And in the beginning, there was the word.

Before people see your brand, they hear it.

In Episode 5 of The Effectiveness Gap we go deep into verbal branding: names, tone of voice, and the words that make design work harder.

Two conversations: with Michael Dijkstra Taurel, founder of Globrands and widely regarded as the “godfather” of brand naming, and Jasper Gabriëlse, sustainable entrepreneur and co-founder of Seepje.

We discuss why naming is the most durable brand asset, how tone of voice turns purpose into behaviour, the traps of “bad English” and global misfits, and the power of aligning words and design from day one.

Michael on developing a name as the base for brand distinction. He explains how to build a coherent naming system (brands, sub-brands, product lines), and how to balance distinctiveness, legal protection, and cultural nuance.

Jasper shares how Seepje leads with copy (and fun) to change habits, grow from start up to scale up, and how a living tone of voice keeps your brand human across touchpoints.

If you want to make sure your brand sounds like you, this is your episode.

To learn more about a new perspective on the design process for brands and packaging, visit wegiveperspective.com⁠ or follow us on LinkedIn.

The Effectiveness Gap is a series of 10 episodes in which we, as Perspective, look with experts at all aspects that can increase the effectiveness of a design process for brands and packaging. Every week a new podcast.

This podcast series is created and produced by Perspective, and hosted by Nike Stellamans and Marcel Verhaaf. Recording, editing and mastering by De Podcastexpert.