Why diversity matters in marketing
A Q&A with Ext. Marketing CEO & Co-founder Jillian Bannister
How does DEI shape Ext.’s business?
The principle of DEI is central to Ext. Marketing philosophy because we believe diverse perspectives lead to better creativity and superior client solutions. On my executive team, some of the top senior leaders are women, and they help drive the organization forward every day. Their expertise and unique voices give us a competitive edge. But diversity goes beyond gender – we believe that the fabric of an organization is stronger with different voices that transcend gender, race, sexual orientation or ethnic background. Each individual has distinct life experiences that shape their perspectives in unique ways. We want to embrace and harness these viewpoints. We have always encouraged a workplace with diverse voices because we believe it promotes fresh thinking. Great ideas don’t come from any one specific area of the organization. They can originate from anywhere. Inclusivity helps ignite the creative spark that is essential to all of Ext.’s marketing projects. This approach promotes empathy – which helps us develop better solutions for our clients by encouraging us to see the world from their point of view.
Why is it so important?
Ext. Marketing operates in a diverse global financial services ecosystem that exhibits varying stages of DEI adoption. But many have realized that there is a wealth of opportunity for community building by actively engaging and speaking to audience segments and constituencies, including women, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities and other underserved communities.
We work hard with our clients to help them understand that diversity and inclusivity build more resilient companies and marketing strategies. Every client is unique, so it all starts with listening and understanding client goals. Our clients tend to see the value of integrating DEI initiatives and strategies into their businesses and marketing messages. It’s important to be authentic to your company and brand if you want to develop messages and creative collateral that resonate.
How does DEI help Ext. Marketing create more engaging marketing strategies?
We work in an omni-channel digital environment. That is especially relevant, given this year’s International Women’s Day theme embraces equity by recognizing technology’s transformative nature. Technology can break down barriers, establish new opportunities for women, and give underserved communities a voice. From a marketing perspective, activating strategies across diverse channels means reaching different audiences, offering clients an opportunity to amplify their voice and deliver tailored, targeted and relevant content. Today, content encompasses everything from AI chatbots to long-form thought leadership. Therefore, clients should be granular with their messages and target specific personas. A diverse marketing toolkit helps you reach an eclectic audience, leading to a more effective and efficient spend of marketing dollars.
I’m a big believer in championing women. The glass ceiling is far from being broken. We’ve helped clients in the financials sector develop numerous campaigns focusing on women in investing – a vastly underserved segment. Interestingly, we are seeing a transition from women-focused campaigns to campaigns that aren’t so “single-note”. The idea is to avoid biases and stereotyping, and integrate more nuanced perspectives and intersectionality.1
How did it affect your decision to support Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter?
We’re passionate about giving back to our community. I’ve been involved with Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter in Toronto, since I was a child, and Ext. Marketing has supported Ernestine’s since our first day in business over 14 years ago. Combatting violence against women and helping women find a safe place is a stark necessity in our society. Post-COVID-19, we’ve seen a huge uptick in mental health issues, which has escalated cases of violence against women. Ernestine’s is playing a more important societal role than ever before. Tackling gender bias and facilitating an environment of inclusion starts with safety. This can’t happen without ensuring women have achieved security at the most basic level. That’s why Ext. Marketing’s support of Ernestine’s continues to be an important part of how we give back and facilitate the important journey toward equality.
1https://kindredmembers.com/insights/intersectionality-marketing/
Looking for innovative and creative ways to bring your marketing to the next level? Ext. Marketing has the expertise you need. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
HOW DATA METRICS CAN HELP YOUR MARKETING DOLLARS GO FURTHER
Marketing costs are likely to remain a focus at many firms in 2023. During leaner times like these, the ability to embrace digital transformation and the power of data could give your firm the boost it needs. Metrics help inform sound marketing decisions and make it easier to understand which channels are worth your marketing dollars.
Knowing how and where to spend your marketing dollars can be challenging because of shifting customer behaviours. Have attitudes changed based on people’s current financial situations? Are they facing a wider range of investment options? Do they seek easier ways of doing business with you? Keeping a close eye on how prospects engage with you, and what’s prompting their conversions, will help you pivot your marketing spend to where it can be most effective.
While each campaign is unique, here are some key metrics you should always track to know how efficient and practical you are being with your marketing spend.
Top 5 tips & trends for financial marketers in 2023
Social, geopolitical and economic uncertainties that characterized 2022 aren’t likely to abate any time soon. Prompted by those challenges, forward-thinking business leaders are adapting their marketing strategies.
If you are a business strategist looking to jumpstart your 2023 marketing campaigns, consider these five marketing trends and best practices:
1. AI starts to step up
Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence (AI) technology and automation tools (like ChatGPT and DALL-E). You may wonder what AI technology can do, how it works, and how it might help your business. Many of us have the same questions. While AI tools are mostly in beta testing, the technology matures quickly. Essentially, the tools streamline time-consuming creative and content tasks, including research and image searches, freeing up valuable time for strategic work, like branded story development. The Wall Street Journal calls this approach “post-creation.” We believe that, over the long term and with proper set-up and governance, AI can play a vital role in speeding up more basic tasks and enabling agencies to focus their resources on strategic, higher-value client work.
2. Aligning CSR & ESG with marketing strategies
Investing time in your corporate social responsibility (CSR) and contributing to causes that align with your company’s values can win favour with clients and employees. Recent surveys show that Millennials and Gen Z cohorts have high levels of climate change engagement, with 90% of Millennials actively pursuing sustainable investments.2 More regulators are taking a closer look at portfolios to ensure that stated environmental, social & governance (ESG) actions can be verified. With the critical importance of value articulation, marketers need to align their CSR and ESG messaging carefully. Recently, Ext. Marketing helped a major multi-billion-dollar global asset manager successfully benchmark and align the messaging for their ESG solutions, while also helping their messaging to better reflect their corporate CSR positioning.
3. Social media continues to skyrocket
It’s estimated that by 2026, social media, community and virtual platform engagement will influence over 68% of brand revenue.2 Firms need to become savvier than ever about leveraging their social media platforms. However, social media success starts with having a solid content pillars and editorial strategy. In 2022, Ext. Marketing led a number of social engagement strategy projects that enabled our clients to connect with their audiences on organic channels, as well as paid channels like LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube. With our strategic guidance, clients achieved strong engagement and exceeded target expectations with social media audiences.
4. Video frames your messaging
Video is a terrific addition to your brand storytelling toolkit. Research by Cisco discovered that video accounts for 82% of all online traffic.3 Today, Cisco estimates that 84% of consumers have been influenced or convinced to purchase a product after watching a video. Visual content can help keep content fresh and deliver on performance goals. Ext. Marketing engages in video storytelling for a wide variety of firms across different mediums. We recently helped a real estate firm underscore important key messages to investors at their annual Investor Day through videos that demonstrated the lifecycle of a key property. The videos helped convey how the addition of thoughtful design and amenities delivered value to investors, tenants and the surrounding community.
5. Data drives good marketing decisions
Analytics are a marketer’s best friend. All successful marketing strategies employ a digital component – organic social posts, blogs, email, paid digital ads or a combination of channels. Each activity can track data to support your marketing plan (and your budget). Metrics give stakeholders a valuable understanding of their return on investment – and this will be more important than ever as marketers look to use their dollars wisely and more efficiently in the coming years. Ext. Marketing has deep experience applying data analytics to quickly pivot tactics and drive successful campaign results. Metrics can be a bit of an alphabet soup (think: CTR, CPC, CPM), and working with the right partner can help you sort through the data noise and use it in the right context to support your strategy.
1 Will AI Make Creative Workers Redundant
2 https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/how-millennials-and-gen-z-are-driving-growth-behind-esg
3 https://stefanini.com/en/insights/news/global-digital-marketing-outlook-for-2023-and-beyond
4 https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/m/en_us/solutions/service-provider/vni-forecast-highlights/pdf/Global_Device_Growth_Traffic_Profiles.pdf
If you’re interested in exploring these trends further or just want to better align your messaging, Ext. Marketing can help! Call 1.844.243.1830 or email us to book a time with our team.
Is design thinking part of your marketing strategy?
Brilliantly designed marketing material – whether it’s a brochure, website, pitchbook or anything else – doesn’t just happen. Developing stunning visuals that truly differentiate brands requires design thinking,1 or a strong methodology for developing creative ideas.

Applying a systematic approach to design is especially important when marketing financial products or services, given how dynamic and complex the industry can be. Here are some ways Ext. Marketing integrates design thinking into our creative process:
Collaborate to unearth business goals
The roots of all strong creative solutions stem from a thorough review of the goals a business would like to achieve through design. The review process involves all creative professionals instrumental to a project, including writers, editors, designers, and digital and analytical experts. This integrated, all-hands-on-deck approach to exploring key stakeholders’ needs can help address a wide range of factors that may shape or inspire design.
Blend creativity and industry awareness
Conceptualizing financial services requires a multidimensional lens. Along with creative expertise, this process needs to integrate deep industry knowledge. For instance, financial services organizations must remain aware of compliance/regulatory standards or uphold certain levels of transparency throughout the marketing process. If these requirements aren’t met, there is a risk of conveying a wrong or inappropriate message. Consulting creative professionals experienced in financial services can help manage these priorities and minimize the risks unique to this highly regulated industry.
Translate complexity in compelling ways
Financial organizations are often challenged by how to communicate technical information to clients. It takes wide-ranging perspectives from creative and analytical experts to come up with differentiated design solutions that use data visualization and other devices to illustrate the concepts in new, compelling ways without sacrificing meaning. One example of this could include creating a concise, engaging infographic that clearly captures the benefits of a complex product or illustrates the steps required for an intricate investment process.
Deliver a range of differentiating concepts
Concepting is a vital step in our design process. We try to avoid getting stuck on one or a few design samples. It’s wise to build a range of preliminary concepts and iterate to see what will resonate best with a given audience.
Traditionally, the financials sector has been relatively conservative when it comes to design (often using more subdued colours, graphics, branding). But that is changing. Our clients are no longer limited by these options. In an increasingly competitive environment, differentiating brands is crucial, and visuals are an important way to achieve that goal.
It’s okay to test the boundaries at this phase of your design thinking. Try providing various representations, perhaps through bolder, more unconventional approaches, to challenge your stakeholders and highlight your brands in different ways.
Test, learn and adapt design
The creative process is never static and should remain highly iterative until the best possible outcome is achieved. Once initial drafts of your design are built, you need to test them with stakeholders and adapt to feedback, sometimes across multiple rounds. The status quo, especially in financial services, is always shifting, and you might need to modify your design in real-time. There are several feedback mechanisms you can try, including A/B testing, social polls or surveys to see if you are moving in the right direction.
Ext. Marketing is on top of the trends shaping the financial services industry, and we pride ourselves on helping our clients succeed. As an integrated marketing agency, we are known for creative content, design expertise and strategic digital distribution. Our creative team loves to bring left- and right-brain ideas together to give our clients a creative edge.
Are you looking to market your message through innovative design? Ext. Marketing takes design thinking to a whole new level and can help elevate your brand.
Interested in learning more? Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
1Nielsen Norman Group, Design Thinking 101, 2016
Tune up for 2023 with our happy songs playlist!
What a year it’s been. Did music help you get through 2022? It did for us.
So to say thank you for the high notes we shared, the Ext. Marketing team created a Spotify playlist of happy songs to help you ring in 2023. We hope you enjoy it!
On behalf of our clients and partners, Ext. Marketing made a donation to Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter. Ernestine’s plays a critical role in helping women and children break the cycle of domestic abuse, and our support has never been more crucial.
~The Ext. Marketing Team
*The inclusion of this playlist does not imply any endorsement or commercial relationship between Ext. Marketing and any of the featured artists/songwriters.
Providing a helping hand
On any given night in Canada, over 6,000 women and children sleep in shelters because it isn’t safe for them to return home. It’s what makes the November 25th United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women so important. It’s also what led Ext. Marketing co-founders Jillian Bannister and Richard Heft to lend their support to Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter.
“It takes a lot of guts for women in situations of abuse to leave their partner and, when they do, it’s often with little more than the clothes on their backs.”
Jillian Bannister, CEO Ext. Marketing
“When we launched Ext. Marketing, we had a strong focus on three things,” says Heft: “building an industry-leading team of the best people we knew in the financial industry, doing amazing work for our valued clients, and supporting those in our community who needed that help the most. We’ve been incredibly proud to support Ernestine’s since the day we started Ext. Marketing, and plan to do so for as long as women and children need us.”
As a woman in business and financial services, Bannister says she’s particularly honoured to support an organization that, in addition to being a safe haven, provides a helping hand for women to move forward with their lives.
“It takes a lot of guts for women in situations of abuse to leave their partner and, when they do, it’s often with little more than the clothes on their backs,” added Bannister. “Ernestine’s provides counselling, a food bank, transitional housing and legal support to help these brave women successfully rebuild their lives.”
Laurie Lupton, Ext. Marketing’s General Manager, a board member at Ernestine’s, as well as a leader of Ernestine’s fundraising committee, says the holidays are a particularly difficult time of year for families who depend on Ernestine’s programs and services. It’s why Ernestine’s hosts an annual Winterfest event to recognize culturally relevant festivities during the holiday season, while also delivering items that these families could not otherwise afford.
Consider supporting the Stand up for Ernestine’s campaign by visiting the SU4E page to make your donation!
Interested in learning more? Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
How to make your marketing language inclusive
Is your language opening or closing doors?
The words you use and the way you communicate is a personal choice. Your brand voice has considerable influence on your marketing strategy. Increasingly, marketers recognize the currency of inclusive language and its power to make a positive impact on a wider range of audiences. But what is inclusive language?
At its core, inclusion is about recognizing that your potential customers comprise diverse groups of people. In content creation, inclusion respects diversity in all forms, including ethnicity, gender identity, religion/spirituality, physical/mental ability and more. If your brand doesn’t convey a sense of inclusivity, you may inadvertently exclude some audiences. Millennials and Generation Z, with their substantial spending power, have done much to accelerate the inclusive language movement.1
Why it matters
Language is powerful — it can deepen and strengthen relationships, or it can confuse or even cause avoidable harm. Inclusive language encompasses words and phrases that can spark conversations with new clients and unlock valuable doors. Deloitte, Boston Consulting Group and Harvard Business Review research shows the same truth. Is your language tapping into that relationship-building potential?
Evolve with your customers
What’s great about language is that it’s flexible, expressive and evolves over time. Ultimately, we understand the bottom-line value of keeping pace with changing demographics and preferences. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary added 370 new words in 2022 and suggested that when many people use a word in the same way over a long enough period, that word becomes eligible for inclusion.
Make it a brand practice
Everyone’s brand is unique. By considering how inclusion fits into your brand, you’ll expand your reach and visibility into the future, earning audience loyalty and trust. The key is to make inclusive content an ongoing process that adapts with your stakeholders and audiences.
Ways to make language more inclusive
You might want to start with ensuring your marketing materials, websites and all your other assets reflect the varied population and voices around us. Here are some inclusive language options to consider:
Use plain language versus jargon
- Rather than “piece of cake,” say “straightforward,” “easy” or “simple”
- A phrase like “in light of” turns more succinctly into “because of”
- We are not “in the loop” but we “are aware”
Pay attention to pronouns
- According to The Associated Press Stylebook, it’s preferable to refer to a person as “they” instead of “he” or “she”
- Rather than “man” or “woman,” use “person” or “individual”
- It’s not “his” or “her” document, but “their” document
Put everyone in the picture
- Make sure your images and emojis include a wide cross-section of people and groups
- Consider using both colours and labels in design for people who can’t distinguish hues
- On websites, use both images and text so that everyone gets the message
Adopt gender-neutral family labels
- Use “parent” or “guardian” versus “mom” and “dad”
- Replace “husband” and “wife” with “spouse” or “partner”
- “Pibling” has become popular when referring to aunts and uncles (stands for parent’s sibling)
Be mindful of accessibility-inclusive language
- Commonplace expressions like “turning a blind eye” could be perceived as insensitive
- A person is “hard of hearing” rather than “hearing impaired”
- Rather than “wheelchair bound,” a person “uses a wheelchair” to assist with mobility
It’s a good idea for companies and their brands to craft their own approach toward using inclusive language to create messages that resonate with each audience segment.
Interested in learning more? Let Ext. help you integrate inclusive language so you can connect with more people, communities and opportunities. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
How to use testimonials to boost your marketing strategy
If you’ve ever had to search for a new restaurant or book a hotel in a new city, you’ve likely read reviews (also known as testimonials) to make your decision. In the world of financial services marketing, testimonials can be just as powerful in creating a connection with your prospective customers. Studies have shown that 97% of business-to-business customers cited testimonials and peer recommendations as the most reliable type of content,1 while 72% of consumers say positive testimonials and reviews increase their trust in a business.2
Why testimonials work
When a person is faced with an uncertain decision, they naturally look to others for guidance. This “social proof” is rooted in our psychological need for validation from others who have experienced a company’s products and services.
There is a truism when it comes to marketing that says – “show, don’t tell”. You can have the best words to describe your value proposition and how you help your customers. However, there is nothing like having your own customers convey that message through their personal stories and experiences with your company.
If your purpose is to solve customers’ problems or challenges, testimonials show that you understand what they need and demonstrate how your company can help.
How to make sure your testimonials resonate
Be specific and focused
Stay away from generalities and draw on the details (metrics) that bring the reader into the story. Keep the testimonial focused on one problem or challenge and have your customer explain exactly how your company helped.
Use video
An effective testimonial is essentially a compelling narrative about how your company helped a customer. Videos are a great way to deliver that story, especially through social media.
Put a face to the name
Where possible, use a photo of the customer to create authenticity and a stronger connection to their story.
Case studies
Create a longer-form version of a testimonial with a case study, leveraging the context and complexity of the customer’s challenge to build a strong narrative.
Be credible
Avoid the perception of any conflict of interest or the notion that the customer is being compensated for their story. For U.S. investment advisors, be aware of the SEC disclosure requirements for testimonials and endorsements that came into effect in 2021 (the transition period for compliance ends on November 4, 2022).3
Need advice on how to incorporate testimonials into your marketing? Ext. Marketing can help you add this powerful tool to your digital platforms. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
1 Why B2B customer reviews matter as much as consumer reviews. Manya Chylinkski, Momentum, November 5, 2014.
2 How to Use Customer Testimonials to Generate 62% More Revenue From Every Customer, Every Visit, Emily Cullinan, Big Commerce, April 6, 2017.
3 SEC’s New Marketing Rule for Investment Advisers Goes into Effect, Arnold & Porter, May 14, 2021.
How solid are your marketing personas?
Who is this for? Why are we doing this? Are you sure we’re saying the right thing? Those are just three of the many questions you may ask yourself when working on a marketing project. Finding the answers is much easier when you have robust and relevant marketing personas.
What’s a marketing persona?
A marketing persona represents a group of clients with similar profiles, personal goals and client journeys.
Personas are a powerful way of embodying not only demographics (e.g., “our clients tend to be women in their 30s) but also user needs (e.g., “needs to prioritize risk management in their portfolio”). A persona can be viewed as a composite of attitudes, motivations, pain points and goals.

How customer personas add to your marketing strategy
The main benefit of developing personas is that they’ll help you adjust your brand messaging. Well-developed personas are powerful tools that can illuminate how a customer or prospect might interpret your offering. You can focus on marketing your messages and developing products based on those personas.
What to watch out for
Here are some pitfalls to avoid when creating your marketing personas:
- Making the personas too broad: You want them to address your clients’ specific likes, dislikes, goals, pain points, etc.
- Lack of research: You can build strong personas by interviewing a cross-section of your clients and prospects. Remember, it’s important to gather qualitative data to layer onto and complement quantitative data and insights.
- Making assumptions: If you’ve identified a blind spot in your personas, resist the urge to fill it up with something that may or may not be true. For example, if you’re not sure what your persona’s pain points are, don’t invent them, as you might be flavouring your content with incorrect assumptions. Do more research until your personas are truly useful.
The list could go on, but it’s a good start and reveals that building personas takes a bit of work.
Are your personas up to date? This is important. Over the years, your business may grow, expanding into new segments and regions and serving new clients. That’s why your marketing personas should also evolve.
Personas can help you tailor your messaging to optimize your clients’ experience and provide maximum value. As such, they should be essential tools in every marketer’s toolbox.
Need help creating or updating your user personas? Ext. Marketing can help. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Start using video in your marketing campaigns!
The rise of video in marketing seems unstoppable. Worldwide, video streaming grew by 10% in the first quarter of 2022 alone.1 People are watching and sharing videos on almost every social media platform. Cisco reports that 82% of global internet traffic will come from either video streaming or downloads this year.2 While you’ve been told that video is powerful, effective and necessary for taking your marketing to the next level, several myths might be keeping you from getting on board. Let’s separate fact from fiction.
Myth #1: Video is costly to produce
Even if video is the way to go, one of the biggest misconceptions is that video production is expensive. But, in recent years, new technology has made the cost of producing simple videos more affordable than ever before. A simple yet impactful video suitable for sharing online doesn’t have to break the bank. However, costs will go up or down depending on the format and the potential need for direction, scripting, voice or acting talent and music.
Myth #2: Video only appeals to younger audiences
Gen Xers and their predecessors may not be digital natives, but that doesn’t make them old-school in their media consumption habits. From 2019 to 2021, the share of Americans ages 50 to 64 who said they ever used YouTube increased from 70% to 83%. Among those 65 and older, YouTube use increased from 38% to 49%.4 Bottom line: people of all ages are significantly more likely to watch a video than read a block of text.
Myth #3: Video ROI is hard to measure
Measuring the return on investment for video marketing goes beyond simply counting views and conversions. You need to factor in audience behaviour, such as social sharing, that can help increase brand awareness. For the best read on what’s working, consider not just quantitative but qualitative factors, including surveys and polls, anecdotal feedback and viewer comments.
Myth #4: Video content creation is daunting
Don’t know where to start? Skilled video writers can work seamlessly with creative directors and production teams to storyboard your concept and develop a video script that will bring it to life. Developing a partnership with a content agency like Ext. can be a faster, smarter and more cost-effective way to manage your video production.
Myth #5: Video doesn’t work for my industry
Once immensely popular in niche creative industries, video is now at the forefront of marketing campaigns across all industries, including financial services and B2B and B2C channels. When striving to cut through a “sea of sameness,” video can be invaluable in telling your brand story and connecting with your target market.
Videos that are on-brand and on budget are within reach. Get the cameras rolling by calling us today for a quote at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
1 www.forbes.com/sites/dbloom/2022/05/18/online-video-viewing
2 www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/service-provider/index.html
3 https://dmakproductions.com/blog/how-much-does-video-production-cost
4www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021
Why interns are good for business
How many interns get to work with billion-dollar indirect lenders, multinational banks, and life-altering non-profits, while helping with everything from design, writing, client support and project management? Here at Ext., we love exposing our interns to a diverse range of projects, giving them a chance to infuse their boundless energy and fresh ideas into our client work.
This year we welcomed five accomplished students into our four-month-long Internship Program – and they didn’t disappoint. The 2022 team was our largest contingent and most diverse group of interns yet.
If you’re looking to fuel innovation and raise productivity, consider an internship program at your company.
Before wrapping up their time with us, we asked each intern about their ambitions, and how their experience at Ext. may help shape their future careers.
Tell us a little about yourself and your role at Ext.

Christy Chan
I just finished my undergraduate degree at TMU and now I’m doing my Master of Information degree at the University of Toronto. This summer I worked with Ext.’s Creative Studio as a graphic design intern, helping to generate original design concepts for clients.

Diksha Gattani
I graduated from Seneca College in August of 2021, having studied marketing and project management. During my time at Ext., I interned as a coordinator in the Project Management Office.

Selin Cinemre
I am going into my fourth year at the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce. I am specializing in marketing and strategy with a minor in economics. I worked with the Ext. Communications department as the marketing, investment and communications intern.

Ella Stoyan
I am going into my fourth year at Queens University, majoring in sociology and minoring in social studies. I have also completed a certificate in law. This summer, I worked for Ext.’s Account Management team.

Matthew Drumonde
I attend Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and I am in my third year in the Business Technology Management program. My program brings communications and technology together to help solve business-related problems by analyzing large sets of market data. During my internship, I worked on two projects that involved gathering client and prospect insights.
How did your role at Ext. align with your future goals?
Selin Cinemre
Exposure to financial services marketing and working on many different projects in communications helped me learn about the broad range of essential marketing skills that can be applied to offer the best solutions for clients. It reaffirmed my passion for every aspect of marketing. Furthermore, my biggest gain was the opportunity to test, discover and hone my marketing skills.
Ella Stoyan
The opportunity to be an intern at Ext. gave me the chance to be more visible and vocal, building both my profile and relationships with clients. It allowed me to see what the professional services world is like. Being exposed to clients helped me better understand customer needs and preferences, which is essential for delivering the right product or service.
Diksha Gattani
My goal is to have a career in project management and this internship was a perfect steppingstone. The management pros at Ext. taught me about the various responsibilities tied to this role. I learned that for better execution and client outcomes, sound management of the project cycle is essential.
Matthew Drumonde
My role at Ext. was sales focused, which gave me the opportunity to better understand the company, as well as potential customers we were targeting. I got to see what it takes to sell and how to problem solve through effective communication. Seeing the ins and outs of how a successful business operates has helped me shape my own path.
Christy Chan
As the graphic design intern, I loved brainstorming and coming up with creative concepts for projects. I also got to see the end-to-end design process, from initial client briefs to completion. Ext. included me in client interactions and the exposure helped grow my professional experience.
What was your favourite part about working at Ext.?
Ella Stoyan
The people at Ext. have strong backgrounds in marketing and are eager to teach and impart their knowledge. Being able to shadow everybody and learn about all aspects that go into B2B marketing was very stimulating. Seeing the organizational structure, communication and collaboration that happens between departments was invaluable.
Selin Cinemre
Working directly with the directors and getting that exposure and knowledge from people who have been in the industry for a long time was my favourite part. Receiving support and feedback from my team made me feel very accomplished.
Diksha Gattani
Ext. has the charm and strength of a family. Everyone is very supportive; I had a lot to learn as an intern and all the teams were very helpful and friendly throughout the process.
Christy Chan
I liked working with different departments and getting to know a lot of people. I enjoyed the weekly meetings where I could get creative and hear other people’s insights, while also having fun.
Matthew Drumonde
The whole team is incredibly close-knit. When someone needs support, everyone pitches in to solve the problem at hand and get stuff done. People share the same goals and the genuine desire to help each other grow.
We thank our talented interns for joining us at Ext. for the 2022 Summer Internship Program. You were an amazing cohort. We hope you valued your experience as much as we valued your contributions!
Looking for support with your marketing initiatives? Ext. has the innovative and creative expertise to take your marketing to the next level. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
What your tone says about your brand
Your company’s tone of voice is an essential component of your brand strategy, so how do you communicate it? Achieving brand recognition isn’t simply about visual representations, logos or even targeted messaging. It’s also about the way you speak and deliver your message. Have you developed a recognizable tone of voice?
If you’re talking to your customers in digital spaces, you have likely already embraced the power of your website. It’s your conversation tool. But how well does it convey your brand? Don’t underestimate the emotive appeal your tone can deliver. Many of us might think tone of voice is intuitively addressed in our messaging. But more often, it’s an approach not fully explored.
Why tone is important
Tone of voice is essentially the way you express your feelings or mood to your readers. It is not just about the words you use; it’s how you weave in your personality. It reveals the way you think about a subject, and the better you are at exuding your personality, the more you can influence readers and help them deepen their relationship with your brand. Ultimately, the goal is to connect with your reader based on a shared and receptive understanding of who you are and the value you represent.
Breaking it down
On a superficial level, discussions about tone tend to recommend the obvious. Try to avoid obligatory terms, use power words, convey vulnerability and demonstrate warmth. But to do those things, you need to dig deeper. First, you have to decide what impression you want the leave with the reader. That is your tone strategy. Here’s a list of four main approaches that can help frame your tone of voice:
- Funny or serious – do you want to add humour, or must you speak deliberately?
- Formal or casual – can you communicate casually, or is it necessary to use precise language?
- Respectful or boldly sarcastic – should you speak courteously, or is it okay to be cheeky at times?
- Enthusiastic or plainspoken – do you want to elicit excitement, or must you be more stoic?
Differences in tone
Financial institutions or financial technology companies are in a unique position. If you are a financial services marketer, you typically communicate complex concepts, technical data and sensitive investment details that demand clear messaging and formal language. That doesn’t mean your tone always has to follow a rigid approach. In fact, it can adapt according to the medium or content.
Tone of voice can be intricate and meaningful. Often your brand might embody multiple tones in different contexts. Here are a few examples to show how you can vary tone – even in the same communication.
Inflationary pressures and market volatility are hot topics that can worry readers. The central message is usually about current conditions and how to navigate them. Whether you want to inform, reassure, or explain, there are various ways to communicate the details people need. Consider this news statement:
“Attention homeowners: the value of what is probably the biggest single investment you will ever make is falling.”1
The comment is not trying to make people feel good. It plays on valuation concerns to communicate the gravity of declining home prices. It is a serious, formal, bold, and matter-of-fact warning. But the title of the article in which the statement appears is a little more casual and reassuring:
“Market corrections are just part of life — embrace the correction.” 1
That statement is direct, serious, and respectful. If it were edited slightly to read “let’s embrace the correction,” the shift to a plural first-person pronoun would convey “we” are in it together, and the message becomes even more casual and conversational. Now take a look at how the author changes the tone with a more enthusiastic, positive mood further on in the article:
“The good news is owning a home probably remains the best investment you will ever make over the long term.” 1
Again, consider how a few minor changes, more reassuring words or even a metaphorical statement could change the way a reader aligns with the message and how they view its personality:
“Don’t sweat cooling housing prices. Owning a home is still the best long-term investment you can make.”
It’s all about the brand
Deciding what tone works best for your company’s brand strategy always comes back to the personality you want to convey. In financial contexts, it is probably not a good idea to be overly exuberant or cheeky because it could diminish your credibility or seem disingenuous. Consider what you want your audience to feel when they read your message. How do you want them to perceive you? If you’re not sure which tone strategy you should pursue, try A/B testing a few in a controlled setting.
Don’t forget the contractions!
Yes, contractions play a vital role. It used to be that writers frowned on the use of contractions as overtly casual and not appropriate for formal contexts. The fact is contractions (e.g., merging “it is” to “it’s” or “we are” to “we’re”) are conversational and their use can add the relatable tone you need to convey your personality. You will want to determine if they work for you.
Remember, your personality should be consistent but flexible enough to adapt to the subject and align with your reader’s needs. For example, you might adopt a conversational tone across your website but avoid adding colloquial or humorous references except where you want to showcase your culture, people or social settings. Since design and graphics are a big part of any brand strategy, you should consider how they can best support your chosen tone. Imagery needs to complement, not compete with, your brand personality. If your tone is clear and direct, you’ll want to match it with a design system and elements that aren’t in stark contrast. If you’re focused on conveying trust, warmth and reassurance, consider design attributes that support that aim. Above all, be consistent and authentic. Readers will notice contradictions.
Need help defining your brand voice? Ext. Marketing can help you create effective brand appeal by identifying the tone strategy that works best for you. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
1www.bnnbloomberg.ca/market-corrections-are-just-part-of-life
10 web metrics you should monitor (infographic)
Chances are you put a lot of time and effort into creating your website’s text and design. But even if you’ve developed an amazing-looking website, there’s only one way to know how it is performing. You need to track the following key metrics:

Tracking web metrics is an essential first step in determining the performance of your website. It can help guide you on the most effective ways to improve your content and conversion rates.
Looking to improve your web metrics? Ext. can help you develop targeted web content to help boost your conversion rates. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
1 https://backlinko.com/hub/seo/bounce-rate
2 https://www.business2community.com/infographics/14-important-metrics
3 https://webolutions.com/10-key-metrics-effective-website/
Make your website’s hero banner a conversion superhero
Your website’s hero banner is the area between the navigation and the start of your content. It does a lot of heavy lifting by setting the tone for your site, encouraging visitors to engage with your brand and helping to establish trust. The hero banner’s effectiveness could mean the difference between high bounce rates and high conversion rates.
If your hero banner is doing its job, you’ll be well on your way to conversion – whether that’s getting a prospective client to reach out to your sales team or sending them to discover your product and service pages.
Remember, website visitors tend to form judgements quickly: it takes approximately 50 milliseconds for users to cement an opinion about your brand.1
It’s no wonder that marketers are always looking to optimize their hero banners and above-the-fold content.
Here are some tips to help give your hero banner super strength:
1. Streamline
Keep your hero banner’s message simple. You want to inspire your visitors, not overwhelm them. Squeezing too many messages into the hero will inevitably dilute its superpowers. It’s been proven that less cluttered homepages are more likely to convert.2
2. Tell a story
The story in your hero banner needs to be told in your brand voice – reinforced by strong visuals and copy. Your website is your storefront, and you’ll want to “greet” users with an on-brand experience that showcases how you solve your clients’ problems and your unique selling proposition (or “USP”).
3. Use video and motion graphics
Video converts. About 84% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video.2 It’s no wonder that video and motion graphics are popular choices for hero images. There are caveats: loop your content and keep it crisp, so you don’t bog down your website’s load speed. The ideal length is one or two seconds – content that is over five seconds in length is going to need optimizing.
4. Include calls to action
A call to action is usually placed in your hero banner for good reason – it’s a great way to lead visitors down the funnel. Try to be creative but concise with your calls to action. Remember, there’s more to life than “Learn more.” Use powerful imperative verbs that create a sense of urgency. “Watch,” “discover,” “read,” “subscribe,” “schedule.” Choose specific verbs that tee up a promise and give strong, direct instructions on what to do next.
5. Make it responsive
With mobile often being a user’s first interaction with your brand these days, it’s important to make sure your website is responsive (meaning it will “respond” to the screen size it’s appearing in). For hero banner content, you’ll want to ensure you engage visitors immediately and keep your objectives limited to a single goal or desired action.
To carousel or not to carousel?
There is much debate about whether you should use a carousel in the hero banner position. While many prefer the simplicity of a single message, others need to balance multiple messages. If you decide to adopt a carousel, put the visitor in the driver’s seat: avoid the auto-play feature as it may not give users time to digest the content before it advances. You will also want to make sure your carousel is optimized for mobile, including facilitating optional behaviours such as pinching, tapping and swiping to ensure a mobile user’s journey is seamless.
A/B testing can help
If you are deciding between multiple messages and creative executions, A/B testing can help shed light on what resonates best with real users. You can use this strategy to make sure your hero banner content is a true hero: saving the day and delivering new leads.
Is your conversion rate not where it should be? Ext. and our team of digital, content and UX experts can help optimize your hero banner and all your web content. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
1https://www.academia.edu/534960/Attention_web_designers_You_have_50_milliseconds_to_make_a_good_first_impression
2135 Video Marketing Stats You Can’t Ignore in 2022
Five tips for creating mobile-optimized content
Scroll through any website on your mobile device and it’s easy to see how a small screen size can be challenging for a visitor to navigate and absorb your content. With nearly 55% of all web traffic in the fourth quarter of 2021 coming from a mobile device,1 you should keep your mobile visitors front and centre when you create web content.
A mobile-friendly site can be especially helpful for those who use screen readers. A screen reader crawls through a web page to help someone with a visibility impairment understand what is on their screen. Optimizing your content for mobile can also help screen readers translate the structure and content on your page.
Here are five tips on how to create better content for mobile users:
1. Use an inverted triangle to organize your page
Use an inverted triangle to place your most important content at the top of the page, including the key message(s) you want your visitor to know. If there is a specific action you want a reader to take after they visit your page, place that near the top. This structure helps the reader to quickly understand why they should keep reading. If there’s interest, they’ll keep scrolling. If not, they’ll exit the page – but not before they see your key message.
2. Write short headlines and meaningful subheads
Your headline should be six words or less to make it easier to read on a mobile device. Use meaningful subheads that allow a visitor to scan the page and understand if they should keep scrolling. These headlines and subheads also allow a screen reader to convey the page structure.
3. Write concisely
Reading large blocks of text in any format is daunting, but it’s even harder on a small screen. Use short sentences and paragraphs to help mobile visitors digest your content quickly. If you’re listing items in a series, use short bullets.
A few numbers to aim for:
• 20 words or less for sentences
• Two to three sentences for each paragraph
• One idea for each paragraph
4. Use plain language
Avoid unnecessary filler words and modifiers, interjections and clauses and technical jargon. These create unnecessary noise and muddy your content. To help simplify your writing, use a readability program, such as Grammarly or Flesch-Kincaid, and aim for a grade 8 or 9 score.
5. Add images and videos
Give your visitor’s eyes a break and use images and videos to make your content more digestible. People absorb visuals 600 times faster than text;2 while 68% would rather watch a video than read text.3 TIP: remember to add subtitles for those using a screen reader and for those watching in silent mode.
Looking to improve the user experience for your mobile audiences? Ext. can help you optimize your web content for mobile. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
1 Mobile internet usage worldwide – statistics & facts, statista, L. Ceci, February 22, 2022
2 Research: Is A Picture Worth 1,000 Words or 60,000 Words in Marketing, Matthew Dunn, Email Audience, November 12, 2021
3 Video Marketing Statistics, Wyzowl, December 2021
The ongoing power of email marketing
Many individuals have long predicted the fall of email as a marketing channel, but email marketing continues to be an important component of any marketing strategy.
A well-executed email campaign can be very effective at helping you achieve your business and marketing objectives. Here are three ways to optimize this important channel and achieve the measurable performance you’re looking for.
Strategy first
Email marketing drives customer acquisition and retention, delivering an impressive return on investment (ROI) of US$36 for every $1 spent. To achieve that level of ROI, however, companies need to have a strategy in place to maximize any investment they make in this channel. Organizations need to consider relevance, experience, messaging, benefits and customer needs.
The bottom line is that having a tool is not enough. The most sophisticated strategies will fall flat without a well-planned content marketing plan to feed them. If you have answers to the 5 questions below, you are well on your way to building your strategy:
- How well do you know your customers?
- Do you have a good understanding of their needs and pain points?
- How well do you know your organization’s brand promise?
- Do you know what you want to say and how you want to say it?
- Have you determined what success means to your organization?
The next step is to focus your content strategy in a credible and meaningful way. Only at this point, are you equipped to partner with your email platform and data colleagues. They will thank you for the guidance and insight and be more motivated and engaged to help you execute strategic and effective email communications.
Relevance is king
“Relevance is king” can be a useful adaptation of the traditional mantra “content is king” to level up your use of the email channel. One of the most common quandaries organizations face is how many emails to send. Often, companies are surprised when research suggests customers want to hear more from them, not less.
The secret to answering this question is relevance. Customers’ perception of an email as spam is highly correlated with relevance, meaning a hard-and-fast number will not suffice. Customers who receive few emails with very little relevance will have low engagement compared to those who receive frequent and relevant communications.
Find your target
Relevancy is achieved by segmenting your audience based on their client profile. Whether you are at the crawl, walk, or run stage of your use of the email channel, you should always aim for maximum personalization. An email recipient is 50 percent more likely to click on a link in a segmented email.
For many, this means targeting your email distribution using, at a minimum, basic segmentation based on a foundational data strategy. No more mass messaging with information relevant to only a small section of the distribution list. This old batch-and-blast approach is well past its expiration date.
For others, this means more advanced behavioral-based and customized segments. This requires a true understanding of the customer experience and profile to provide the right content at the right time under the right circumstance.
Email marketing should always start with developing your strategy to set your goals and find the best way to achieve them. Once you have your strategy in place, support it with relevant messages that target audiences that want to receive them. Do that and you can watch your customers’ engagement grow!
Looking for help developing an effective email marketing strategy? Ext. has the expertise you need. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com
The golden rule of ESG investment marketing
As the landscape and regulatory environment around environmental, social and governance (ESG) continues to evolve, the question marketers of financial investments must answer is not if they need to factor ESG into their products and messaging, but how to do it. Whatever approach you take, it needs to be accurate and credible if you want to deliver a convincing story to your stakeholders to assure them you understand ESG and are taking it seriously. That was a key takeaway from the Gramercy Institute’s 2022 ESG Marketing & Communications Awards in New York this past June.
New risks and new opportunities
The shift to ESG has created fresh opportunities for investment marketers, but it has also introduced new risks. The lack of common ground between how different regulatory bodies measure ESG and set benchmarks are some of the biggest challenges marketers need to overcome. Despite the ambiguities around some of these core elements, misleading stakeholders by making an investment sound more environmentally friendly than it actually is could be construed as “greenwashing,” which will quickly attract the ire of regulators and erode the trust of key stakeholders.
At the Gramercy event, there was broad consensus that financial marketers need to take more time to understand what story they are trying to tell around ESG and why it matters, rather than using ESG as a marketing tactic.
Even amid the market uncertainty sparked by high inflation and rising geopolitical tensions, ESG isn’t about to fade from the conversation. Investors are concerned about returns, but, as many event panelists pointed out, ESG has become an important part of risk analysis and the due diligence process, even if it isn’t core to a strategy.
ESG is HTS (here to stay)
Institutional investors and other sophisticated allocators are increasingly asking ESG-related questions about non-ESG-labeled strategies. Measurement will be critical. Firms will be held accountable for measuring their progress to back up their messaging.
The best advice we can offer is to be authentic. Unlike the famous story of a large home improvement retailer that stocked its shelves with empty boxes in its early days to create the illusion they had lots of merchandise, fake-it-till-you-make-it won’t fly when it comes to marketing ESG.
Having supported a number of multinational financial firms with their ESG messaging, we can attest to this. How you message ESG can reveal a lot about how much an organization understands this issue. And never underestimate your audiences and stakeholders.
If you don’t have any ESG metrics you’re striving to achieve, don’t claim you do. It’s better to say you are developing your ESG strategy to set clear goals and benchmarks to track your progress than to get caught exaggerating your progress on the ESG front.
Don’t go it alone
As we noted in Five ESG trends every marketer should know, strong ESG reporting can offer an important competitive advantage in addition to being a powerful tool to mitigate reputational risk.
Just remember the golden rule of ESG marketing: If you want your messaging to be successful, it has to be authentic.
Looking for support in refining your ESG messaging? Ext. has the expertise you need. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Are you following the social media rule of thirds?
We’ve all heard the social media advice: Post often. Post regularly. Be engaging. These can be tough practices to follow, especially if you’re a marketer managing multiple priorities and platforms or lack the resources to create original posts on a regular basis.
There are many methods by which you can curate your social media feeds. One formula is known as the rule of thirds, and it provides an important formula that allows you to balance your time between creating content about your business and engaging with your community. The rule generally states that one-third of your content should focus on promoting business, one-third on sharing other posts and one-third on interacting with others.
So, to commemorate Social Media Day (June 30), here’s our take on the rule and some helpful tips to consider when pulling together your editorial calendar.
1/3: Promote business, but keep it real
Talking about your products, market opportunities or strategy often comes easiest. It can also become the part that fails to inspire and engage, particularly if it consists of repetitive, one-way conversations.
TIP: Boast about business, personally: When sharing company successes, don’t forget to profile the human side of your business by telling stories about staff achievements and milestones, new personnel or your involvement in the community. Promote culture while inviting dialogue. Showcase your thought leadership and financial expertise thoughtfully and creatively, including through short quotes and videos. Remember to keep content focused on client needs.
1/3: Share other posts, with a broad lens
Curating third-party content is essential because it helps you to build community and engagement. It also shows you’re in touch with your industry and issues beyond your brand.
TIP: Use sources you support: When sharing industry-related posts, news or events, make sure you’re using content from brands you feel align well with your own. Sharing surveys or reports on financial trends or developments relevant to your clients is a great way to engage in meaningful conversations. When reposting, it’s good practice to tag the owner or provide attribution in a caption. And when sharing original content (photos/videos) created by someone else, be sure to obtain permission and to provide the creator with credit.
1/3: Reach out and interact
The final rule of thirds is about being as social as possible. In fact, it intersects all parts of your curation plan because every post is a chance to interact and foster further peer-to-peer engagement.
TIP: Work the room often: One of the simplest ways to connect with your followers on social media is to like and share their posts and respond when they reach out to you. Talking directly to followers, answering their questions and saying thank you allows you to expand your reach in new and exciting ways.
While we believe the rule of thirds is a great guide, these tips aren’t written in stone. Every business is different. You’ll benefit from a little tinkering and looking back at your analytics to see what worked best – ultimately helping you develop a content calendar that consistently engages and inspires.
Looking to boost your social media profile? Ext. can help you develop a targeted social media strategy and content plan to enhance your presence. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Five signs your key messaging may need a refresh
A strong set of key messages is essential to any effective communications strategy. Robust messaging frameworks consist of memorable key messages that are illustrated by proof points, facts and figures. These are more than just another set of talking points; they encapsulate the most important ideas you want your stakeholders to know about your organization.
Strong messages have lasting benefits, like building client trust and long-lasting relationships, as well as heightening your brand loyalty, which, in turn, can lower client acquisition costs and increase sales.
Since organizations and the clients they serve evolve over time, key messages tend to have a modest lifespan and should be reviewed consistently and revised as necessary. When your key messaging starts to sound like elevator music – still recognizable but not quite true to the original – it is probably time for a refresh.
How can you tell when your messaging goes from mighty to meandering? Here are some signs:
1. Your organization has grown or transformed
Large business transformations, acquisitions, strategic pivots – any of these are likely to render your current messages stale and in need of a touch-up or complete overhaul. As you work on your change-management communications, make sure to carve out time to bring your broader corporate key messages up to date.
2. The market has changed
New opportunities, competitive pressures, regulatory forces and technological advances can all have profound impacts on your businesses and customers. Your messaging needs to keep pace with changes in your industry, the economy and/or across our broader society.
3. Lack of resonance
You can’t put your finger on it, but your messages aren’t landing with the same force that they used to. Whether a by-product of innovation, inertia or inactivity, your messages just aren’t working for you or your brand ambassadors, such as your salesforce or employees. This is a sure sign they need re-energizing.
4. Recall notice
The best messaging frameworks are built around key messages and proof points that are strategic, succinct and sticky. If consumers can’t quite remember or summarize your key points after reading or hearing them, consider exchanging them for something punchier and more memorable.
5. Here, there, everywhere
Good messages translate well from the written page to the spoken word and into your other communications collateral. This is even more important in the age of social media. If your messages don’t work across different media and audiences, it may be time to explore different approaches that allow you to leverage your messages more effectively.
Maintaining your messages
Like any good relationship, a bit of upkeep will go a long way toward keeping your messages evergreen.
Audit each touchpoint along your customer journey to make sure that your branding and messaging are on point. Speak regularly to your employees, customers, suppliers and other key stakeholders to help ensure that you are addressing their needs and concerns while conveying your messages of choice. Once you’ve settled on the core concepts you wish to include, experiment with sentence structure, word choices and proof points for maximum effectiveness.
Many businesses find it difficult to translate their ideas, activities and proprietary jargon into powerful, accessible messages that resonate with stakeholders. This is where it pays to partner with a company whose communications and marketing experts can help you develop and maintain messaging with true staying power.
Looking for support in refining your key messaging? Ext. has the expertise you need. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Strengthen your brand with a style guide
A style guide helps to bring clarity to a company’s brand voice. It ensures all your writing has quality and consistency and can reinforce your brand. This is particularly essential when you are scaling your content and marketing efforts beyond just one author or content team. And it doesn’t stop at printed materials. If you plan to publish copy across digital media formats, it’s important to include some of the unique considerations for those platforms.
A brand is a living entity with a personality and values. As a company, you want to exude those values, not only through the exceptional products and services you offer but also through a distinctly creative and consistent depiction of the same. While it’s important to craft your logos and graphics carefully, you shouldn’t neglect your copy.
Implementing a defined writing style shows who you are and what you stand for by the way you express yourself. Setting your tone and style helps nurture and enlighten your audience so that readers can clearly and confidently align their needs with your solutions.
A style guide is useful not only for writers in the marketing department, but also for the web team, client relations, media relations, the sales team and more – basically anyone who creates marketing materials, web copy, letters, emails, and other types of content. They are all ambassadors of your brand.
How to get started
Start by determining which style conventions need to be included. What mistakes or style missteps do you often see? What style questions do others frequently ask? Seek input from colleagues across the company. Review marketing materials, email messages, advertising and web copy for inspiration. Consider how you want to be perceived. Do you want to communicate conversationally, or should you take a more formal approach? What do you want the reader to remember about you? Come up with keywords that characterize your brand values. Use them to help structure your brand voice.
A few tips
Editorial style guides can be simple or comprehensive. Often, they don’t just delve into style conventions, but provide guidance on how to represent your brand to the world. Some are a single-page style sheet (for example, a quick reference on web conventions), others run 30 pages or more (if you are putting together a comprehensive style guide for a large corporation).
Consider including some or all of the following in your style guide:
- Common grammar rules
- Capitalization
- Punctuation
- Contractions
- Preferred spelling of words and terms
- Frequently misused words and terms
- Spelling of fund/product names, index names, etc.
- Glossary of common terms, defined
- Explanation of industry-related acronyms and abbreviations
- Best practices of style –address formats, font preferences, how to express numbers, bulleted list styles, Canadian vs. U.S. spelling, active vs. passive voice, serial comma
- How to write a letter or email (e.g., salutation, body copy construction, call to action, signature line)
- Guidance on the use of inclusive, non-biased language
- Style standards that are unique to your company
- A link to a general reference guide such as the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook, the Canadian Press (CP) Stylebook or another based on your industry, such as the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style
A thoughtful and comprehensive style guide helps ensure brand consistency. It is a living document that should be updated when rules, preferences, and other circumstances change. Refresh it every year and store a digital version that’s easy to access and edit.
Looking to strengthen your brand with a style guide? Ext. can help you create a style guide that adds clarity and structure to your voice. Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.