Brand Voice & Guidelines
This is the page you’ll come back to more than any other. Everything you create gets checked against it before it goes out.
This page has two halves:
- Part A — The guidelines: how we sound and how we look.
- Part B — How to implement them: the practical “make my work on-brand” part, including a checklist you’ll use every time.
Part A — The Guidelines
Section titled “Part A — The Guidelines”How we sound
Section titled “How we sound”We are the seasoned expert you trust — like a doctor or attorney in our field. 60 years in business, bonded, with a full support staff behind every tech. We know what we’re worth and we don’t apologize for it. But we don’t take ourselves too seriously — we work on locks, not hearts. We laugh easily, and that warmth is part of who we are.
Four principles that decide almost every word:
- Knowledgeable & confident, but human. Never stiff, never salesy, never desperate.
- Specificity over filler. Say exactly what we do. “Access control for a 200-unit multifamily complex” — not “full-service security solutions.”
- Value over price. If someone only cares about price, they aren’t our customer. We justify our rates by what’s included: training, reliability, warranty, longevity.
- Commercial first. 95% of our work is commercial. Residential exists but is never the lead.
The never-do list (memorize this)
Section titled “The never-do list (memorize this)”- ❌ Don’t sound desperate. No discount urgency, no “CALL NOW!!” pressure.
- ❌ Don’t use vague filler — “solutions,” “full-service,” “your trusted partner” with nothing behind it.
- ❌ Don’t frame us as residential or a lockout-only shop.
- ❌ Don’t compete on price or imply we should. We win on expertise, reliability, and still being here in 5 years.
- ❌ Don’t overpromise. Only claim what we consistently deliver.
What good and bad actually look like
Section titled “What good and bad actually look like”✅ On-brand:
“We just finished rekeying 340 doors across three buildings for a multifamily complex in Chandler — new restricted key system, fresh hardware, and a master key setup that actually makes sense for their maintenance team.”
Why it works: specific, shows real expertise, paints a picture of what we actually do.
❌ Off-brand:
“Anderson Lock & Safe provides full-service locksmith solutions for all your commercial and residential security needs. Call now for a free estimate!”
Why it fails: vague, could be any locksmith, sounds like a Yellow Pages ad, leads with residential and price.
Who we’re talking to (and what each one needs)
Section titled “Who we’re talking to (and what each one needs)”Tailor the message to the segment — this connects directly to your Marketing Exercises.
| Segment | Lead the message with… |
|---|---|
| Property managers / HOA / real estate (our #1 segment) | Availability & manpower — live phone answer, same-day, enough techs for their volume; then the ongoing relationship. |
| Retail / multi-location chains | Consistency & coverage — same quality and pricing across all their AZ locations, one vendor. |
| Facilities managers | Expertise & reliability — compliance, integration, a full support staff behind every tech. |
| Building / business owners | Value, not price — what’s included: training, warranty, bonded, still here in 5 years. |
| Education / government (growth target) | Credentials & scale — 60 years, bonded, documentation, accountability; access control as the upsell. |
| Banks / financial | Security & compliance — vault/safe expertise, background-checked techs. |
| General contractors (growth target) | Capacity & project management — we show up on time and handle the full door/hardware package. |
The universal pitch under all of it: (1) we answer the phone, (2) we show up, (3) we know what we’re doing, (4) we’ll still be here. The difference by segment is which one you lead with.
How we look
Section titled “How we look”Colors
Section titled “Colors”#0045DB#0F2CC9#141A2E#6C95F5#BBDAFF#838D96#DFE8ED#EF3333| Role | Hex | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Blue | #0045DB | Main brand color — logo, headers |
| Secondary Blue | #0F2CC9 | Darker accent |
| Dark Navy | #141A2E | Text on light, dark accents |
| Medium Blue | #6C95F5 | Supporting accent |
| Light Blue | #BBDAFF | Backgrounds, highlights |
| Steel Gray | #838D96 | Neutral accent |
| Pale Gray | #DFE8ED | Subtle backgrounds |
| White | #FFFFFF | Reverse / clean space |
| CTA Red | #EF3333 | Call-to-action buttons ONLY — never as a general accent |
We are blue-forward. When in doubt, use blue.
| Use | Brand font | Free stand-in (for web/design) |
|---|---|---|
| Headlines / display | Burlingame Pro | Saira |
| Slab subheads | FS Silas Slab | Zilla Slab |
| Body | Sans Beam Semi-Light | Lexend |
- Four formats: stacked (icon above text), horizontal (icon left of text), icon only, wordmark only. Three colors: blue (primary), white (reverse, for dark/blue backgrounds), black (1-color print).
- Tagline: Securing Arizona Since 1966.
- Files live in the brand kit, named
logo-{color}-{format}.png(e.g.logo-blue-horizontal.png). Use the white version on dark or blue backgrounds.
Need the files? Grab them on the Brand Assets page (the full logo library).
Logo never-dos: no drop shadows/glows/effects · no recoloring · no distortion or stretching (scale proportionally) · no rotation · no added text · no transparency · don’t crowd it (always leave clear space) · don’t cover it.
Internal vs. customer-facing words
Section titled “Internal vs. customer-facing words”We use shop slang internally that should never appear in customer-facing content. A few you’ll hear:
| We say internally | Customers should hear |
|---|---|
| Hold job | ”Your project is in progress — we’re coordinating parts/scheduling.” |
| Cage | ”our parts warehouse” (or just don’t mention it) |
| Road tech | ”your technician” / “our field team” |
| COD | ”payment is due at time of service” |
| PO | ”we’ll need a purchase order number before scheduling” |
Part B — How to Implement the Brand
Section titled “Part B — How to Implement the Brand”Knowing the rules and applying them are different skills. This is the applying part.
The pre-publish brand checklist
Section titled “The pre-publish brand checklist”Run everything customer-facing through this before it goes out (post, email, graphic, page).
Voice
- Does it sound like a confident expert, not a desperate salesperson?
- Is it specific? (Real numbers, real scenarios — not “full-service solutions.”)
- Does it lead with value, never price?
- Is it commercial-first (residential not leading)?
- Did I avoid every item on the never-do list?
- Did I translate any internal slang?
Visual (if there’s a graphic)
- Brand blues used; CTA Red only on a button, if at all?
- Correct logo file, correct color version for the background?
- Logo untouched — no stretching, recoloring, shadows, crowding?
- Brand fonts (or the free stand-ins)?
Accuracy (always)
- Every claim true and something we consistently deliver?
- Phone number, location, service details correct?
Practice: turn off-brand into on-brand
Section titled “Practice: turn off-brand into on-brand”A repeatable move you’ll use constantly — rewriting weak copy. The pattern:
- Strip the filler. Delete “solutions,” “full-service,” “trusted partner,” “needs.”
- Add a real detail. What did we actually do? Where? How many doors? What hardware?
- Reframe price as value. Don’t say “affordable” — say what’s included.
- Lead commercial. If it mentions homeowners first, flip it.
Try it:
Before: “Need a locksmith? Anderson Lock & Safe does it all — homes, cars, businesses. Affordable rates, fast service. Call today!”
Your rewrite: _______________
Where to find brand assets when you’re building something
Section titled “Where to find brand assets when you’re building something”- Logos & photos: the Anderson brand kit (real job-site photos + brand shoots), plus our content catalog (Claude can search it; see Using Claude).
- Canva templates: our branded templates — the fastest way to make something on-brand without designing from scratch.
- Tone by channel (below) — match the register to where it’s posting.
Tone by channel
Section titled “Tone by channel”| Channel | Register |
|---|---|
| Website / proposals | Most polished — expert authority with warmth |
| Email (Klaviyo) | Conversational, helpful, never pushy |
| Social — Facebook | Most casual — human, occasionally funny, show the team |
| Social — LinkedIn | Professional but approachable — reference expertise, scale, 60 years; B2B framing |
| Visual-first, short captions | |
| Invoices / job comms | Clear, professional, brief |
Sources: Anderson brand kit (brand-guidelines, core-context, customer-profiles). Last updated 2026-06.