Writing and tone

Introduction

Progressive, humble, dynamic and inclusive: our brand attributes define our distinctive personality and the tone we use in all communications. How we sound when we communicate should be unique and recognizable, just like a person. We make that happen by using our brand attributes consistently.

Before we start discussing how the attributes work with words, be sure to keep two things in mind about who we’re talking to.

1. Just as we empower customers and developers to build the solutions they want, we put the needs of our audiences first when we communicate. Before HERE products, achievements and company story, talk about customer priorities and goals. This shows that we care about the challenges our customers face.

2. We respect people’s time (or lack of it) by speaking to them directly and clearly. Consider how your text will look when read on a phone, as it invariably will be, and use short sentences and simple language.

Writing with our brand attributes:

Here you’ll find help on how to write with our brand attributes, including examples of actual phrases and sentences written in our brand voice.

Progressive

“You can look forward to.”

Choose interesting topics and unique angles. Talk with authority and aspiration. Be imaginative, creative, positive. Challenges are opportunities. The future’s exciting, and we offer innovative but achievable technology to take you there.

Humble

“You” before HERE, always.

Let HERE stay in the background, supporting you. Be friendly, warm, empathetic and human. Show understanding of challenges and how to solve them. Benefits before technology. Why before what. Be honest. If we make a mistake, say so. Listen and invite conversation.

Dynamic

“You’re on an exciting journey.”

Movement is what we’re good at. Tracking movement, helping people and goods move. Take people exciting places, and never stop innovating. Use words that are fresh, conversational, clever, and give a sense of ambition, motion, daring and vibrancy.

Inclusive

“We can do this together.”

Our collaborative ethos is key: businesses need to work with others to use our technology. Mention partners and teams. Show we’re easy to work with. Talk about sharing, openness, and how we encourage and build diversity, in life and business.

Key writing rules:

When in doubt, be clear and concise, consider non-native speakers and concentrate on being B2Everyone, not just B2B.

Use simple words

Make it easy to understand. Use basic words. Clarity gives confidence.

Check readability here

• “Using” not “utilizing”

• “To” not “in order to”

• “Also” not “additionally”

Avoid jargon

Assume your reader doesn’t understand technology. Minimize acronyms, and spell them out first.

• “electric vehicle (EV)”

Keep sentences/paragraphs short

No big walls of text, or too many connected clauses. And vary lengths to sound more natural.

Be conversational

Formal business writing has been replaced by social media, and it sounds like we talk. Use conversational language and you’ll sound more human, humble, fresh and like you’re on people’s level. But avoid slang, emoticons or swearing.

Be structured

Don’t make readers do the work. Make content clear and easy to scan with bullets, lists, bold text, headings, subheadings, boxes.

Avoid idioms

Your non-native English reader doesn’t know how to “let the cat out of the bag.” Leave them out.

Get to the point

Don’t bury the killer idea, takeaway or benefit. Tease a little in the first paragraph but assume readers won’t stick around longer than two.

One idea at a time

Don’t overload readers by saying everything every time. Choose one angle and expand. One point per sentence/paragraph.

Tips:

• Structure your piece before writing – and get sign-offs from stakeholders

• Trim the flab (e.g. “reach” instead of “effectively reach”)

• Make words and sentences the simplest they can be

• Read your piece out loud to make sure it sounds natural

• Break rules sometimes (e.g. start sentences with an “And” or “But”)

• Choose clarity over cleverness

• Put brand style first, and your own preferences second

• Always know why you’re writing something

• Make sure there’s a clear call to action designed for your audience