Bringing Character to Brand Voice
“Purposeful storytelling isn’t show business, it’s good business.”
Peter Guber
The way we entertain, connect, and change begins with a story. The better the tale, the larger the impact and that is especially true when it comes to business.
Whether you are an entrepreneur, small business, or nonprofit, how you tell your story is all about branding.
Branding is personality. It’s how you communicate your mission, offerings, and standing in the marketplace. But branding is more than a logo-it’s also how you sound.
Developing your brand’s voice is developing a character. It’s about:
Defining personality: If your company walked into a room, what would they look and sound like? What are the essential character traits?
Establishing a relationship: Who is your company to your ideal customer? What kind of conversations and interactions do you want to have?
Setting language standards: How does your company talk? What language motifs should you use? What should you stay away from?
All great stories have great characters. Having a distinct, developed, and memorable voice in everything you create brings greater interest, value, and engagement for your brand.
“I'm surprised to see the result of my story after working with Angela. I needed support telling it in a way that people would empathize with and understand. She is knowledgeable, fast, and super organized. It was a positive, structured, and constructive working dynamic.”
-Maria Oliveira Tamellini, GamerSafer Co-Founder
My Approach
Your company’s branding needs to be direct, unique, and raise interest in a style that reflects your vision. That is a huge task under any circumstance but especially if you are a founder, owner, or change maker.
Not only do you know too much about your company and everything it took to get to this point, but you also have an incredible to-do list. You’re juggling multiple roles, everything is urgent, and there are not enough hours in the day. That’s where I come in.
As an artist, I believe that stories change the world. As a professional, I know companies have the potential to do the same. That’s why I want to help create the voice you need to build your brand and engage the right audiences.
With over a decade of dramatic writing and professional experience, I’m here to give you the words you need to make your ideas a reality.
Collaborative
My theater training is in interdisciplinary collaboration. I also have marketing experience and have worked as a manager in a wide range of industries. No matter your project or sector, I can work with you to create what your brand needs.
Customized
No process should be the same. After learning about your needs, I create an approach that is specific to you.
Creative
To build your voice and message for the ideal audience, I apply the same creative tools I use to write the voices and worlds of my plays. I also have an uncanny love of research so if you need exciting ways to explain facts and figures-I got you covered.
My Services
Overall Brand Voice Strategy
Evaluating your brand and the marketplace. Identifying best practices, language pillars, and how to implement them.
Web and Social Media Content
Writing content that reflects your company’s personality.
Workshop and Trainings
Customized trainings for companies and support organizations.
Company Story
Creating mission and vision statements that explain your company’s journey and “why.”
Mascot Building
Developing a character that embodies your company and engages with customers through dialogue and story.
My Clients
I have worked with businesses, start-ups, and nonprofits in industries such as:
Tech
Gaming
Fashion
Tattooing
Wellness
Financial Education
STEM Education
Small Business Services
The Arts
What My Clients Say
“Before working with Angela, I struggled with my brand language. I had an idea for my brand but was not able to articulate it. Her thoughtful questions and feedback helped to transform my ideas into a brand voice that truly is the essence of my brand. Angela is such a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend her!”
“Angela is amazing! I would never have been able to create what we did together without her. She was able to get the vibe and the essence of my brand. She was so lovely to work with and I was sad when we were done. She was so efficient with time and budget. This is an investment in my business that was so worth it.”
“Angela hosted a virtual workshop for our collective, Handmade in Brooklyn. Having just gotten used to the new ways of quarantine virtual programming she put together a super simple yet tangible presentation about Corporate Storytelling that was so insightful. She walked us through some really interesting ways of building our brand, talking about ourselves, and pitching our ideas without feeling overwhelmed. I genuinely walked away thinking…’Ok its just me and this amazing business I created…I got this!’”
“Angela’s ‘storytelling’ approach provided us with a systematic but non-intimidating framework for a close examination of the nature and scope of our Unbroken Threads Project. We felt, from the first conversation with her, that she was 100% committed to understanding our needs and to tailoring the process to meet those needs.
Her experience as a theatre artist proved most helpful in dealing with us-a poet and a visual artist-because she could speak our language! She was a steady and generous guide through a process that empowered us to wrestle with big questions that needed to be examined at this stage in our project’s life in order for it to flourish. With Angela’s guidance we revamped the UTP website to make it clearer and more accessible. We are extremely happy with the results and believe the website will serve us well in any opportunities that we want to pursue.”
“Angela is a fairy godmother of wordsmiths and storytelling. She reviewed my organization’s mission statement and personal bio, as well as gave actionable tips on my presentation skills. She was quick, thorough and a pleasure to work with. I’d gladly work with her again!”
“I really appreciated how Angela took the time to get to know me, my brand, and my goals. Her questions were very thought provoking and I feel like even the act of answering them helped me hone my story in my mind. I loved the fresh perspective, it helped me get clear about what I think I’m saying versus what I’m actually saying.”
“We worked with Angela to refine our origin story, which we had been struggling with. She did an excellent job asking probing questions until the seemingly disparate strands started to coalesce. It felt like magic! The story was authentic to our experience, but her guidance made it much easier to see how we could bring it all together in a digestible way for our customers!”
Interested in Learning More?
Resources and Recommendations
*Free Resources
Coming Soon
*Articles
Why Storytelling?
- “A story, if broken down into the simplest form, is a connection of cause and effect. And that is exactly how we think. We think in narratives all day long…” Leo Widrich, “The Science of Storytelling: Why Telling a Story is the Most Powerful Way to Activate Our Brains.” Lifehacker
- “Storytelling may seem like an old-fashioned tool, today — and it is. That’s exactly what makes it so powerful. Life happens in the narratives we tell one another.” Harrison Monarth, “The Irresistible Power of Storytelling as a Strategic Business Tool.” Harvard Business Review.
- “Every businessperson needs this skill. But specifically for startup founders, stories can be used to convince those who can help grow and scale your venture to jump on board.” Darren Menabney. “Three stories every startup needs to tell.” Fast Company.
Storytelling Tips
- “Every storytelling exercise should begin by asking: Who is my audience and what is the message I want to share with them?” Carolyn O’Hara. “How to Tell A Great Story.” Harvard Business Review.
- “Character-driven stories with emotional content result in a better understanding of the key points a speaker wishes to make and enable better recall of these points weeks later.” Paul J. Zak, “Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling.” Harvard Business Review.
Storytelling for Impact
“After experiencing the story, people who produced the most oxytocin were the most likely to give money to others they couldn’t see.” Dr. Jeremy Dean, “The Psychology of Storytelling and Empathy.” PSYBLOG.
Watch: Future of StoryTelling, Paul Zak
*Futher Reading
- Wired for Story, Lisa Krum
- More to Come