market-brand

# Brand Voice Analysis and Guidelines Generation

## Skill Purpose
Analyze a brand's voice, tone, and messaging across all available channels and generate a comprehensive brand voice guidelines document. This skill examines how a brand communicates, identifies patterns and inconsistencies, and produces actionable guidelines that any writer or marketer can follow to maintain brand 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`

## How to Execute

### Step 1: Gather Source Material
To analyze a brand's voice, examine content from multiple sources. Prioritize in this order:

**Primary Sources (must analyze):**
1. **Homepage** -- The most curated representation of the brand
2. **About page** -- How the brand describes itself
3. **Product/service pages** -- How they present their offerings

**Secondary Sources (analyze if available):**
4. **Blog posts** (at least 3-5 recent posts)
5. **Social media profiles** (bio, recent posts, engagement style)
6. **Email newsletters** (welcome email, recent sends)
7. **Customer-facing copy** (error messages, onboarding flows, help docs)

**Tertiary Sources:**
8. **Job postings** -- Reveals internal culture and values
9. **Press releases** -- Formal communication style
10. **Ad copy** -- Paid messaging approach
11. **Video scripts or podcast transcripts** -- Spoken brand voice

Use browser tools or the analyze_page.py script to access web content. For social media, check the website for social links and analyze the linked profiles.

### Step 2: Voice Dimension Analysis
Map the brand's voice along four primary dimensions. Each dimension is a spectrum, not a binary.

#### Dimension 1: Formal <-----> Casual
Where does the brand fall on the formality spectrum?

| Signal | Formal | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Contractions | Avoids them ("do not", "cannot") | Uses them freely ("don't", "can't") |
| Sentence structure | Complex, longer sentences | Short, punchy sentences |
| Vocabulary | Professional, industry-standard | Conversational, everyday words |
| Greetings | "Dear valued customer" | "Hey there!" |
| Pronouns | Third person ("the company", "one") | First/second person ("we", "you") |
| Humor | Rare or absent | Frequent, natural |
| Slang/colloquialisms | Never | Occasionally or frequently |

**Score: 1 (extremely formal) to 10 (extremely casual)**

**Evidence required:** Quote 3-5 specific examples from the source material that support your rating.

#### Dimension 2: Serious <-----> Playful
How much levity does the brand inject into its communication?

| Signal | Serious | Playful |
|---|---|---|
| Tone | Authoritative, measured | Light-hearted, fun |
| Metaphors | Rare, conservative | Creative, unexpected |
| Exclamation marks | Rare | Frequent |
| Emoji use | Never | Sometimes or often |
| Wordplay/puns | Never | Enjoys them |
| Error messages | "An error has occurred" | "Oops! Something went sideways" |
| Self-deprecation | Never | Occasionally |

**Score: 1 (extremely serious) to 10 (extremely playful)**

#### Dimension 3: Technical <-----> Simple
How much domain expertise does the brand assume in its audience?

| Signal | Technical | Simple |
|---|---|---|
| Jargon | Uses industry terms freely | Avoids or explains all jargon |
| Acronyms | Uses without definition | Spells out on first use |
| Detail level | In-depth explanations | High-level overviews |
| Audience assumption | Expert audience | General audience |
| Data/statistics | Frequent, detailed | Occasional, simplified |
| Examples | Complex, domain-specific | Simple, relatable analogies |

**Score: 1 (extremely technical) to 10 (extremely simple)**

#### Dimension 4: Reserved <-----> Bold
How much personality and confidence does the brand project?

| Signal | Reserved | Bold |
|---|---|---|
| Claims | Hedged ("we believe", "may help") | Direct ("we guarantee", "the best") |
| Opinions | Neutral, balanced | Strong, opinionated |
| Competitive references | Avoids mentioning competitors | Directly compares |
| Personality | Professional, understated | Distinctive, memorable |
| Promises | Conservative | Ambitious |
| Controversy | Avoids | Embraces when aligned with values |

**Score: 1 (extremely reserved) to 10 (extremely bold)**

### Step 3: Tone Spectrum Mapping

Beyond the four dimensions, map how the brand's tone shifts across different contexts:

| Context | Typical Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | [Confident/Welcoming/Urgent/etc.] | "[quote from homepage]" |
| Product description | [Informative/Persuasive/Technical/etc.] | "[quote]" |
| Blog post | [Educational/Conversational/Authoritative/etc.] | "[quote]" |
| Social media | [Casual/Engaging/Promotional/etc.] | "[quote]" |
| Error/404 page | [Apologetic/Humorous/Helpful/etc.] | "[quote]" |
| Email subject lines | [Direct/Curious/Urgent/etc.] | "[quote]" |
| CTA buttons | [Action-oriented/Benefit-driven/Urgent/etc.] | "[quote]" |
| Customer support | [Empathetic/Professional/Friendly/etc.] | "[quote]" |

### Step 4: Brand Personality Framework

Map the brand to one of five core personality archetypes (brands may blend 1-2):

#### The 5 Archetypes

**1. The Authority**
- Characteristics: Expert, trustworthy, data-driven, established
- Voice: Confident but not arrogant, educational, precise
- Industries: Finance, healthcare, B2B enterprise, legal, consulting
- Example brands: McKinsey, IBM, Mayo Clinic
- Key phrases: "Research shows...", "Our experts...", "Industry-leading..."

**2. The Innovator**
- Characteristics: Forward-thinking, disruptive, visionary, tech-savvy
- Voice: Exciting, future-focused, sometimes provocative
- Industries: Tech, SaaS, startups, renewable energy
- Example brands: Tesla, St