Never go out of style (guide)

Style is not something best left to the fashion conscious, and while many organisations have a brand guide, outlining the colours used in the logo and the font on corporate brochures, a written style guide is a rare beast – and just as important

Once upon a time, when I was working for The Man in the utility sector, the company I worked for merged with two other organisations to make one big electricity and gas network that covered much of NSW.

And while such things like accounting systems, payroll, HR, customer management systems and brand communication went reasonably smoothly as we transitioned into the newly formed company, there was one thing that caused months of arguments.

The spelling of “powerline”.

I kid you not.

Was it powerline? Power line? Power-line? Each of the three original organisations thought differently and because there was no written style guide for the merged entity, it caused no end of kerfuffle.

The thing with this strange language called English is that while there are many “right”and “wrong” spellings, there are just as many that as simply a matter of preference – or style.

Thinking about your business, can you say for certain whether all your written communication has a consistent style. Do you use percent or per cent? Programme or program? Staff or employees?

Do you use initial capitals when referring to position titles? Or do you sign business letters as “sincerely”, “respectfully” or a simple “regards”?  Do you write dates as January 12, 2015; or 12 January 2015?

None of these have a right or wrong answer, but all of these are questions that a copywriter will ask you, and that you need to be able to answer.  Let’s face it, in terms of brand perception, consistency is key.

Most larger organisations should have a written style guide, available to all employees and external contractors. Or they may have decided instead to stick with one of the standard style guides (Here in Australia this tends to be the Australian Government’s Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers.)

Internationally, we word geeks have a soft spot for Elements of Style, The AP (Associated Press) Stylebook (known in the US as the Journlist’s Bible), the Chicago Manual of Style and Fowlers Modern English Usage (although the latter is a lot more prescriptive than a standard style guide).

Put simply, before you develop any other business communication – from the smallest advertising campaign or press release, to the biggest annual report, the first thing you need to develop is a written style guide.

If you need help developing this vital marketing and communication tool, please contact Black Coffee Communication on 0403 595 445, or fill in my copywriter contact form.

Till next time,

Nicole