Project Description

Case Study

Different audiences: different tones of voice

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Quick facts

About
Red Funnel was established in 1861 and is the original Isle of Wight ferry operator. Its ferries carry over 3m passengers a year on routes between Southampton and the Isle of Wight. In addition, Red Funnel offers a range of holidays and short breaks.

NCP provides airport and city centre car parking. Founded in 1931, the company now operates highly secure car parks in all major UK cities and airports, and has become the UK’s best known car park operator.Courses

  • Structured Marketing Writing (customised)

The tone of voice that is adopted by a company must reflect the needs of the business and the the kinds of document being produced. Both Red Funnel and NCP were finding it difficult to establish appropriate guidelines for their respective businesses.

The marketing manager at Red Funnel, for example, felt that their marketing documents were often too personal and informal. But NCP’s senior brand executive had the opposite problem. Her team were creating a variety of marketing materials which required a more informal tone, ranging from posters through to brochures and leaflets. Both teams, therefore, needed to learn how to change their writing styles to achieve an appropriate appropriate styles for their different audiences.

The only problem was that both organisations only had a handful of delegates.

The training solution: two firms; one course

Writing Machine Academy matched the similar challenges of the two firms to provide a suitable, slightly customised Structured Marketing Writing course which both NCP and Red Funnel delegates could benefit from. In the first module, delegates were taught to consider various things before starting to write. These factors – which included the audience, the message they need to communicate and the characteristics of the media itself – together determined the most suitable tone of voice to be adopted. Other modules focused on structuring, clarity of writing and how to write in an engaging manner.

Client feedback

Delegates were asked to give a score out of five on a list of feedback questions, such as ‘Quality of the training content’, ‘Quality of the trainer’ and ‘I have learned new techniques that will enhance my writing’. The average score was 4.7 out of 5.

“Better planning means better communications pieces– and less stress!”
NCP delegate

“I have greater confidence in my writing, now I know the technique to plan properly before I start.”
Red Funnel delegate
“My writing will be more concise, and headlines will have more impact.”
Red Funnel delegate
“I now understand how to write more relevant, targeted and engaging emails.”
Red Funnel delegate
“Better planning means better communications pieces– and less stress!”
NCP delegate