MGM Advantage style guide Crystal clear and brilliantly simple communications
Contents Why we need a style guide
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Reflecting the MGM Advantage brand
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A few dos and don’ts 5 Our house style 6 A-Z of style choices 6 Letter writing 10 Email writing 10 Writing for the web 11 A word on social media 11 Brand pyramid 12
Want to add to the style guide? Email: marketing@mgmadvantage.com Don’t forget to use the online A-Z word list to check abbreviations, acronyms and spellings.
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Why we need a style guide Language is powerful. It can change attitudes and perceptions and influence behaviour. At MGM Advantage, we tailor our products and services perfectly to our customers’ needs – both advisers and consumers. It’s important we do the same with the way we write, for print and online. Our style guide helps us to write in a way that will clarify, not confuse. It ensures a recognisable tone and style that builds customer recognition, trust and loyalty. Without doubt, consumers need all the help they can get – people have lost faith in financial services, and the world of pensions is labelled ‘a blizzard of complexity, jargon and meaningless terminology’.
The benefits So here’s what an editorial style guide can do for us: •
Ensure we’re consistent with our tone and style, whoever we’re writing for: consistency = trust
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Support our distinct brand identity and personality across all channels
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Help us win over hearts and minds so we’re seen as a company that’s pleasingly refreshing in a complex – and certainly confusing – financial services world
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Complement our brand guidelines and ‘visual territory’ so that design, graphics and copy work hard together
All this across all channels and all products: Print – adverts, brochures, fact sheets, sales aids, forms, customer letters, direct mail Online – websites, micro sites (networks, The Store), online quote systems, apps/ tools, email newsletters, emails Of course, these are all guidelines not hard, fast rules. A sound ‘judgement call’ is sometimes required! Style guides may change over time as the way we use language changes, too.
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Reflecting the MGM Advantage brand We have carefully defined the brand image that we’re aiming to build for MGM Advantage in the marketplace. You’ll find the one-page summary of our aims – the MGM Advantage brand pyramid – at the back of this document. As far as possible, all writing on behalf of MGM Advantage should reflect the ideas in the brand pyramid, and even more importantly no writing should ever contradict anything in it. That said, it’s obvious that some kinds of writing are likely to have more effect on brand perceptions than others. A high-level piece of corporate literature can reflect most, if not all, of the ideas in the brand pyramid. A customer letter to do with direct debit arrangements can do less. Some of the ideas in the brand pyramid have a greater capability to make our writing distinctive and different from other firms. For example: - The emotional benefits defined in the pyramid emphasise our understanding of our customers, and the care that we have for them. Writing can reflect a customer focus by seeing things from a customer perspective – using the word ‘you’ frequently, and the word ‘we’ much less often. -
Our defined brand personality includes some powerful words such as passionate and brave. When appropriate, we shouldn’t hesitate to show that we are deeply committed to what we do and feel strongly about it. We should never be wishy-washy, or hide behind vague or unclear language.
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In our brand values, we emphasise simplicity, which hopefully speaks for itself (and, if we can genuinely achieve it, will do much to differentiate us). But we also highlight some more unusual words, including candour and certainty. These mean that our writing should be open to the point of frankness – we tell it how it is. And without ever becoming arrogant, our sense of certainty means that we are confident about what we have to say, and our writing is punchy and crisp.
When you’re faced with difficult tasks and urgent deadlines, it’s extremely tempting to put these brand issues to one side and get the job done as best you can. But building a distinctive brand is genuinely important to us, and writing plays a very important part in doing so. Before you start writing, a minute spent reviewing the ideas in the brand pyramid is a minute very well spent.
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A few dos and don’ts • Consider your audience – what do they already know (adviser or consumer) • Keep sentences short – 5-20 words is ideal • Use plain English – be clear and be concise • Take care with capitals – too many makes us look and sound pompous • Active not passive – ‘we pass on the rebate’ not ‘the rebate is passed on’ • Use ‘I’ and ‘we’ – makes your writing more personal, confident and transparent • IFAs not IFA’s – no apostrophe, it’s simply a plural • Always ‘MGM Advantage’ externally – ‘MGM’ OK internally • ‘MGM Advantage’ and ‘the Board’ are both singular – ‘the Board has decided’ not ‘the Board have decided’ • Single space not double between sentences – the norm in British mainstream publishing • In writing it’s MGM Advantage not mgmadvantage (logo only)
Words frequently confused • Advise/advice – let me advise you (verb), let me give you some advice (noun) • Affect/effect – most of the time affect is a verb (the weather won’t affect my holiday), effect is a noun (I won’t let the weather have an effect on my holiday) • Assure/ensure/insure – assure means to remove doubt, ensure to make certain and insure to protect against loss • That/which – that defines, which informs: ‘this is the house that Jack built’ but ‘this house, which Jack built, is now falling down’. As long as you’re careful with commas, most of the time these can be used interchangeably See the online A-Z word list for more.
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Our house style MGM Advantage is a corporate member of the Plain Language Commission. Our house style reflects plain English best practice principles, along with our unique style and tone! Our aim: to ensure our communications are brilliantly simple and crystal clear. The following is all simple enough stuff that added together can make a difference. A big difference.
A-Z of style choices tone, capital letters, hyphens, apostrophes Check the online A-Z word list for more abbreviations and acronyms. abbreviations and acronyms
Avoid overusing them, only use if your reader is familiar with them. Always spell out in full first, followed by abbreviation in brackets if referring to the term more than once: ‘Pension Income Choice Association (PICA)’, required fund performance (RFP).
But, use your judgement: no need to include an abbreviation if it’s only referred to once. And no need to spell out every single abbreviation if it’s not necessary.
Only capitalise the name of a company or the name of an actual fund (see capital letters).
Use abbreviations and acronyms without points: PICA, not P.I.C.A.
active not passive
Try to use the active rather than the passive voice – you generally need to use fewer words and your writing will sound friendlier and more approachable. This also helps us to take ownership of what we do.
‘We pass on the rebate’, rather than ‘The rebate is passed on’.
Always use ‘and’ rather than ‘&’ in writing (OK to use & in tables or graphs where space is tight).
ampersands
apostrophes
An indicator of possession or contraction:
Possession – the customer’s annuity (annuity belonging to a customer), the customers’ annuities (the annuities belonging to the customers), but note: its, hers, ours, yours, theirs are all possessive pronouns and have no apostrophe.
Contraction (to show that letters are missing from a word) - it’s means it is (the most common error!), it’s can only mean it is, I’ve means I have, you’re means you are and no apostrophes with plurals 1990s, AVCs.
bullet points
Use bullet points where you can to simplify complicated lists and to break up heavy blocks of text. It makes your writing easier to read and understand. Here’s how to punctuate your bullet points: If you want to cancel your annuity, you’ll need to: • • •
let us know as soon as possible complete and return the form, and return any payments MGM Advantage has made.
The above example is, in effect, one sentence, so starts with a capital letter, includes a comma,‘and’ at the end of the penultimate bullet point and then ends with a full stop.
However if each bullet point is a sentence its own right, punctuate as you would any sentence – start with a capital letter, end with a full stop.
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Simple one-word lists need no punctuation at all!
capital letters
Avoid using capitals too much – they’re often used unnecessarily where the writer considers a word to be important. Too many capital letters can make us appear a bit pompous and slow the reader right down, making information more difficult to understand. Some top tips: •
Avoid using all capitals – it’s the equivalent of SHOUTING at your reader.
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Title Case Is Harder To Read than sentence case, Which capitalises only the first word (and those that really need it).
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Terms such as independent financial adviser, adviser, minimum income guarantee, open market option – all lower case.
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Job titles – all lower case: chief executive, administrator, head of marketing (except for: closing line beneath signature on letters or business cards, it’s standard practice to capitalise job titles here).
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Headings – initial caps only for main headings and sub headings (see headings).
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The title of an annuity or a fund is a proper noun and should have capital letters in the same way that we capitalise our names, so our ‘Flexible Income Annuity’, ‘Multi-Asset Protector Fund’.
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Sector titles should have capital letters – ABI Global Property.
A few exceptions: •
OK to capitalise when referring to our products, so ‘MGM’s Flexible Income Annuity’ (note: flexible income annuities when talking generally, same as enhanced annuities).
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Teams – OK to capitalise team names. Team names are generally used in internal communications, such as employee newsletters and make it easier for employees to follow (Customer Services Division).
If in doubt, check the online A-Z word list.
contracted verbs
It’s, we’re, you’ve – don’t be afraid to use these whether you’re writing for consumers or for IFAs. It’s now commonplace to use contractions in most writing, with the exception of formal academic journals.
It helps your writing to flow and creates an informal tone, encouraging the reader to engage with what you’re saying.
dates
Keep it simple, the less fiddly punctuation on the page, the better: • •
5 July 2012 not 5th July 2012 within a sentence 5/7/12 in tables, graphs and sources
emphasis
Use bold to emphasise where you need to, avoid underlining and too many italics (especially online).
Avoid reinforcing stereotypes. Don’t offend your readers, use language that encourages equality. IFAs are not always male!
gender
Instead of he or she, rephrase the sentence or use ‘they’, ‘them’ and ‘their’ as single gender-neutral pronouns: •
‘if your adviser prepares the scheme accounts for you, you must make sure they have all the information’ (OK to replace ‘he or she’ with ‘they ).
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headings
Initial caps only for main headings and sub headings (unless it includes one of our products, eg Flexible Income Annuity or Enhanced Annuity) – lower case headings are easier to read and make the information less intimidating Example:
Enhance your retirement
Key features of the Enhanced Annuity
hyphens and dashes
Hyphens are short and tie words together (65-year-old), dashes (also called en-dashes) are a bit longer and separate a string of words. (Avoid using em dashes which are a bit longer.)
So:
People don’t generally read word-for-word online – they simply scan the page.
Use hyphens where it helps to make the meaning absolutely clear to the reader:
• • • • • • • •
with-profits policy joint-life annuity single-life annuity investment-linked annuities tax-free lump sum stock-market growth 65-year-old 45-day quote guarantee
If in doubt, check the online A-Z word list.
italics
Use italics sparingly, italics are difficult to read, especially online.
The world of financial services is full of acronyms, abbreviations and peculiar terms. You might be familiar with the jargon, but your reader is probably not.
jargon
Financial and technical terms are fine for those ‘in the know’ (IFAs), but gobbledegook for most. Steer clear of jargon where you can – if you have to use it, explain what the term means.
numbers and percentages
Write numbers one to nine in full, 10 and above as figures – five policies, 12 options. • • •
9am not 9.00am or 9:00am – no full stops, double zeros or colons 62,000 – numbers with more than three digits separate with a comma 2% not 2.00% (and not ‘per cent’)
Note: Writing ‘one in a hundred people’ is likely to produce a much bigger reaction from your readers than ‘1%’. So for example, we might use the former for consumers and the latter, 1%, for IFAs. Putting people into writing makes it more powerful.
Exceptions: Don’t start a sentence with a figure, spell it out in full •
Use figures in online tools and calculators – they have more impact on screen than words and support scan reading.
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Write all numbers in full in headings.
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plain English
Always write in plain English – use language your reader will know and understand. Keep sentences short, 15-20 words is ideal. If in doubt, write as you would say it if having a conversation with the person sitting next to you. Use I, we and us – it makes your writing more human.
punctuation
Don’t overdo the punctuation – the less clutter on the page the better. Only use commas where really needed. See bullet points.
Use single quotation marks for certain words or phrases when using them for the first time. Only use double quotation marks for speech.
quotation marks
Sources Use this format:
spelling
Source: MGM Advantage Annuity Index, July 2012; ONS, Cohort expectation of life by selected age for the year 2008; Avelo 24/7/2012 (OK to use MGM, other abbreviations and smaller font) Check that you’re using English (UK) spelling. Use –ise rather than –ize endings: realise not realize
If in doubt, check the online A-Z word list. tone
Our tone is our voice – it’s how we sound. Write using everyday words, conversational in style. Use your judgement in striking the right balance, but aim to keep it ‘brilliantly simple’!
We don’t need a different set of guidelines for each of our target audiences – consumers, IFAs and partners. We might use different words, but our voice will sound the same.
While we use the same tone of voice when writing for our IFA audience, we simply don’t need to spell out technical terms as we know they’ll already understand them.
Here’s an example: For an IFA we might write: It’s important that you explain to your clients they can use the OMO to shop around for the best deal.
For a customer we might write: You can shop around to find the best deal – this is known as the ‘open market option’.
Same tone, different words.
It’s important that our tone is carried through and across all our communications.
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Letter writing A key element for MGM Advantage in building our reputation is the collective experience of our customers – the people we communicate with – and the way they report that experience to others. All our correspondence should be: • • • •
timely accurate friendly, and informative.
It’s not always about writing less – sometimes clearer language means more words to spell things out, and that’s OK. Some things to remember: • • •
Consistency of style across all letters. Consistency of terminology. Personalise your correspondence – use I, we, us where you can.
if you’re struggling with how to write something, write it as if you were talking to the person next to you. Use your judgement and consider your letter writing as a friendly and appropriate conversation on paper. MGM Advantage is a corporate member of the Plain Language Commission – they’ve reviewed our letters and our house style reflects plain English best practice principles.
Email writing
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Structure your email well - cut the clutter.
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Always use house style - business emails should not be just an electronic form of chatting!
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Be careful with what you write - email is easy to misinterpret.
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Keep email for simple communications.
Writing for the web It’s important to repurpose our content when publishing print material to web or email. Here are a few tips on writing web copy with clout. The key point to remember is that people never read word-for-word online – they simply scan the page. Some basic guidelines: •
Use clear and simple language – be concise and to the point, no fluff.
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Keep to one idea per paragraph – it’s OK to have one sentence paragraphs online.
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Front-load your web page – put the conclusion first so readers quickly know whether it’s worth reading further.
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Use descriptive sub headings – group your content into logical groups.
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Use descriptive link text – ensure your link text makes sense out of context (‘click here’ makes no sense out of context to people scan reading web pages – important for people who are visually impaired and using a screen reader).
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Break up chunks of text with lists and bullet points – they’re less intimidating, easier to scan, usually more succinct.
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SEO (search engine optimisation) – use words and terms your readers are likely to search for – Google loves unique, relevant content.
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End with a ‘call to action’ if you can.
Our online territory: • • • • • • • • •
Customer website Adviser website The Store Online quotation system Network micro sites Email newsletters Emails Online games Online adverts
A word on social media While not disregarding our style guide completely, social media writing can afford to relax a little! We’re out there on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. But always keep in mind that any public content can directly impact our professional reputation. To write a successful blog: • • •
Develop a writing style and tone appropriate to your subject material. Post often, even if your posts are short. Allow your readers to comment on your posts.
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Brand pyramid
Brand essence Innovative solutions, outstanding delivery
Simplicity, innovation, candour,
Brand values
certainty, care,
expertise
Passionate, brave, knowledgeable, straightforward,
Brand personality
dependable, flexible
People will feel we: Earn their respect, trust and confidence; make them feel valued and
Emotional benefits
understood; show that we care; behave like a leader; are refreshing and enjoyable to deal with People will think we: Are a secure, stable, long-lasting business; are efficient, fast, flexible and easy to deal with; offer great-value products; have outstanding expertise in our field; maintain good relationships and excellent communication
Functional benefits