaw, Caregiver, Explorer, Sage, etc.). Archetypes
give teams a shorthand for voice, visual, and narrative decisions. See
references/brand-frameworks.md for the full catalog.
Messaging hierarchy organizes all brand messages into three levels: the primary message (one sentence, the umbrella claim), the supporting messages (three to five proofs that back the primary claim), and the proof points (specific facts, metrics, or stories that back each supporting message).
Brand equity is the commercial value derived from consumer perception of the brand name. It is built through awareness (people know you exist), associations (people connect you with specific values), perceived quality, and loyalty. Positioning and voice strategy are the primary inputs to building brand equity.
Common tasks
Write a positioning statement
Use the Geoffrey Moore template, the most battle-tested positioning structure:
For [target customer]
who [has this need or problem],
[Brand name] is the [market category]
that [key benefit / differentiated claim].
Unlike [primary alternative or competitor],
[Brand name] [key differentiator].Example - productivity app:
For remote engineering teams
who lose hours to fragmented async communication,
Streamline is the project coordination platform
that replaces meetings with structured decision threads.
Unlike Slack, which is built for chat,
Streamline is built for decisions.Rules for a strong positioning statement:
- Target customer must be specific enough to exclude someone
- Category should be a real, understood category (do not invent one)
- Key benefit must be a measurable or concrete outcome - not a feeling
- Differentiator must be something competitors cannot honestly claim
- Write five versions before committing to one
Define brand voice and tone
Framework: four voice dimensions
Define the brand's voice across four dimensions. For each, write a one-sentence description and two "we are / we are not" pairs.
| Dimension | Definition | We Are | We Are Not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personality | The character the brand embodies | - | - |
| Vocabulary | The words and register we use | - | - |
| Rhythm | How sentences feel - long/short, formal/casual | - | - |
| Perspective | The point of view and worldview we write from | - | - |
Example - developer tool brand:
| Dimension | We Are | We Are Not |
|---|---|---|
| Personality | Direct and technically confident | Jargon-heavy or condescending |
| Vocabulary | Plain English, precise technical terms when needed | Marketing fluff, buzzwords |
| Rhythm | Short sentences. Active voice. No wasted words. | Long paragraphs, passive constructions |
| Perspective | Engineer-to-engineer, builder to builder | Company talking at customer |
Tone adaptations by channel:
| Context | Tone shift |
|---|---|
| Marketing headline | Punchy, bold, provocative |
| Onboarding email | Warm, encouraging, clear |
| Error message | Calm, factual, actionable |
| Incident report | Direct, no hedging, take ownership |
| Social media | Conversational, a degree more playful |
Build messaging hierarchy
Three-level structure:
PRIMARY MESSAGE (1 sentence)
The single umbrella claim. Everything else serves this.
SUPPORTING MESSAGES (3-5 sentences)
Each one proves a different facet of the primary message.
Each one should stand alone as credible.
PROOF POINTS (2-3 per supporting message)
Concrete facts, metrics, case studies, or quotes.
These are the evidence layer.Example:
PRIMARY: "Streamline cuts engineering meeting time by 80% without losing alignment."
SUPPORTING 1: Teams make faster decisions because context travels with the work.
- Proof: Decision threads attach directly to PRs and tasks
- Proof: Average decision cycle dropped from 3.2 days to 0.8 days (beta data)
SUPPORTING 2: Async-first means everyone participates, not just the loudest voice.
- Proof: Voting and comment threads replace live debate
- Proof: 94% of users report feeling more heard than in previous tools
SUPPORTING 3: It replaces three tools, not adds a fourth.
- Proof: Integrates with GitHub, Jira, and Notion - not a new silo
- Proof: Average team removes 2.1 other communication tools after adoptingCreate brand storytelling
Hero's journey adapted for brand narratives:
The brand is never the hero. The customer is the hero. The brand is the guide.
| Story stage | Brand role | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary world | Acknowledge the status quo | "Before, teams were stuck doing X" |
| Call to adventure | Name the problem worth solving | "Then we realized X was causing Y loss" |
| Mentor appears | Brand enters as guide | "We built [brand] because we had the same problem" |
| Crossing the threshold | Customer takes first step | "When teams try [brand], they first notice..." |
| Tests and trials | Honest acknowledgment of friction | "Getting started takes 30 minutes..." |
| Reward | The transformation | "Three months in, teams report..." |
| Return with elixir | Customer becomes a case study | "[Customer name] now ships 2x faster" |
Founding story structure (for About pages):
1. The founder's specific, personal problem (2-3 sentences)
2. The moment they realized it was a universal problem (1-2 sentences)
3. What they tried before building their own solution (1-2 sentences)
4. The insight that made the product different (1-2 sentences)
5. The result and who benefits (2-3 sentences)Competitive positioning map
Plot competitors on a 2x2 matrix using two axes that represent meaningful trade-offs in your category. The goal is to find a position of clear, defensible whitespace.
How to select axes:
- Choose axes that real customers use to evaluate products in the category
- Avoid axes where everyone clusters (e.g., "quality" vs "price" maps are useless)
- Use axes that represent genuine strategic trade-offs
Example axes for a project management tool:
- X axis: Simplicity (low) to Power/Flexibility (high)
- Y axis: Individual-focused (low) to Team/Enterprise-focused (high)
After mapping, answer: Is our intended position genuinely empty? If not, what claim can we make that shifts the axes in our favor?
Develop brand guidelines document
Minimum viable brand guidelines structure:
- Brand promise - one sentence: what we deliver to every customer, every time
- Positioning statement - the Moore template filled in
- Target audience - two to three personas with a name, job, and core frustration
- Brand archetype - which of the twelve, with three behavioral implications
- Voice and tone - four dimensions with "we are / we are not" examples
- Messaging hierarchy - primary message, three to five supporting messages
- Vocabulary guide - words we use, words we never use, words to use carefully
- Channel tone adaptations - how voice shifts for each major channel
Rules for guidelines documents:
- Every guideline needs an example - abstract principles without examples are unused
- Include "do this / not this" pairs for voice and vocabulary
- Keep it under 15 pages or no one will read it
- Version it - brand guidelines evolve as the company learns
Audit brand consistency
Evaluate brand consistency across channels against these five dimensions:
| Dimension | Audit question | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Voice | Does copy across website, email, and social sound like the same entity? | Formal on website, slangy on social with no intentional shift |
| Message | Is the primary brand claim present and consistent everywhere? | Different value props on homepage vs sales deck vs LinkedIn |
| Positioning | Are we consistently placed in the right category? | Sometimes "project management," sometimes "communication tool" |
| Audience | Does the targeting feel consistent? | Website targets SMBs; ads target enterprise; blog targets developers |
| Promise | Does the product experience deliver what the brand claims? | Brand claims "simplicity" but onboarding takes 3 hours |
Audit scoring: Rate each dimension 1-5. Any dimension at 3 or below needs a defined fix with an owner and deadline. Do not audit without a plan to act on findings.
Anti-patterns / common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it's wrong | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning to everyone | "For anyone who wants to be more productive" is not a position - it is the absence of one; it is impossible to win a fight you have not chosen | Name a specific, narrow customer and an explicit competitor or alternative; whittle until someone can be excluded |
| Brand voice = formal language | Formal language is not professional - it is distant; it creates the illusion of authority without building trust | Use the language your best customers use when talking about their problem at dinner, not in a press release |
| Archetype as costume | Picking "Rebel" then writing safe, committee-approved copy; archetype is skin-deep if the team does not actually behave consistently with it | Derive two or three concrete behavioral decisions from the archetype before approving it |
| Updating positioning on every bad quarter | Brand equity requires repetition; changing positioning when conversion dips destroys accumulated associations | Investigate conversion problems at the channel/offer level before touching positioning; give positioning at least 18 months |
| Message house with no hierarchy | A list of six equally weighted messages is not a hierarchy - it is a features list; audiences cannot hold six messages | One primary message owns everything; all other messages support and prove the primary |
| Brand guidelines as decoration | A 60-page PDF no one reads does not create brand consistency - it creates the illusion of it | Short guidelines, mandatory examples, assigned owners for each channel, and a quarterly review cadence |
Gotchas
Positioning that tries to win everyone wins no one - The most common failure: a positioning statement so broad it excludes no competitor and excludes no customer. "For businesses that want to grow" is not a position. Without a specific audience and an explicit alternative being rejected, there's no position to defend.
Voice guidelines without examples are ignored - A voice attribute like "conversational and direct" means different things to every writer. Without a "write this, not this" example pair for each attribute, different team members will interpret the same guideline completely differently. Every voice guideline needs at least one concrete before/after example.
Changing positioning after 6 months wipes accumulated brand equity - Repositioning feels necessary when early conversion numbers are disappointing, but the problem is usually channel execution, not positioning. Brand associations take 12-18+ months of consistent repetition to form. Diagnose at the campaign/offer level before touching the positioning statement.
Brand archetype selection without behavioral commitments is cosmetic - Teams choose "The Sage" or "The Rebel" and then write the same safe, committee-approved copy they would have written anyway. An archetype is only useful if it generates 2-3 concrete behavioral commitments - things the brand will do or won't do - that are different from the default.
Messaging hierarchy with 6+ equal-weight messages is a feature list - If all messages are weighted equally, audiences can't identify the main point and the brand says nothing memorable. One message must be primary (the umbrella claim); everything else exists to support and prove it, not to compete with it.
References
For deep-dive frameworks on specific brand strategy topics, load the relevant file:
references/brand-frameworks.md- Positioning templates (Moore, Elevator Pitch, Jobs-to-be-Done frame), full archetype catalog with voice implications, and voice/tone matrices with worked examples
Only load references when the current task requires detailed framework content.
References
brand-frameworks.md
Brand Frameworks
Deep-dive reference for positioning templates, archetype catalog, and voice/tone matrices. Load this file when the task requires filling in a specific template or selecting the right framework for a client or product.
Positioning templates
Template 1: Geoffrey Moore (Crossing the Chasm)
The most widely used B2B positioning template. Best for technology products with a clear category and a definable competitor.
For [target customer - specific job title or segment]
who [has this problem or unmet need],
[Brand name] is the [market category]
that [primary benefit - what it uniquely does].
Unlike [named alternative or status quo],
[Brand name] [key differentiator - the thing they cannot honestly say].Usage rules:
- "Target customer" must exclude someone - if it includes everyone, rewrite
- "Market category" should be a real, understood category; do not invent a category in your positioning statement (save that for your PR)
- "Key differentiator" must be a claim competitors cannot honestly make
- Write it in under 50 words once you are done
Template 2: The Elevator Pitch (Steve Blank)
More narrative than Moore. Works well for consumer products, founder stories, and investor pitches. Leads with the problem before naming the product.
You know how [target audience] struggle with [painful problem]?
Well, what we do is [solution in plain English].
In fact, [specific proof or result - one customer story or data point].Example:
You know how solo founders spend half their time in tools that were built for
enterprise teams with IT departments?
Well, Notion for Indie gives solo builders one workspace that replaces five tools
with zero setup.
In fact, our first 100 users cancelled an average of 3.4 paid subscriptions within
their first month.Template 3: Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) positioning
Based on Clayton Christensen's JTBD theory. Frames positioning around the job the customer is hiring the product to do, not the product features.
When [situation / trigger],
I want to [motivation / job to be done],
so I can [expected outcome].
[Brand name] is the only [category] that [uniquely enables this outcome]
because [reason to believe - mechanism or proof].How to find the job:
- Interview customers about the moment they decided to try your product
- Ask: "What were you doing right before you searched for a solution?"
- Ask: "What would you go back to using if this product disappeared tomorrow?"
- The job is usually one level of abstraction above the features they describe
Example:
When my team ships a feature and I have no idea if anyone is using it,
I want to see real usage data in under five minutes,
so I can decide whether to iterate or move on.
Quickmetrics is the only product analytics tool that shows meaningful cohort
data within 30 minutes of the SDK install - no data team required.Template 4: One-sentence brand promise
For internal alignment and brand guidelines headers. Distills the entire brand strategy to one memorable sentence that every employee can repeat.
[Brand name] helps [target customer] [achieve outcome] by [unique mechanism].Examples:
- "Stripe helps developers build and scale any business model by abstracting away payment infrastructure complexity."
- "Linear helps engineering teams move faster by making project management feel like a product, not a process."
- "Figma helps design teams collaborate in real time by making design files live documents instead of attachments."
Archetype catalog
Brand archetypes, drawn from Carl Jung's twelve universal character patterns. Each entry includes: archetype name, core desire, fear, strategy, and voice implications.
The Innocent
Core desire: To be happy, to experience paradise Fear: Doing something wrong, being punished Strategy: Do things right, be pure, simple, honest Examples: Dove, Coca-Cola (original), Patagonia (in product claims)
Voice implications:
- Optimistic, warm, simple language
- Avoids irony, complexity, or dark humor
- Emphasizes purity, simplicity, natural
- Vocabulary: "simple," "honest," "pure," "genuine," "feel good"
When to choose: Consumer brands where trust, purity, and safety are purchase drivers. Wellness, food, family products.
The Explorer
Core desire: Freedom to find out who you are through exploration Fear: Getting trapped, conformity, inner emptiness Strategy: Journey, seeking and experiencing new things Examples: Jeep, The North Face, Patagonia (in brand story), NASA
Voice implications:
- Adventurous, independent, non-conformist
- Celebrates the journey more than the destination
- Vocabulary: "discover," "adventure," "pioneer," "explore," "beyond," "trail"
When to choose: Outdoor, travel, automotive, and any brand where freedom and self-discovery are the core emotional payoff.
The Sage
Core desire: To use intelligence and analysis to understand the world Fear: Being duped, misled, or ignorant Strategy: Seek out information and knowledge; share expertise Examples: Google, McKinsey, TED, The Economist, Harvard
Voice implications:
- Authoritative, precise, research-backed
- Comfortable with nuance and complexity
- Vocabulary: "research shows," "data suggests," "evidence," "insight," "understand"
- Avoids hype, exaggeration, unsubstantiated claims
When to choose: B2B technology, consultancies, media, education, analytics platforms - anywhere expertise is the core value proposition.
The Hero
Core desire: To prove worth through courageous, difficult action Fear: Weakness, vulnerability, cowardice Strategy: Be as strong and competent as possible Examples: Nike, FedEx, US Army, Duracell
Voice implications:
- Inspiring, bold, aspirational
- Talks about overcoming, achieving, winning
- Vocabulary: "achieve," "conquer," "win," "champion," "elite," "outperform"
- Challenges audience to step up; never soft or hedging
When to choose: Sports, fitness, professional achievement, productivity tools where customers want to feel capable and accomplished.
The Outlaw / Rebel
Core desire: Revolution, radical change Fear: Being powerless, trivialized, conforming Strategy: Disrupt, destroy, or shock Examples: Harley-Davidson, Virgin, Apple (early), Red Bull
Voice implications:
- Provocative, irreverent, contrarian
- Calls out the establishment or status quo by name
- Vocabulary: "break," "disrupt," "fight," "against," "rules are made to be broken"
- Warning: must be backed by actual behavior - hollow rebellion reads as posturing
When to choose: Challenger brands entering mature markets, products that genuinely threaten an incumbent's business model.
The Magician
Core desire: Understanding the fundamental laws of the universe Fear: Unintended negative consequences Strategy: Develop a vision and live by it; make dreams reality Examples: Apple (product launches), Disney, Dyson, Tesla
Voice implications:
- Visionary, transformational, slightly mysterious
- Emphasizes the "how" less than the "what becomes possible"
- Vocabulary: "transform," "imagine," "reinvent," "magical," "like nothing before"
- Best deployed sparingly - easy to overuse
When to choose: Consumer technology, entertainment, luxury products, and transformation-oriented services.
The Regular Person / Everyman
Core desire: Connection, belonging Fear: Standing out or seeming to put on airs Strategy: Develop ordinary solid virtues, the common touch Examples: IKEA, Budweiser, Levi's, Target
Voice implications:
- Friendly, down-to-earth, unpretentious
- Uses plain language, avoids jargon
- Vocabulary: "everyone," "together," "for all," "real," "everyday"
- Humor is gentle and inclusive, not edgy
When to choose: Mass-market consumer products where belonging and affordability are key purchase drivers.
The Lover
Core desire: Intimacy and experience Fear: Being alone, unwanted, unloved Strategy: Become more and more physically and emotionally attractive Examples: Victoria's Secret, Häagen-Dazs, Alfa Romeo, Chanel
Voice implications:
- Sensory, intimate, emotionally rich
- Speaks to desire, beauty, pleasure, connection
- Vocabulary: "indulge," "beautiful," "desire," "intimate," "experience"
- Risk: can read as manipulative if not backed by genuine quality
When to choose: Luxury goods, beauty, fashion, hospitality, and any product where sensory pleasure or emotional connection drives purchase.
The Jester
Core desire: To live in the moment with full enjoyment Fear: Being bored or boring others Strategy: Play, make jokes, be funny Examples: Old Spice, Dollar Shave Club, MailChimp (early), Wendy's social
Voice implications:
- Witty, playful, irreverent, self-aware
- Uses humor as a trust and attention mechanism
- Vocabulary: puns, unexpected turns, subverted expectations
- Warning: humor ages poorly; requires ongoing investment and a brave team
When to choose: Consumer products in commoditized categories where humor creates differentiation; challenger brands with a strong creative team.
The Caregiver
Core desire: To protect and care for others Fear: Selfishness, ingratitude Strategy: Do things for others; be generous Examples: Johnson & Johnson, UNICEF, Cleveland Clinic, Volvo
Voice implications:
- Warm, reassuring, supportive
- Centers the customer's wellbeing, not the brand's achievements
- Vocabulary: "protect," "support," "care," "safe," "family," "peace of mind"
- Avoids self-promotion; always brings it back to the customer's benefit
When to choose: Healthcare, insurance, family products, nonprofit, financial planning - anywhere trust and protection are the core purchase driver.
The Creator
Core desire: To create something of enduring value Fear: Mediocre vision or execution Strategy: Develop artistic control and skill; realize a vision Examples: LEGO, Adobe, Apple (product narrative), YouTube
Voice implications:
- Imaginative, expressive, quality-obsessed
- Celebrates the act of making and the people who make
- Vocabulary: "create," "build," "craft," "design," "express," "make"
- Often speaks to a creative community or aspiring creators
When to choose: Creative tools, design software, craft brands, maker communities, and any brand whose product enables self-expression.
The Ruler
Core desire: Control Fear: Chaos, being overthrown Strategy: Exercise power; create prosperity and success Examples: Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, American Express (Centurion), Salesforce
Voice implications:
- Commanding, authoritative, polished
- Speaks about results, standards, and leadership
- Vocabulary: "leadership," "standard," "excellence," "authority," "command"
- Avoids casualness; tone is consistently elevated
When to choose: Premium B2B products, luxury goods, financial services, and products where status and command are core to the purchase identity.
Voice and tone matrices
Matrix 1: Formality vs Warmth
Plot your brand on this grid to understand your voice territory. The position determines acceptable vocabulary, sentence length, and humor usage.
HIGH WARMTH
|
[Caregiver] | [Jester]
[Innocent] | [Everyman]
|
FORMAL ——————————————+—————————————— CASUAL
|
[Ruler] | [Explorer]
[Sage] | [Outlaw]
|
LOW WARMTHMost B2B SaaS brands cluster in the lower-right quadrant (casual, lower warmth) when they should be in the upper-right (casual, warm). Moving toward warmth without losing credibility is the most common voice improvement opportunity.
Matrix 2: Channel tone calibration
Use this matrix to calibrate tone shifts while holding voice constant.
| Channel | Formality (1=casual, 5=formal) | Warmth (1=cool, 5=warm) | Humor (yes/no/maybe) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homepage hero | 2 | 4 | Maybe |
| Product UI copy | 1 | 3 | No |
| Onboarding email | 2 | 5 | Maybe |
| Error messages | 2 | 4 | No |
| Blog posts | 2 | 3 | Maybe |
| Press releases | 4 | 2 | No |
| Social media | 1 | 4 | Yes |
| Incident postmortems | 3 | 3 | No |
| Sales deck | 3 | 4 | Maybe |
| Support replies | 2 | 5 | Maybe |
Customize this matrix for your brand - the values above are illustrative defaults for a mid-market B2B SaaS brand with an Everyman or Hero archetype.
Matrix 3: Vocabulary guide template
Complete this template as part of brand guidelines. Enforces consistent vocabulary at the word level, which is where brand voice is won or lost in practice.
| Concept | We say | We never say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our product category | [fill in] | [fill in] | [fill in] |
| The value we create | [fill in] | [fill in] | [fill in] |
| Our customers | [fill in] | [fill in] | [fill in] |
| Speed/performance | [fill in] | [fill in] | [fill in] |
| Trust/reliability | [fill in] | [fill in] | [fill in] |
| Innovation | [fill in] | [fill in] | [fill in] |
Example - developer tools brand:
| Concept | We say | We never say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our product category | "developer platform" | "solution," "ecosystem" | "Solution" is meaningless; "ecosystem" is overused |
| The value we create | "ships faster," "reduces toil" | "synergies," "value-add" | We speak like engineers, not consultants |
| Our customers | "developers," "engineering teams" | "users," "clients" | "Users" is passive; "clients" is formal B2B sales-speak |
| Speed/performance | "fast," "instant," "in milliseconds" | "lightning-fast," "blazing" | Cliches undermine technical credibility |
| Trust/reliability | "reliable," "99.99% uptime" | "world-class," "best-in-class" | Always cite the specific claim, not the superlative |
| Innovation | "we built X because Y" | "innovative," "cutting-edge" | Show the innovation; do not claim it |
Matrix 4: Tone by audience emotional state
The customer's emotional state at the moment of contact should shift your tone even when voice stays constant.
| Customer state | What they need | Tone to use | Tone to avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excited (just signed up) | Validation and a clear next step | Warm, celebratory, direct | Over-selling, burying the CTA |
| Confused (lost in product) | Clarity and a rescue path | Calm, instructional, reassuring | Jargon, blame |
| Frustrated (something broke) | Acknowledgment and fast resolution | Direct, ownership-taking, no hedging | Corporate deflection, passive voice |
| Skeptical (evaluating) | Evidence and honesty about limitations | Confident, data-backed, balanced | Hype, dismissing their concerns |
| Successful (just hit a milestone) | Recognition | Brief, genuine, peer-to-peer | Over-the-top, canned congratulations |
| Churning (cancelling) | Respect and no pressure | Calm, gracious, no guilt | Desperate win-back tone, dark patterns |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is brand-strategy?
Use this skill when defining brand positioning, voice and tone guidelines, brand architecture, or storytelling frameworks. Triggers on brand positioning, brand voice, tone guidelines, brand architecture, brand story, messaging hierarchy, competitive positioning, and any task requiring brand strategy development or documentation.
How do I install brand-strategy?
Run npx skills add AbsolutelySkilled/AbsolutelySkilled --skill brand-strategy in your terminal. The skill will be immediately available in your AI coding agent.
What AI agents support brand-strategy?
brand-strategy works with claude-code, gemini-cli, openai-codex. Install it once and use it across any supported AI coding agent.
Is brand-strategy free?
Yes, brand-strategy is completely free and open source under the MIT license. Install it with a single command and start using it immediately.
What is the difference between brand-strategy and similar tools?
brand-strategy is an AI agent skill that teaches your coding agent specialized marketing knowledge. Unlike standalone tools, it integrates directly into claude-code, gemini-cli, openai-codex and other AI agents.
Can I use brand-strategy with Cursor or Windsurf?
brand-strategy works with any AI coding agent that supports the skills protocol, including Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, and 40+ more.