Education is one sector where you’ve got to get the tone right. Budgets are tight, pressure is intense and trust is essential. Equally, overstretched school leaders will soon lose interest if your copy is awash with platitudes and education jargon that make you sound like every other brand.
Having a memorable brand voice helps, but what if you need to communicate with a range of audiences? Your audience might include educators, parents and learners. Leading educational brands tweak their tone of voice to connect with each audience, without losing their overall personality.
Not sure where to start with brand voice?
Read my blog post on 3 brand voices that work in the education sector.
What successful education brands do well
Successful education brands don’t completely reinvent their tone of voice for each audience. They dial elements of their voice up or down depending on who they’re speaking to:
Students: more energy, humour and immediacy
Parents: reassurance, empathy and social proof
Educators: credibility, clarity and professional language
The personality stays recognisable, but the emphasis shifts. Let’s see this in action.
Brainly: a confident, proactive, efficient voice
Brainly’s tone of voice tells you it gets. the job. done. It sounds like an American high school kid “locking in” because that’s the audience. For parents and educators, Brainly keeps this confident, proactive tone but dials it down.
Brainly tone of voice for students
The direct, results-focused homepage copy is addressed to students who’ve had enough. “Instant help that actually lasts” implies that other options might have failed, but Brainly won’t let you down. There’s a touch of tongue-in-cheek humour (“unleash your Genius”) but the main appeal is getting results, fast.
Brainly tone of voice for parents
The tone on the parent-facing page is recognisable, but it no longer sounds like a high schooler. This time, it’s a parent who’s been there in the trenches, trying to understand their child’s cryptic homework. There’s empathy, ironic humour (“sanity-saving”) and reassurance through social proof: “Join millions of users…”. It’s like another parent whispering, “Psst, did I tell you about this Brainly app I use?”
Brainly tone of voice for educators
Meanwhile, the page aimed at schools and teachers really tones down the TOV. There’s even an education buzz-phrase: “interactive learning environment”. The tone is still friendly but leans more into reassurance and professionalism, mentioning “subject experts”. A safer choice for an audience that – let’s face it – sometimes likes to play it safe.
Duolingo: a playful, supportive, “quirky” voice
Peruse Duolingo’s brand guidelines and you’ll realise the distinctive brand voice personified by Duo the Owl didn’t happen by accident. The guidelines liken Duo to a cheerleader or a parent you wouldn’t want to disappoint. He’s “social”, “emotional” and “in a word… extra.”
Elsewhere, he’s been described in less polite terms as “unhinged”, “grumpy” and “passive aggressive”.
Love him or loathe him, Duo – and the Duolingo brand – certainly has a personality. What’s interesting is how this personality adapts across different channels and audiences.
Duolingo tone of voice for students
Duolingo caters for both young learners and adults. Anyone who’s used the app will be familiar with the incessant nagging to complete a lesson. But there’s a fun, supportive side too. Idioms and slang from the language you’re learning are sprinkled in playfully.
In the Duolingo app, mistakes are couched in positive, motivating language: “Not quite, but don’t give up!”
On social media, the brand has leaned into the more “unhinged” side of their playful, quirky TOV.
Duolingo tone of voice for parents
The copy of Duolingo ABC phonics is aimed at parents. It keeps the “cute” side of their fun tone but drops the unhinged edge. Citing credentials builds trust and a more inspirational tone emerges when they talk about kids changing the world. This works well for parents who are motivated by envisioning their children’s future.
Duolingo tone of voice for educators
The Duolingo website copy is fun, playful and friendly. It still reads like an excitable, enthusiastic owl, with lots of exclamations and a punchy cadence. Still, overall, it’s a calmer tone. The supportive tone of voice really comes into its own here: “Teachers, we’re here to help you!”
Times Tables Rock Stars: an exuberant, playful, energetic voice
Times Tables Rock Stars makes the most of its rock n roll persona, with confident copy that isn’t afraid to make big promises. It adapts this tone of voice subtly for parents, teachers and students.
Times Tables Rock Stars tone of voice for parents
The tone for parents is supportive, empathetic and emphasises how fun the product is: “thanks to the exciting gamification and rewards, children love playing it!” Social proof reassures: “an award-winning, internationally recognised maths programme that helps millions of children every week”.
Times Tables Rock Stars tone of voice for teachers
Arguably, the messaging for teachers is even more fun-focused: “puts the FUN into learning and recalling times tables!” There’s a sense of solidarity from phrases like “designed by teachers, for teachers”. Professional pedagogy also appears: “Times tables are the essential building blocks that underpin every maths curriculum.”
Times Tables Rock Stars tone of voice for students
Times Tables Rock Stars is aimed at primary and early secondary school pupils. The copy still needs to work to get children excited about taking up the product when it comes to their school or home.
The copy from the promotional video aimed at children takes on the personality and tone of an excited peer.
There’s still a confident tone that promises “maths will get easier”.
Within the programme, rock star mascots with names like Baz Wynter guide children through tricky steps like logging in with a friendly and supportive tone of voice. Generous use of exclamation marks keeps the energy and playfulness going, softening instructions such as “You can only choose a name once so pick carefully!”
One thing I really respect about Times Tables Rock Stars is that they even have a child-friendly version of their privacy notice using simple, accessible language to help children understand their rights.
Fine-tuning brand tone of voice for education audiences
So how do you tailor your tone without losing your personality?
It’s natural to ramp up the energy when speaking directly to learners but don’t lose sight of the fact that outcomes matter to students too. They want to enjoy learning, but they also want to know that their time and effort will pay off: improving their knowledge, skills or results.
Similarly, while all three brands took a more reassuring tone for parents and educators, the grown-ups still want to have fun.
Brand tone of voice can be subtle and slippery. In the education sector, it’s tempting to hide behind safe education buzzwords. But then it’s hard for your audience to see how you’re different to other brands. Creating tone of voice guidelines helps you to distil your brand’s personality into words and stay consistent across different channels and audiences. This way, you can temper your tone without losing your voice.
Lost your voice?
Tone of Voice that Knocks Their Socks Off!
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