brand-voice-auditor

Skill: Brand Voice Auditor

Analyzes existing brand communications to extract and codify a unique voice profile. Produces a Brand Voice Charter that includes personality traits, tonal dimensions, vocabulary, do/don't examples, a crisis voice adaptation, and — for regulated sectors — an industry constraints layer.

When to Use

• Onboarding a new brand client
• Before any content production (agency, brand team, AI-assisted)
• When brand feels inconsistent across channels or markets
• When multiple agencies need a shared voice reference
• When rebranding changes the communication register

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Prerequisites

Minimum 5 communication samples of varied types:

Sample type	Qty	Why
Press releases	2–3	Reveals formal register
Social posts (brand account)	5–10	Reveals everyday personality
Executive speech or interview	1–2	Reveals values and leadership voice
Website About/Mission section	1	Reveals self-definition
Customer-facing email	1–2	Reveals service register
Advertising copy	1–2	Reveals emotional register
Internal comms / employee content	1 (if available)	Reveals culture gap

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Step 1: Sector Classification

Before auditing, identify if this brand operates in a regulated sector:

Sector	Key constraints	Impact on voice
Healthcare / MedTech	RGPD santé, ANSM rules, HAS guidelines, secret médical	Cannot make medical claims; must distinguish HCP vs patient comms
Pharmaceuticals	Code de la Santé Publique, ASL/ANSM approval, no off-label	All claims require approved language; specific legal wording required
Financial services	AMF, ACPR regulations, MiFID II	Past performance caveats; cannot promise returns; specific disclosure requirements
Legal sector	Déontologie, Ordre des Avocats	Cannot advertise outcomes; specific confidentiality language
Food / Nutrition	ANSES, EU Regulation 1924/2006 (health claims)	Only approved health claims permitted
Education	RGPD (minors), public/private sector rules	Specific consent language for minors
General / Unregulated	Standard RGPD + droit à l'image	Standard voice constraints apply

For regulated sectors, add the Industry Constraints Layer (Section 6) before finalising the charter.

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Step 2: Voice Dimension Scoring

Rate the brand 1–5 on 6 pairs. Score reflects actual communications, not desired positioning. Provide 1–2 sample evidences per rating.

Dimension	1 (left) ←——→ 5 (right)	Score	Evidence
Formal ←——→ Conversational
Serious ←——→ Playful
Direct ←——→ Nuanced
Ambitious ←——→ Humble
Expert ←——→ Accessible
Warm ←——→ Cool

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Step 3: 4 Personality Traits

Distil the voice into 4 personality adjectives — what the brand IS. For each:

### Trait [N]: [Adjective]

The brand is [adjective] because [reason rooted in positioning].

Evidence from samples:
> "[Quote under 15 words from sample]"

What it sounds like: [Describe the texture, not the adjective]

What it is NOT: [The anti-pattern — what overdoing this looks like]
Overdone, this becomes: [Risk label — e.g., "arrogant", "flippant", "preachy"]

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Step 4: Voice Anti-Patterns

The "we are NOT" definitions are as important as the traits:

We are...	We are NOT...	Wrong example	Right example
[Trait 1]	[Anti-pattern]	[Sample of wrong approach]	[Sample of right approach]
...	...	...	...

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Step 5: Vocabulary Charter

Green List — words, phrases, and sentence starters that are on-brand:

• [Word/phrase 1], [Word/phrase 2]...
• Preferred sentence starters: [List]
• Approved ways to describe the product/service: [List]

Red List — words never to use, with reason:

• Generic claim words (innovative, leading, best-in-class, seamless, robust) — always banned
• Sector-specific overused words: [List based on audit]
• Competitor vocabulary: [List — never borrow their territory]
• Words that contradict a trait: [e.g., if "humble", ban "unrivalled"]

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Step 6: Context Adaptations

Context	Register	Emotion level	Formality	Specific guidance
Media / Press releases
LinkedIn
Instagram/TikTok
Executive speeches
Crisis communications
Internal comms
Customer service
B2B pitches / proposals

Crisis Voice Adaptation (Required)

In a crisis, brands lose their personality and revert to legal-speak. Define in advance what the brand sounds like under pressure:

CRISIS VOICE PROTOCOL

Which traits MUST survive in a crisis communication? (Max 2)
→ [Trait A]: because abandoning it would feel dishonest/evasive
→ [Trait B]: because it's needed to rebuild trust

Which traits are SUSPENDED in a crisis? (Those that feel tone-deaf)
→ [Trait C]: suspend because [reason — e.g., playfulness is inappropriate in safety crisis]

Crisis register: [Specific description]
What the brand NEVER says in a crisis: [List]
Approved first words in any crisis statement: [Template opening]

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Step 7: Industry Constraints Layer (Regulated Sectors Only)

Complete this section when Section 1 identified a regulated sector:

INDUSTRY VOICE CONSTRAINTS

Sector: [Healthcare / Pharma / Finance / Legal / Food / Other]
Primary regulatory body: [ANSM / AMF / ACPR / Ordre des Avocats / ANSES / other]

Mandatory language requirements:
- [Specific phrases required by regulation, e.g., "Les performances passées ne préjugent pas..."]
- [Required caveats, e.g., "Ce médicament est un produit de santé..."]
- [Required disclaimers for advertising]

Prohibited claim types:
- [What the brand legally cannot say, e.g., cannot claim clinical efficacy without ANSM approval]
- [Outcome promises prohibited, e.g., "We will win your case"]

Channel-specific constraints:
- Social media: [Any platform-specific rules for this sector]
- Advertising: [Pre-approval requirements, if any]
- Events: [Speaker/sponsorship restrictions]

Approval chain for communications:
[Define who must approve content before publication — legal, compliance, medical affairs, etc.]

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Step 8: Bilingual Coherence (FR/EN brands)

For brands communicating in both FR and EN:

• Flag words where the emotional charge differs between languages
• Identify tonal gaps (FR formal contexts ≠ EN formality)
• Provide parallel examples in both languages

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Output: Brand Voice Charter

Save to data/1-Projets/clients/[client]/voice-charter.md

Structure:

1. Sector Classification + Industry Constraints (if applicable)
2. Voice Dimension Map — 6-dimension scoring
3. 4 Trait Profiles — with evidence and anti-patterns
4. Vocabulary Charter — Green / Red lists
5. Context Adaptation Matrix
6. Crisis Voice Protocol
7. Do/Don't Examples — 10–15 concrete pairs
8. Audit Findings — Current-state gaps and inconsistencies

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Integration Points

• Receives from: Brand samples, brief-analyzer (personality cues)
• Feeds into: message-architecture, campaign-strategy, all content production
• Triggered by: /comms:start, /comms:strategy, /comms:brief