Brand Voice Analysis and Guidelines Generation

Analyze a brand's voice, tone, and messaging across all available channels and generate a comprehensive brand voice guidelines document. Examine how the brand communicates, identify patterns and inconsistencies, and produce guidelines any writer or marketer can follow to maintain consistency.

When to use

• User wants to understand or document a brand's voice.
• User needs brand voice guidelines for a team, freelancers, or agency.
• User wants to ensure consistency across marketing channels.
• User is rebranding or refining their brand identity.
• User wants to compare their brand voice to competitors.
• Triggered by /market brand <url> or /market brand.

Required input contract

Before launching the analysis:

• Target URL (or set of URLs) — must be reachable.
• Available source types — at minimum homepage, about, product. Secondary channels (blog, social, email) increase confidence.
• Cross-skill data — if /market competitors ran earlier, reuse its competitor data for Step 6.

If only a single page is available, run the analysis and state the limitation explicitly in the deliverable — do not extrapolate.

Claims and source-quality constraints

• Every dimension score, archetype assessment, and consistency rating must be evidence-backed with 3-5 quoted examples from the source material. No invented quotes.
• Do not fabricate a tagline, boilerplate, or brand story — if missing, flag as "Missing" or "Partial" in the messaging hierarchy and recommend creation.
• Do not extrapolate brand voice from a single page. If sources are insufficient, state the limitation explicitly in the output.
• Voice and tone are different. Voice is the consistent personality; tone shifts by context. Do not conflate them.
• Frame consistency issues as opportunities, not failures.

Workflow — 10 steps

1. Gather source material — primary (homepage / about / product), secondary (blog / social / email / support copy), tertiary (jobs / press / ads).
2. Voice dimensions — score 1-10 across the four spectra (see below).
3. Tone mapping — map across 8 contexts (homepage, product, blog, social, error, email subject, CTA, support).
4. Brand archetype — Primary + optional Secondary from the five (Authority, Innovator, Friend, Rebel, Guide); rate fit Strong/Moderate/Weak.
5. Vocabulary — 15-20 characteristic words across action / descriptive / value / industry; plus words-they-avoid + signature phrases.
6. Competitor comparison — same dimensions + archetype, 2-3 competitors; reuse /market competitors data if available.
7. Consistency audit — score each of 6 channels Consistent / Mostly / Inconsistent; compute Overall Consistency Score X/10.
8. Messaging hierarchy — Tagline → Value Props → Elevator Pitch → Boilerplate → Full Story. Flag missing layers; do not fabricate.
9. Voice documentation — Voice Chart (IS / IS NOT pairs) + Writing Do's and Don'ts grounded in the analysis.
10. Copy samples — 5-8 concrete pieces in the identified voice across headline, product, blog, social, email subject, CTA, error, thank-you.

Full step-by-step procedure: references/brand-workflow.md.

Voice dimensions (decision logic)

Each dimension is a spectrum, not a binary. Score 1-10.

#	Dimension	1 ← → 10
1	Formality	Formal ← → Casual
2	Levity	Serious ← → Playful
3	Complexity	Technical ← → Simple
4	Personality	Reserved ← → Bold

Evidence required: quote 3-5 specific examples per dimension. Full signal tables, tone mapping, and archetype profiles: references/voice-tone-and-identity.md.

Brand archetypes

Archetype	One-line	Example brands
The Authority	Expert, trustworthy, data-driven	McKinsey, IBM, Mayo Clinic
The Innovator	Forward-thinking, disruptive, visionary	Tesla, Stripe, Notion
The Friend	Warm, approachable, helpful	Mailchimp, Slack, Duolingo
The Rebel	Bold, challenging conventions, irreverent	Nike, Oatly, Cards Against Humanity
The Guide	Wise, patient, methodical	HubSpot, Khan Academy, Ahrefs

Brands may blend 1-2 archetypes. Output: Primary + (optional) Secondary + Fit rating (Strong / Moderate / Weak).

Validation gates

Before delivering the report:

• Every score has 3-5 quoted examples from real source material.
• Source coverage is ≥ 3 channels, or single-source limitation is stated.
• Primary archetype is justified with evidence, not aesthetic preference.
• Vocabulary lists are non-empty across all four categories.
• Competitor scores come from observed competitor URLs or /market competitors data.
• Missing tagline / boilerplate / brand story is flagged, not fabricated.
• Consistency findings are framed as opportunities.
• Voice (personality) and tone (context-shifted) remain distinct.
• Output written to BRAND-VOICE.md in the current directory.

Full per-step quality checklists + anti-patterns: references/competitive-diagnostics-and-validation.md.

Output expectations

Generate BRAND-VOICE.md containing:

• Voice Summary (2-3 sentences).
• Voice Dimensions (4 scores + evidence + visual voice map).
• Brand Personality (primary + secondary archetype with evidence).
• Tone by Context (8-row table).
• Vocabulary (Words We Use / Avoid / Signature Phrases).
• Voice Chart (IS / IS NOT pairs).
• Writing Guidelines (Do's / Don'ts).
• Brand Messaging Hierarchy (5 layers with status).
• 5-8 Copy Samples in the identified voice.
• Competitor Voice Comparison.
• Consistency Audit (channel table + Overall Score).
• Recommendations (Immediate / Voice Evolution / Consistency).

Full template + worked archetype-keyed copy samples + filled voice map and consistency audit examples: references/examples.md.

Key principles

• Read like a detective — every word choice, punctuation decision, and sentence structure reveals something.
• Always provide evidence for every assessment; quote specific examples.
• The deliverable should be usable by a new copywriter who has never seen the brand.
• Copy samples are the most valuable artifact — make them diverse so writers have references for every context.
• Voice ≠ tone. A customer-complaint reply differs in tone from a launch announcement, but stays in the same voice.

Reference map

Need	Read
Full 10-step procedure with source-gathering checklist	references/brand-workflow.md
Voice-dimension signal tables, 8-context tone map, full archetype profiles	references/voice-tone-and-identity.md
Vocabulary categories, messaging hierarchy, Voice Chart, Do/Don't, copy templates	references/positioning-and-messaging.md
Competitor matrix + differentiation, consistency audit, validation checklists, anti-patterns	references/competitive-diagnostics-and-validation.md
Full BRAND-VOICE.md template + worked copy samples (Friend, Authority) + filled voice map + audit example	references/examples.md