ABSTRACT
A brand language audit serves as a springboard for building a brand language brief. Essentially, a brand language audit is an inventory of the many and varied linguistic devices in use in a brand's marketing communications and the approaches used by the brands with which it competes in the marketplace. Conducting a brand language audit is a valuable exercise for benchmarking against the competition and identifying opportunities to differentiate a brand in the marketplace through language. The consumer insight section of a brand language brief is more specific than the broad insight that informs an overall brand strategy. Tone of voice is a function of particular word choice, as well as a variety of linguistic devices such as metaphors, rhymes, and punctuation. Tone of voice embodies and expresses the brand's personality and values. Style or tone can also be achieved through variations in sentence form and function.
