The big idea: People don’t buy products. They buy who they want to be. The brands that win commit to a clear point of view and a voice you’d recognize without seeing the logo.
See it in action
Story Arc Builder Lab
Build a post for Trailhead Outfitters, an outdoor gear store. Choose a hook, a tension and a payoff, then see whether the story lands.
Key concepts
- Brand voice: A set of convictions, not a style guide on a shelf. The test: would you know who wrote the post without seeing the logo?
- Voice vs. tone: Voice is the brand’s personality and stays the same everywhere. Tone shifts with context.
- Content as media: Some brands build content around the feeling their audience wants, so the content becomes the main product.
- Story over production value: A clear audience, an unmistakable voice and a real offer can beat a big budget.
- Commit to a point of view: Ask what your brand would look like if it fully committed to what it believes.
Real examples
- Red Bull: Runs like a media company that sells energy drinks; the Stratos space jump never mentioned the drink.
- Liquid Death: Sold canned water like a heavy metal band and built a subculture around identity.
- Dollar Shave Club: A low-budget launch video in a blunt, funny voice.
- Duolingo: The owl’s chaotic voice looks random but follows a clear strategy.
- Jack Daniel’s: Slow, confident and never trying too hard. The restraint is the voice.
Real brands in action
Red Bull: A media company that sells energy drinks
Red Bull built content around a feeling: pushing past human limits. Felix Baumgartner’s Stratos jump in 2012 drew 8 million live YouTube viewers, and the drink was never mentioned. Today Red Bull has its own TV channel, media house, magazine, record label and F1 team.
The lesson: Own a feeling your audience wants, and build your content around it.
Learn more: Red Bull
Dollar Shave Club: Story beats production value
Dollar Shave Club spoke straight to men who felt ripped off by expensive razors. Its launch video cost $4,500, was shot in one day and had no celebrity or effects. It was a clear offer in an irreverent, confident voice that felt like a friend talking.
The lesson: A clear audience and a real voice can beat a big budget.
Learn more: Dollar Shave Club
Brand images are shown for educational purposes only. Each image and trademark belongs to the brand credited, and each credit links to that brand.
Frameworks from class
The Big 3 questions
Every content decision comes back to three questions. Answer them before you make anything. Without them, content becomes noise. With them, it builds trust and recognition.
- Who are you trying to reach? Go past demographics: what keeps them up at night?
- What do you want them to feel or do? Pick one primary action per post and make it easy.
- Where will you show up? Start with one platform and do it well. Go where your audience already is.
Content pillars
Pick two or three core topics the brand will return to again and again. Each pillar should sit where the brand’s expertise meets a problem the audience has over and over. Pillars keep a feed focused and make planning faster.
Content that does a job
Strong content solves the job the customer hires the brand for, instead of just showing the product. River Sports Outfitters posts weekend hike videos for people who want adventure. Honeybee Coffee posts finals-week reels for students who need caffeine and a study spot.
Machine vs. voice
A big brand can post constantly and still not sound like anyone. A small brand with a clear voice can feel like a person you know. The real test is whether the brand knows who it is talking to. If you could write a brand’s next post without being them, that brand has a strategy.
Content is not king, content is the currency of connection.
Mark Schaefer
Class exercise: Build a content strategy in four steps
Turn a client or your own brand into a working content plan.
- Define the audience in detail: who they are, what they value, and the problems they need solved.
- Name two or three content pillars that match the brand’s expertise and the audience’s needs.
- Choose one or two primary platforms and justify each one by audience and pillar.
- Pick two or three content formats that fit those platforms, then write one post idea that combines a pillar, a platform and a format.
Try it
Scroll two very different brands in the same category on Instagram, such as a national chain and a local favorite. Which one has a content strategy, and what proves it? Then pick three brands with very different voices. For each, name the human truth they tap into and the words they’d never say. Finish by writing one sentence as one of those brands.
Tips and best practices
- Make the customer the hero. Your brand is the guide that helps them win. Posts about the customer’s problem get more attention than posts about the company.
- Earn the first line. Open with a person, a moment or a surprising detail. Founding years and “we’re excited to announce” lose the scroll.
- No tension, no story. Show the problem before the solution. A real struggle gives people a reason to keep reading to the payoff.
- Show the plan, then the next step. Explain how the brand helped in one concrete line, then give one clear action. People trust a guide who shows the plan.
- Pass the logo test. Cover the logo and ask if a follower would know who wrote it. If not, sharpen the voice and point of view.
- Keep the voice, flex the tone. Voice stays the same everywhere. Tone shifts with the moment, playful in a launch post and plain and sincere in an apology.
Quick check
Think through your answer, then select a question to reveal one.
What’s the difference between voice and tone?
Voice is the consistent personality. Tone adjusts to the moment, like a playful post versus a service apology.
What’s the logo test for brand voice?
If you covered the logo, would you still know which brand wrote it?
View the Content Strategy and Brand Storytelling slides on Gamma