I led a complete evolution of Verizon’s Brand Voice & Tone Guidelines, from establishing new Voice pillars to creating a comprehensive guideline overhaul.

We didn’t take this job lightly. Before we put pen to paper, we held intensive workshops with multiple teams—creative teams from all internal channels (retail, dotcom, digital advertising, social, integrated campaigns), as well as strategy, CX, SEO, Proofreading, partner agencies like Pentagram…you name it. After all, these are the teams who will use our guidelines to further build the brand.

Only then did we build official pillars, tone principles, house style and mechanics—which now serve as the north star across the organization.

We’ve created a Brand Voice Masterclass, during which we present the evolved Brand Voice to internal channels and teams, as well as partner agencies.

I helped lead the creation of an entire Brand Voice Program built to ensure that we’re effectively bringing our Brand Voice to life.

We created Office Hours, where teams can seek consultation for various existing projects they’re working on.

And a Brand Voice Writers’ Council, where a copywriting proxy from each channel and function within our in-house agency comes together to discuss challenges, opportunities and inspiration as it pertains to Brand Voice in each of their respective channels and roles.

We have bi-monthly check-ins with various disciplines, including CX, RTM and an acquisition team working on AI.

Ongoing programming includes an Inspiration Series, Open Briefs, and other ways to expand our Brand Voice.

We’re currently planning for how we extend our Brand Voice across other parts of the organization, as well as establishing methods for helping others evangelize the evolved guidelines.