Creating a Consulting Brand Identity

Your client's brand voice deck is 90 pages of absolutely nothing. “Approachable. Innovative. Bold.” Congrats, you’ve just described: Every brand No brand Toothpaste. And a golden retriever That's not a voice, it's a horoscope. Most “brand voice” guides read like HR manuals for a robot: “Confident, but not arrogant.” People can’t hear that, they can only fall asleep to it. After a bunch of years creating and watching others create brand voices for Nike, Old Spice, KFC, LIFE360 etc. I’ve learned that A memorable brand voice needs 3 specific things. I call them the 3 Ps, because that sounds like a real framework and I want to sound important: Position: what you stand for The shelf you want to occupy in people’s minds.  Volvo owns safety. Nike champions inner athletes. If you don’t pick something, the market picks “Generic Company that no one cares about” for you. Point of View: what you actually believe. This is the most important one, and the one most brands skip. What do you think about the world that could start an argument? Here’s why POV is everything: Two car brands can both “own” safety. One says: “Life is sacred. We must protect it.” The other says: “Humans are idiots. Our tech has to save them from themselves.” Same position. Wildly different voice. Nike’s POV: Everyone has greatness in them, if they’re willing to suffer for it. Liquid Death's POV: "Healthy choices shouldn't have to look and feel boring." Patagonia's POV: "Business should hurt itself before it hurts the planet." Personality: how you sound when you say it. If your brand were a person, would you want to sit next to them on a plane? Do they talk like a human, or like something written by committee in a google doc? Position is what you stand for. POV is what you believe. Personality is how you talk about it at the party. When you have the 3 P's you know exactly what to say and how to act, so you can respond to anything happening in culture, on any platform. Years ago with Old Spice, we surprised the public by having the Old Spice Guy respond to fan’s Youtube comments with 186 custom videos over three days. Only possible because we had the 3 P’s. The brands we love hit all three Ps. Most brands are running at about 0.7 of a P on a good day. So give your client the best gift ever--give them all 3. Drop the best brand voice you’ve ever seen in the comments and say which P made it impossible to ignore. If you’re a creative director and want to learn more of my frameworks, check out my free CD masterclass in the comments. Want the full system behind voices like this? Grab a free seat at my Creative Megamachine masterclass: https://lnkd.in/etHptNer

Yesterday, I wandered down Cecil Street - a hidden gem in the heart of London (near Chinatown). And found it to be a masterclass in personal branding, right before my eyes. Imagine a tiny, Diagon Alley-inspired street where each bookshop is a universe unto itself. One store specializes only in maps. Another - in Lewis Carroll books (Alice in Wonderland). The third - signed first editions spanning every imaginable genre. Now as an ex-lawyer turned personal brand strategist, my mind started churning. This. This street carried a powerful lesson. Take Timothy, the map bookseller for example. He's been in the business for 40+ years. And he didn't try to be everything to everyone. Instead, he became the go-to expert in one specific niche - maps. Similar, Joe (in picture) is a shop assistant at Marchpane, which specialises in all things Alice in Wonderland (and other stories too). Just look at the creative interior?! When I spoke to Joe, he mentioned how single-minded he was in his job hunting process. He'd walked down this street with his CV, focused on his dream of working in a bookstore. And that's just what he did. Now why do we care? I'll share a final, personal story: When I left law, I could have tried to be a generic personal branding consultant. Instead, I chose to specialise. To become known for something specific - helping mid to senior executives and founders build their brands on LinkedIn 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺. 𝐓𝐋;𝐃𝐑 1️⃣ Specificity is your superpower 2️⃣ Depth matters more than breadth (sometimes) 3️⃣ Your unique angle is your competitive advantage Timothy's story for example wasn't just about selling maps. It was about understanding your market, adapting, and staying true to your passion. So when he realised book margins were shrinking, he didn't panic. He pivoted. Specialised. And became irreplaceable. That's the essence of a strong personal brand. You don't need to be everything to everyone. You need to be something extraordinary to someone. Whether you're a lawyer, marketer, or aspiring entrepreneur - your niche is waiting. Find it. Own it. Celebrate it. 𝐏/𝐒: Curious how to find and tell your unique story? My Build Your Why course breaks down exactly that - you don't need any prior knowledge of 30+ years of working experience to get started! - https://lnkd.in/gshGPvqy Stay curious. Stay unique. 💡

It started on a chill FaceTime. A founder wanted my take on their brand voice. Said they’d been “studying the greats.” Nike. Apple. Netflix. I nodded. Fair. Learn from the legends. But then I hit their landing page. The headline? Just Start. Below it: No excuses. No limits. No shortcuts. It read like Nike and ChatGPT had teamed up... and forgot to label it. They looked proud. Like a kid holding up homework that was definitely “original.” But here’s the problem. The words? Smooth. The layout? Sleek. The soul? Missing. It didn’t sound like them. It sounded like someone trying to sound fearless, but reading lines from someone else’s playbook. I get it though. I’ve been there. When I launched my first venture, I tried to copy confidence. Swiped Shopify’s clarity. Borrowed Notion’s tone. Even pulled Apple’s product shots for “inspo.” My logic? If I sound like them, maybe people will trust me. Respect me. Buy from me. But all I got back was… silence. Because it wasn’t me. It was a costume. The big shift? Came from a client who said: “I didn’t hire you for your branding. I hired you for the way you talk about branding.” That line stuck. She bought my voice, not my visuals. That’s when I quit the charade. I stopped writing for applause. And started speaking like I actually talk. Because here’s the truth: People don’t buy polish. They buy personality. Branding isn’t mimicry. It’s memory. You can copy a punchline. Swipe a color scheme. Clone a carousel. But if it’s not yours, it won’t last. Want a brand voice that clicks? Say what you really mean. Be raw. Be weird. Swear if you must. Show the rough edges. That’s what trust is built on — not perfection, but presence. The way you tell stories. The way you mess up and own it. That’s your edge. Your weird voice notes and 2AM drafts? That’s your IP. Don’t Ctrl+C your magic. Build something honest. And if you need help finding that voice, that’s exactly what we do inside The Brand Engine. Not fluff. Not guru talk. Just tools, feedback, and a bit of fire to help you sound like you, but sharper. Because people don’t follow brands. They follow builders. Let’s make them follow you. Link in comments.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭. Most brands think voice = wording. Fonts. Tone. Vocabulary. That’s surface-level. Real voice is built through 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Not creativity. Look at most brand pages: every post feels different: → New tone → New style → New message Creative? Yes. Memorable? No. Because recall doesn’t come from variety. It comes from consistency. The brands you 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲? It’s not one great post. It’s repetition: the same belief, POV, and lens reinforced again and again. In India, this matters even more. Chaotic feeds. Endless scroll. If your message keeps changing, your 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. Where brands go wrong: “Let’s not repeat ourselves.” So they keep inventing new things to say. But audiences don’t track you that closely. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Strong brands ask: → “How do we say the same thing better?” Not: “What new thing can we say?” Because repetition doesn’t bore people. Irrelevance does. If you want recall: → Stand for one clear idea → Express it consistently → Repeat it enough to stick Otherwise, your content performs for a day: and disappears the next. 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. #ContentMarketing #BrandBuilding #MarketingIndia #DigitalStrategy

The longest discovery call I’ve ever had lasted 2.5 hours. Not because we were stuck. But because it didn’t feel like work at all. We started with a simple intro, and suddenly we were talking like old friends, about their lessons, failures, the events they attended, the struggles they never posted about, the big wins they almost forgot to mention. That’s the thing with personal branding, you can’t build someone’s voice by just knowing their achievements. You need the messy parts too. The real, unpolished stories that actually shaped them. Because no one connects with a highlight reel. People connect with truth. And honestly, that’s how I grew my own page. I never just posted the “professional Kajal” updates. I shared the breakdowns, the small wins, the bold experiments. The whole mix. If you’re working on personal branding (for yourself or a client), here’s what I’ve learned matters most: • Don’t just ask about their achievements. Ask about the rough patches that taught them something. • Balance industry events & technical updates with real-life stories. Too polished = forgettable. • People follow people, not resumes. Share the thought process, not just the outcomes. • Virality comes when people see themselves in the story. That only happens if you get raw details, not surface-level ones. • Treat the first call like a deep dive. The more you know, the more authentic the brand will feel. That 2.5 hour call? It gave me more than a client brief ever could. It gave me their story. And that’s what personal branding really is. If you want me to help you bring your story to life (not just the highlight reel), my inbox is open. Let’s have a 2.5 hours long chat XD

We recently dragged people who mask their products with a different foreign identity just to gain the approval of customers. Today, I want to talk about Professionals, who do the same thing but in a different way. This even happens on LinkedIn every day. Someone can be based in Nigeria, understands their local system, has real experience… but the moment they show up online, they start speaking like they are resident somewhere else. Different tone. Different identity. Sometimes even different realities, because they believe that is what foreign clients take seriously. So here is the big problem: When your positioning is built on what you think people want to hear, instead of what you actually know, you are already creating a GAP. That gap automatically shows up when the real work begins. If you are a professional, your strongest advantage is not to sound foreign. It should be CLARITY. • What do you actually understand better than the next person? • What environment do you truly know? • Where can you speak from 💯 experience, not assumption? That is what you should be building on. Because in the long run, people are not looking for aesthetics. They are just looking for someone who understands the problem they are facing and can actually handle it. Instead of adjusting your voice to fit what looks “global”, focus on making your brand clear and deeply grounded.

YOU DON'T CREATE A TONE OF VOICE. You uncover it. Because when brands say they are "BOLD" BUT PLAY IT SAFE.... Or claim "we're all about community", but sounds like a corporate chatbot... Something is off. THE TONE DOESN'T MATCH THE PRODUCT. THE VOICE DOESN'T MATCH THE EXPERIENCE. And your audience feels the disconnection super fast. THE TRUTH IS: The best brand voices don't just speak. They listen. They resonate. They meet people where they are. They name what hasn't been said yet but deeply felt. But to get there, you need research. No Moodboards. No Brand Archetypes. And don't even get me started with the "tone workshops". You need the "in-between" spaces. => Netnography - to understand how people talk when no one's watching. => Semiotics - what your category codes are really signalling. => IDIs - the emotional temperature behind choices. => Cultural Listening - The shifts people cannot yet articulate. That’s how you find a voice that’s not just “on brand,” but one that makes people feel seen. Because maybe your skincare brand doesn't need to sound "clean". It needs to sound like trust after years of betrayal. Maybe your tech brand doesn't need to sound "innovative". It needs to sound like a relief after "burnout". Tone of voice isn’t about how you want to sound. It’s about how people need to feel. And don’t even get me started with “authenticity”🙄

Hot take: the reason most coaches sound the same online is not because they have not found their voice. It is because they hired someone to "find it" for them. And that person gave them the same template they gave the last 30 clients. I know this is going to ruffle feathers in my own industry. But I have seen it too many times to stay quiet about it. A coach with 15 years of expertise hires a copywriter or brand strategist. That person interviews them for an hour, pulls out some keywords, runs it through a framework, and delivers a "brand voice guide" that sounds polished, professional, and exactly like everyone else. The coach reads it and thinks "this sounds good but it does not sound like me." Then they use it anyway, because they paid for it and this person is supposed to be the expert. And that is the moment they lose the thing that actually made them different. Their rough edges. Their specific way of seeing problems. The slightly unconventional opinion they were afraid to say out loud. The lived experience that no framework could have generated. All of it gets smoothed out and replaced with safe, professional, interchangeable language. Here is what I have learned after working with over 850 experts: your voice is not lost. It is buried, underneath advice that told you to sound more polished, more broad, more palatable. The fix is not hiring someone to give you a voice. It is hiring someone who can hear the voice you already have and build a strategic architecture around it. The best messaging I have ever built was never invented. It was excavated. The client said something in conversation, raw, unfiltered, specific, and I said "THAT That is your positioning. Say that, exactly like that, every single time." Your most powerful brand asset is the thing you keep editing out because it does not sound professional enough. What is the worst branding advice you received that you followed anyway? #BrandStrategy #MessagingStrategy #BusinessPositioning #ConsultantBranding

Your brand voice sounds like everyone else. If I swapped your logo with your competitor's on your last five posts, would anyone notice? That's the problem. You did the voice and tone workshop. Got a document that says you're "approachable but professional." Cool. So is every other B2B and B2C brand on the internet. Safe is forgettable. Here's the thing about 2026: You don't need to announce a rebrand. People should just notice your brand suddenly sounds like an actual human. When you post. When you respond. When someone lands on your website or shows up at your activation. It should all feel like the same person is in the room. So ask yourself: If your brand were a person, who would it be? Not adjectives. Actually—who is this person? The friend who tells it like it is? The expert who doesn't need to prove it? Sarcastic? Warm? Blunt? Unhinged? Pick one. Commit. Then make that person come alive everywhere: → Website copy—does it sound like that person wrote it? → Social comments—are you responding like that person would? → Activations—would people recognize the personality IRL? → Customer service—does that person show up, or does a script? The brands that win in 2026 sound like actual people. Not people trying to be everything to everyone. Not people afraid of having an opinion. Just people. Real, opinionated, flawed, interesting people. So here's your assignment: Stop writing brand voice guidelines. Start asking: "Would this person say this?" And if the answer is no, don't say it. Your audience doesn't want to follow a brand. They want to follow a person who happens to work at a brand. Be that person.

Most brands sound robotic with AI. The smartest companies use AI to sound more human. After analyzing hundreds of brand transformations, I've discovered that successful companies use AI strategically to amplify their authentic voice. Here are 11 ways to use AI to make your brand sound more human: 1. Voice Mining ↳ Analyze your best-performing content ↳ Extract patterns in tone and language 💡 Pro Tip: Focus on posts with highest engagement-to-view ratios, not just total numbers. 2. Competitor Analysis ↳ Study successful voices in your space ↳ Identify gaps in brand positioning 💡 Pro Tip: Look for what competitors aren't saying. That's your opportunity. 3. Audience Feedback Loop ↳ Use AI to analyze customer comments ↳ Adjust voice based on engagement 💡 Pro Tip: Pay special attention to comments that disagree as they reveal blind spots. 4. Consistency Framework ↳ Build voice guidelines with AI ↳ Create tone variations for channels 💡 Pro Tip: Create a simple "voice spectrum" from casual to formal for different situations. 5. Value Proposition Enhancement ↳ Extract key differentiators ↳ Align voice with core benefits 💡 Pro Tip: Your voice should reflect your most valuable differentiator, not just sound good. 6. Storytelling Elements ↳ Generate narrative frameworks ↳ Test different story angles 💡 Pro Tip: What problem do you uniquely solve? 7. Cultural Alignment ↳ Map brand values to voice ↳ Ensure authenticity in messaging 💡 Pro Tip: If your culture is casual, your AI outputs shouldn't be formal 8. Content Calibration ↳ A/B test different voices ↳ Measure engagement metrics 💡 Pro Tip: Test one element at a time. Changing everything at once teaches you nothing. 9. Persona Development ↳ Create detailed brand personas ↳ Map voice to target audience 💡 Pro Tip: Interview your best customers. Their language should influence your AI prompts. 10. Emotional Intelligence ↳ Analyze emotional impact ↳ Fine-tune brand empathy 💡 Pro Tip: Every post should trigger at least one strong emotion. 11. Voice Evolution System ↳ Monitor voice performance ↳ Adapt to market changes 💡 Pro Tip: Schedule monthly voice audits. Brands that don't evolve disappear. The brands winning with AI aren't chasing perfection. They're doubling down on authenticity. By using these tools strategically, you can scale content without sacrificing the human touch that builds trust and loyalty. Which of these techniques will you implement first? Share below 👇 ♻️ Repost this if someone in your network would like this. Follow Carolyn Healey for more content about AI.