Brand Review
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Review marketing content against brand voice, style guidelines, and messaging standards. Flag deviations and provide specific improvement suggestions.
Trigger
User runs /brand-review or asks to review, check, or audit content against brand guidelines.
Inputs
-
Content to review — accept content in any of these forms:
- Pasted directly into the conversation
- A file path or ~~knowledge base reference (e.g. Notion page, shared doc)
- A URL to a published page
- Multiple pieces for batch review
-
Brand guidelines source (determined automatically):
- If a brand style guide is configured in local settings, use it automatically
- If not configured, ask: "Do you have a brand style guide or voice guidelines I should review against? You can paste them, share a file, or describe your brand voice. Otherwise, I'll do a general review for clarity, consistency, and professionalism."
Review Process
With Brand Guidelines Configured
Evaluate the content against each of these dimensions:
Voice and Tone
- Does the content match the defined brand voice attributes?
- Is the tone appropriate for the content type and audience?
- Are there shifts in voice that feel inconsistent?
- Flag specific sentences or phrases that deviate with an explanation of why
Terminology and Language
- Are preferred brand terms used correctly?
- Are any "avoid" terms or phrases present?
- Is jargon level appropriate for the target audience?
- Are product names, feature names, and branded terms used correctly (capitalization, formatting)?
Messaging Pillars
- Does the content align with defined messaging pillars or value propositions?
- Are claims consistent with approved messaging?
- Is the content reinforcing or contradicting brand positioning?
Style Guide Compliance
- Grammar and punctuation per style guide (e.g., Oxford comma, title case vs. sentence case)
- Formatting conventions (headers, lists, emphasis)
- Number formatting, date formatting
- Acronym usage (defined on first use?)
Without Brand Guidelines (Generic Review)
Evaluate the content for:
Clarity
- Is the main message clear within the first paragraph?
- Are sentences concise and easy to understand?
- Is the structure logical and easy to follow?
- Are there ambiguous statements or unclear references?
Consistency
- Is the tone consistent throughout?
- Are terms used consistently (no switching between synonyms for the same concept)?
- Is formatting consistent (headers, lists, capitalization)?
Professionalism
- Is the content free of typos, grammatical errors, and awkward phrasing?
- Is the tone appropriate for the intended audience?
- Are claims supported or substantiated?
Legal and Compliance Flags (Always Checked)
Regardless of whether brand guidelines are configured, flag:
- Unsubstantiated claims — superlatives ("best", "fastest", "only") without evidence or qualification
- Missing disclaimers — financial claims, health claims, or guarantees that may need legal disclaimers
- Comparative claims — comparisons to competitors that could be challenged
- Regulatory language — content that may need compliance review (financial services, healthcare, etc.)
- Testimonial issues — quotes or endorsements without attribution or disclosure
- Copyright concerns — content that appears to be closely paraphrased from other sources
Brand Voice Reference
Use these frameworks to evaluate content against brand standards or to help the user document their brand voice.
Brand Voice Documentation Framework
A complete brand voice document should cover these areas:
- Brand Personality — Define the brand as if it were a person. Example: "If our brand were a person, they would be a knowledgeable colleague who explains complex things simply, celebrates your wins genuinely, and never talks down to you."
- Voice Attributes — 3-5 attributes that define how the brand communicates, each defined with what it means in practice, what it does NOT mean (to prevent misinterpretation), and an example.
- Audience Awareness — Who the brand is speaking to (primary and secondary), what they care about, their level of expertise, and how they expect to be addressed.
- Core Messaging Pillars — 3-5 key themes the brand consistently communicates, the hierarchy of these messages, and how each pillar connects to audience needs.
- Tone Spectrum — How the voice adapts across contexts while remaining recognizably the same brand.
- Style Rules — Specific grammar, formatting, and language rules.
- Terminology — Preferred and avoided terms.
Voice Attribute Spectrums
When defining or evaluating brand voice, position attributes on a spectrum:
| Spectrum | One End | Other End |
|---|
| Formality | Formal, institutional | Casual, conversational |
| Authority | Expert, authoritative | Peer-level, collaborative |
| Emotion | Warm, empathetic | Direct, matter-of-fact |
| Complexity | Technical, precise | Simple, accessible |
| Energy | Bold, energetic | Calm, measured |
| Humor | Playful, witty | Serious, earnest |
| Innovation | Cutting-edge, forward-looking | Established, proven |
For each chosen attribute, document it in this format:
[Attribute name]
- We are: [what this means in practice]
- We are not: [common misinterpretation to avoid]
- This sounds like: [example sentence demonstrating the attribute]
- This does NOT sound like: [example sentence violating the attribute]
Example:
Approachable
- We are: friendly, clear, jargon-free, welcoming to beginners and experts alike
- We are not: dumbed-down, overly casual, or lacking substance
- This sounds like: "Here's how to get started — it takes about five minutes."
- This does NOT sound like: "Yo! This is super easy, even a noob can do it lol."
Tone Adaptation Across Channels and Contexts
The brand voice stays consistent, but tone adapts to context. Tone is the emotional inflection applied to the voice.
Tone by Channel
| Channel | Tone Adaptation | Example |
|---|
| Blog | Informative, conversational, educational | "Let's walk through how this works and why it matters for your team." |
| Social media (LinkedIn) | Professional, thought-provoking, concise | "Three things we learned from running 50 campaigns this quarter." |
| Social media (Twitter/X) | Punchy, direct, sometimes witty | "Your landing page has 3 seconds. Make them count." |
| Email marketing | Personal, helpful, action-oriented | "We put together something we think you'll find useful." |
| Sales collateral | Confident, benefit-driven, specific | "Teams using our platform reduce reporting time by 40%." |
| Support/Help docs | Clear, patient, step-by-step | "If you see this error, here's how to fix it." |
| Press release | Formal, factual, newsworthy | "The company today announced the launch of..." |
| Error messages | Empathetic, helpful, blame-free | "Something went wrong on our end. We're looking into it." |
Tone by Situation
| Situation | Tone Adaptation |
|---|
| Product launch | Excited, confident, forward-looking |
| Incident or outage | Transparent, empathetic, accountable |
| Customer success story | Celebratory, specific, crediting the customer |
| Thought leadership | Authoritative, nuanced, evidence-based |
| Onboarding | Welcoming, encouraging, clear |
| Bad news (price increase, deprecation) | Honest, respectful, solution-oriented |
| Competitive comparison | Confident but fair, fact-based, not disparaging |
Tone Adaptation Rule
The voice attributes remain fixed. Tone dials them up or down based on context. For example, if a brand is "bold and warm":
- In a product launch, dial up boldness
- In an incident response, dial up warmth
- Neither attribute disappears; the balance shifts
Style Guide Enforcement
Grammar and Mechanics
Document and enforce these choices consistently:
| Rule | Options | Example |
|---|
| Oxford comma | Yes / No | "fast, reliable, and secure" vs. "fast, reliable and secure" |
| Sentence case vs. title case (headings) | Sentence / Title | "How to get started" vs. "How to Get Started" |
| Contractions | Use / Avoid | "we're" vs. "we are" |
| Em dash spacing | No spaces / Spaces | "this—and more" vs. "this — and more" |
| Numbers | Spell out 1-9, numerals 10+ / Always numerals | "five features" vs. "5 features" |
| Percent | % / percent | "50%" vs. "50 percent" |
| Date format | Month DD, YYYY / DD/MM/YYYY / etc. | "January 15, 2025" |
| Time format | 12-hour / 24-hour | "3:00 PM" vs. "15:00" |
| Lists | Periods / No periods on fragments | "Set up your account." vs. "Set up your account" |
Formatting Conventions
- Heading hierarchy (when to use H1, H2, H3)
- Bold and italic usage (bold for emphasis, italic for titles/terms)
- Link text (descriptive vs. "click here" — always descriptive)
- Image alt text requirements
- Code formatting (for technical brands)
- Callout or highlight box usage
Punctuation and Emphasis
- Exclamation mark policy (limited use, never more than one)
- Ellipsis usage (avoid in most professional contexts)
- ALL CAPS policy (avoid; use bold for emphasis instead)
- Emoji usage by channel (professional channels: minimal or none; social: where appropriate)
Terminology Management
Preferred Terms
Maintain a list of preferred terms and their incorrect alternatives:
| Use This | Not This | Notes |
|---|
| sign up (verb) | signup (verb) | "signup" is the noun form |
| log in (verb) | login (verb) | "login" is the noun/adjective form |
| set up (verb) | setup (verb) | "setup" is the noun/adjective form |
| email | e-mail | No hyphen |
| website | web site | One word |
| data is (singular) | data are | Unless the publication requires plural |
Product and Feature Names
- Official capitalization for product names
- When to use the full product name vs. shorthand
- Whether to use "the" before product names
- How to handle versioning in copy
- Trademark and registration symbols (when required and when to omit)
Inclusive Language
- Use gender-neutral language (they/them for unknown individuals)
- Avoid ableist language ("crazy", "blind spot", "lame")
- Use person-first language where appropriate
- Avoid culturally specific idioms that may not translate
- Use "simple" or "straightforward" instead of "easy" (what is easy varies by person)
Industry Jargon Management
- Define which technical terms the audience understands without explanation
- List jargon that should always be defined or replaced with plain language
- Specify which acronyms need to be spelled out on first use
- Audience-specific glossary for terms that mean different things to different readers
Competitor and Category Terms
- How to refer to your product category (use your preferred framing)
- How to refer to competitors (by name or generically)
- Terms competitors have coined that you should avoid (to prevent reinforcing their positioning)
- Your preferred differentiation language
Output Format
Present the review as:
Summary
- Overall assessment: how well the content aligns with brand standards (or general quality)
- 1-2 sentence summary of the biggest strengths
- 1-2 sentence summary of the most important improvements
Detailed Findings
For each issue found, provide:
| Issue | Location | Severity | Suggestion |
|---|
Where severity is:
- High — contradicts brand voice, contains compliance risk, or significantly undermines messaging
- Medium — inconsistent with guidelines but not damaging
- Low — minor style or preference issue
Revised Sections
For the top 3-5 highest-severity issues, provide a before/after showing the original text and a suggested revision.
Legal/Compliance Flags
List any legal or compliance concerns separately with recommended actions.
After Review
Ask: "Would you like me to:
- Revise the full content with these suggestions applied?
- Focus on fixing just the high-severity issues?
- Review additional content against the same guidelines?
- Help you document your brand voice for future reviews?"