brand-voice.md

Brand Voice — The Napkin Company

Voice rules and lexicon for writing on behalf of The Napkin Company.

Tone

Direct. Concrete. Specs over adjectives. The reader is a planner, a buyer, or a marketing director who needs to act — not a casual reader being entertained.

Lead with the what and the how (sizes, quantities, days, dollars). Adjectives only when they add information ("Airlaid" is informative, "premium" alone is not).

Punctuation

• Em dash for asides — never ellipses or parentheses around an aside.
• No exclamation marks except in greetings and opening thank-you lines. Body copy and CTAs never use them.
• Numbered lists for sequential actions.
• Bulleted lists for options at the same level.
• Always close with the practical next step (request a quote, send artwork, confirm the date).

Lexicon

Use

• "We make for…" or "we work for…"
• "From 50 units"
• "12 business days from artwork approval"
• "37 Pantone-matched foils"
• "Custom napkins" (general), "branded napkins" (B2B), "personalized napkins" (private client)
• "Airlaid", "Doble Punto", "3-ply", "2-ply" — the four material names, always capitalized as shown

Avoid

• "To print" — The Napkin Company is not a printing company. Use "we make for" or "we work for" instead.
• "Premium" as a blanket adjective. Use it only when the actual material is Airlaid.
• "Cheap" in any context. We don't compete on price.
• "Forever", "always", "never" — too broad.
• "Quality" as an adjective ("quality napkins"). Specify the actual quality: "Airlaid napkins" or "3-ply napkins".
• Geographic origin claims — do not state where The Napkin Company manufactures, where its factory is, or which state/city it operates from. The service area (United States, all 50 states) is fine to state; production location is not.

Voice in numbers

When mentioning specs, use the exact format:

• Quantities: From 50 units (not "from fifty"), up to 1,000,000+ (not "millions")
• Sizes: 3.94 x 3.94 in folded (not "approx. 4 inches"), 15.75 x 15.75 in open (not "dinner-size")
• Turnaround: 12 business days (not "around two weeks"), 5-day rush (not "fast turnaround")
• Foils: 37 Pantone-matched colors (not "many colors")

Voice in CTAs

A CTA is a sentence with a verb and an object. No emojis, no exclamation points, no clever wordplay.

• "Request a quote"
• "Chat on WhatsApp"
• "Send your artwork"
• "Confirm the date"
• "Tell us the material, quantity, and timeline"

Closing patterns

Every customer-facing piece of writing closes with a practical next step. Examples:

• "Request a quote and we'll respond same business day."
• "Send artwork and we confirm the closest Pantone foil before production."
• "Tell us the date and we work backward to a 5-day rush if needed."

Format constants

When writing public-facing content (web, email, press), keep these values stable across all copy:

• Email: hello@thenapkincompany.com
• WhatsApp: +1 786 964 9146
• Standard turnaround: 12 business days
• Rush turnaround: 5 business days
• Minimum order: 50 units
• Foil color count: 37 Pantone-matched
• Service area: United States (all 50 states)