Voice and Tone
Morningstar’s voice remains constant across all brand experiences. Wherever people encounter our brand, copy should reflect Morningstar’s foundational voice and tone principles. These standards cover the specifics of writing for marketing campaigns.
We prioritize clarity.
That means we:
Add context to emerging trends. In our thought leadership, we unwind complex topics like new investment vehicles and artificial intelligence.
Prioritize readability. Mixed sentence lengths, direct constructions, and strategic white space make our blog posts more understandable.
That means we don't:
Overgeneralize about complex investing ideas. Our guides offer nuanced insights and how-tos.
Use vague marketing terms that could apply to any financial services brand. We write precisely about Morningstar products to help professionals distinguish between their options.
We balance professionalism and approachability.
That means we:
- Speak with plain language. Our marketing copy should reflect how our clients themselves speak about their roles and goals.
- Respect the emotions surrounding finances. We recognize that market events have real consequences for professionals and investors we serve, and only use humor when appropriate.
That means we don’t:
- Seize attention with fearmongering or misleading headlines.
- Overstate product benefits for the sake of a quippy ad.
We bring value and a sense of purpose to every conversation.
That means we:
- Addresses real business challenges facing financial professionals. We use market research and client insights to understand their pain points, then create content to make their jobs easier.
- Help professionals understand how Morningstar products benefit their business and end investors.
That means we don’t:
- Explain an industry problem without offering actionable guidance for addressing it.
- Waste our audience’s time with long blocks of unnecessary copy.
While our tone always follows voice, it modulates based on whom we’re addressing and when. For example, we use a different tone to write about severe market downturns than to announce exciting new features.
The Morningstar Style Guide outlines conventions for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and usage. For access, email the copy desk.
