Rakuten Advertising Tone of Voice

Rakuten is the originator of – and still the leader in –affiliate marketing. But, after over 20 years in the industry, they worried they were developing a reputation as old and stodgy and behind-the-times.

I worked with Rakuten to rebrand their business and platform, telling a new story with new energy. Having first established a basic brand platform, here, I started to build out the personality that would tell that story – its core attributes, its archetype, and its tone of voice – using before-and-examples to show what this transformation would actually sound like.

  • Role Writing, Strategy, Branding, Pitching
  • For Rakuten Affiliate Advertising
  • Type Brand Voice and Messaging

Visually establishing the brand story we want to tell at the most basic level.

Uncovering Rakuten's key values – and the personality traits they evoke in turn.

I used brand archetypes to help quickly establish what type of voice we wanted to create.

I developed 4 key voice attributes – each with an overall summary and before-and-after samples.

Finally, as proof of concept, I rewrote Rakuten's boilerplate company description, using all 4 new attributes, to show what the full transformation would look like.