There has been marked shift in how brands are engaging with consumers in the wake of the cost of living crisis. As the UK economy slumped into a recession towards the end of last year, we saw Channel 4 partner with big brands to air money-saving ads, while Marcus Rashford and Tom Kerridge ramped up their work on child food poverty campaign Full Time, and even John Lewis opted for a more thoughtful approach to the traditional blockbuster Christmas ad.

While, on the whole, design and advertising are seen to be effective in helping brands navigate challenging times, one of the most valuable tools at their disposal, which has been woefully overlooked in recent years, is the so-called ‘dying art’ of copywriting. “Having one page in your brand guidelines on tone of voice or having principles like ‘human’ and ‘clear’ aren’t particularly helpful in this context,” says Orlaith Wood, creative lead at copywriting agency Reed Words.

“Brands aren’t used to having to talk to people about really serious topics like financial difficulty, and it shows that as a brand you need to invest in this stuff, so that the team that’s doing the writing and the communicating is really equipped to tackle topics that aren’t just about your products or services,” she adds.

Economic uncertainty is something that the agency is having to keep top of mind with almost every project they’re working on at the moment. “When it comes down to it, we’re in the business of selling things to people, so we just have to be aware that times are tough. That comes with an extra pressure of, do people really need this and how can we make it useful?” says Wood.

One recent project that her team worked on was a cost increase letter for Nuffield Health’s gym memberships. “That’s really tricky, because people have less money but companies have to charge more because their costs are going up as well, and that’s where language is really key,” she says. “It’s navigating how you explain that in a way that feels fair and is clear and doesn’t piss people off, essentially.”

Since joining Reed Words last year, writer Molly Russell has noticed a number of brands draw parallels between their communications during the recession and other recent crises such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. While it can only be seen as a positive that more businesses are taking note of the power of words, adopting a nuanced approach to language in different situations is vital.

I think a sign of a strong tone of voice is one that can flex for different circumstances and has the nuances built into it that mean you can tell people bad news when you need to

“A lot of people do pull from those other experiences and use similar phrases. Things like, ‘we’re all in this together’, we’ve heard that many times during Covid but that really doesn’t work with the cost of living crisis, because it’s not a level playing field when you’re talking about economics. So that’s something that people need to be wary of – think before you say something and make sure that your words mean something,” she says.

At a time when many people are making sacrifices to make ends meet, brands should also tread carefully around the language of budgeting. Design agency Our Creative sparked controversy last year when it wrapped Asda’s Just Essentials range in bright yellow packaging. While the agency said its aim was to inject “warmth and soul into a famously shameful category”, critics argued that the result was closer to ‘poverty marking’.

“I think we can deal with that on the word front by emphasising the quality rather than just that it’s a lower price,” says Russell. “You do have to mark it out somehow, because people are short on time, they need to make sure that they’re choosing the items that fit their budget, but are not so glaringly in your face that this is a low cost item. That can make people feel bad if they are changing their habits and adjusting to this new lifestyle.”

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Recent examples of brands who have nailed the tone include Giffgaff’s promise to fix price tariffs, which nods to the fact that personal finance is front of mind for many people right now while keeping the bigger picture in perspective, and the inclusive but relevant wording of Nationwide’s ‘Yesterday’s prices are not today’s prices’. It’s also given new life to clever pieces of copywriting such as Lidl’s tagline, ‘Big on quality, Lidl on price’, as the budget supermarket’s sales rose by a quarter in 2022.

The secret to getting the right tone is often how in keeping it is with a brand’s existing voice, says Wood. “I think a sign of a strong tone of voice is one that can flex for different circumstances and has the nuances built into it that mean you can tell people bad news when you need to, and you know how to do that. You can’t just be cheerful and salesy all the time.” Russell agrees, adding: “It’s very jarring for customers if they are used to a brand talking in a certain way and then suddenly they sound like a robot, or some AI-generated messaging. It’s important to maintain that existing tone of voice but make it appropriate.”

Contact, a performing arts organisation in Manchester, recently demonstrated how it can make difference to its audiences with the introduction of a new concession rate called The Pinch Ticket. “Their personality is very Manchester, it’s very bold and chatty and informal,” says Russell. “I think the naming of that ticket matches their existing tone of voice and the language that they already use, in that it’s very chatty and cheeky, while also being appropriate. And people can feel the consistency.”

This is a big opportunity for brands to get some customer loyalty and show that they’re there for their customers

As brands brace themselves for another particularly challenging year, Wood’s advice on how to speak to consumers going forward is that the simplest approach is often the best. “I feel like copywriters are a bit of a broken record, always banging on about benefits, but I think that is the number one thing. Just be really clear on what you’re giving people and what’s the value there, because people are going to become more and more cynical as purse strings have to tighten,” she says.

Investing in great copywriting now will also likely pay off for businesses in the longer term as they come out the other side of the recession, Russell adds. “This is a big opportunity for brands to get some customer loyalty and show that they’re there for their customers. People are making lifestyle changes that they’ll get used to. People might switch to essential ranges and think, ‘I don’t need to go back to more high-end products’. It’s not letting them fall by the wayside as we come out of this.”

reedwords.com