JESS ISNER

Tone of Voice + Brand Development

Strategy + Approach

When I took over Rangers social, my first priority was bringing a defined personality to brand that had become tight and sterile.

The Rangers brand is often equated with words like austere. All-business. Historic and safe. But with some subtle shifts grounded in a human touch, I proved our social tone could stay true to those brand pillars and still find a way to have some fun. Still celebrate the highest highs. Still appeal to the die-hard bluebloods just as well as the Gen Z’ers who live on their phones.

Leaning in to pop culture in high-visibility moments helps a brand appeal to prospective fans without alienating diehards.

Niche content becomes widely appealing when the approach to copy shifts to one that prioritizes entertainment first. (Click.)

Today, the brand remains aspirational. It remains iconic, yet it is still ever-evolving. We choose each word carefully, but choosing our words no longer means being safe + boring - because when have New Yorkers ever been described as safe + boring?

Now, the brand’s tone of voice is relevant. It takes calculated risks, but it is still rooted in history and tradition. It’s creative, but never crosses the line. It’s equal parts shrewd and sophisticated.

It’s New York.

Emerging platforms like TikTok offer the ideal gateway to finding + retaining a younger, ever-evolving audience. (Click.)

Creative Snapshot: Tone of Voice + Brand Development

For the pandemic Return to Play, we used players' personalities to make a complicated concept simple + fun. (Click to play.)

When we showcase celebrity fans at The Garden, we use clever copy to appeal to a diverse audience and amplify engagement.

A proven way to maximize engagement is to talk to the fans the way they talk to each another, humanizing the brand.

We'll never say, "Hang it in the Louvre." Our copy makes this social trend ownable to our city + invites brand interaction.

With the greatest city in the world as our backdrop, a critical element of building the Rangers' brand is visually and creatively building it into the fabric of New York.

(Click to play GIF.)

If your brand doesn't own its own memes first, the fans will do it for you.

When you add your own viral moments into your toolbox, you're speaking the language of your audience while using your brand as your mouthpiece.

Nine times out of ten, short and sweet is the way to go with copy. But there are situations that call for a more verbose approach - and honoring a beloved franchise icon in front of a massive fan base is one of them.

(Click to play GIF.)

TikTok, when done right, is a hack for putting your brand right into the line of sight of the youngest prospective fans out there. Here, we poked fun at the fact that the Rangers were the league's youngest team - but to the average TikTok user, this simply served as funny, entertaining, relevant content. That's enough to generate views and, eventually, followers.