Clean energy brands can anchor their voice in possibility to create greater long-term value.
Words have power. Visuals have power. Words and images can inspire us to do and be better; to unite to make the world a better place. They can also divide, belittle, and cause harm.
But “what about that old saying ‘sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me’?”, you ask. Study after study has shown that this is patently untrue, with verbal abuse and bullying resulting in neurobiological changes, depression, and chronic physical health issues. Even undirected verbal negativity leads to higher stress levels, resulting in memory and cognition issues, as well as a higher risks of dementia.
Swing the pendulum the other way and we see ample evidence that positive and optimistic words stimulate frontal lobe activity in the brain. The frontal lobe is responsible for a lot, including reasoning, problem solving, decision making, emotional regulation, and language processing.
How does this relate to your clean energy brand and brand voice? What even is a brand voice?
Your company has a brand voice, whether intentional or not. A brand voice is how your company’s unique personality is represented in the world. Don’t let the term “voice” mislead you into thinking it only applies to what you say. A brand voice is defined by your audience through words, visuals, and actions. All of these pieces coalesce into a brand voice your audience will pare down into a short descriptor in their own mind. Think of Patagonia and Carhartt. Both sell outdoor apparel, but boy are their brand voices different, appealing to very different audiences.
Your organization’s brand voice not only influences customers and stakeholders, like the media, investors, and vendors, but has a profound impact on employees as well. Even before employees join the organization, they are making decisions – whether to apply or even reach out – based largely on their perception of your brand. Over 75% consider company culture before applying for a job. Your brand voice has significant influence over who applies for jobs with your company.
The concept of clean energy is inherently cool. Local, reliable, renewable energy that can save the energy user money. Companies working to mitigate climate change while creating a brighter future for people is an incredible story. One clean energy brands can use their voice to tell.
It is easy to get bogged down reacting to misinformation. There is a lot out there. It’s easy to get frustrated - “why don’t they get it?” For clean energy companies, it can feel like shouting into the void about this necessary evolution of energy (a gridvolution, if you will).
And yet, if we look at the impacts of positive versus negative messaging on our brains, reconfiguring our messaging to give us something positive to aim for does wonders for the frontal lobe. Who doesn’t want to be surrounded by people who have solid problem-solving skills and excellent emotional regulation? Wouldn’t your workplace be better if this were the norm?
In “What if We Get it Right?” Ayana Elizabeth Johnson writes, “For decades, what scientists, writers, filmmakers, and artists have projected for us is the apocalypse, in great detail. We can easily picture the climate-change-fueled fires, floods, droughts, and storms, and the immense suffering, all of which are now well underway. However, when it comes to better outcomes, we’ve largely been left hanging. That is a problem. Humans have evolved to not leap into a void—that’s dangerous! So we need something firm to aim for. Something with love and joy in it. And we need the gumption that emerges from an effervescent sense of possibility.”
To be clear, your brand should not ignore reality. Inspiration does not ignore reality in favor of false positivity. It does, however, show us possibility – what we can aim for.
Anchor your brand voice in defined brand values. Then choose how you portray those values to the world. Inspiration will get you a lot further long-term than short-term anger and divisiveness for attention will.