Holly Yashi - Verbal identity and catalogue copy

🎯

The team at Holly Yashi are just about the loveliest people you’re ever likely to meet. They approached me looking for a fashion copywriter to deliver a fresh tone of voice for the business in line with their radical new brand strategy. They wanted to step away from their more poetic, elevated tone of voice to find something fun, friendly, confident and creative — just like their customers.

The thing is, this brand was built on catalogue success. But to stay relevant, they needed to start talking to a younger customer.

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We started by talking. In a two-hour workshop we audited current copy, reviewed competitors and got really focused on who Holly Yashi is as a brand. We explored the customer experience. From the workshop tours in Arcata, California to the next-level customer service received by customers worldwide. It was clear to me that this is a brand who really care.

Next, I delivered seven different brand story ideas, each in a slightly different tone of voice. We honed in on what was working and chucked out what wasn’t. An original and well-defined brand personality emerged.

💡

Once we’d established our brand persona, the next task was to write guidelines that would allow the whole team to express themselves consistently and clearly.

The comprehensive yet user friendly tone of voice guide I delivered helps the team express this brand personality in their writing. It covers everything from the words they use, the grammatical structures they prefer and the feeling or mood their writing evokes.

They also have a swipe file of 5-star copy to inspire them whenever they need a boost.