Welcome to the Spotter Brand Guidelines. Inside, you will find the foundational brand elements and visual principles for our partners, both internal and external. Need anything that's not here? Email brand_marketing@spotter.la.

Messaging guidelines

This section includes what you might find in a content style guide, including our voice and tone guidelines, as well as our brand personality.

Voice

The words and language we use to speak to our Creators, embodying our brand’s unique perspective and the values we stand for. Our brand voice is also comprised of our tone and personality. Tone is the attitude with which we convey our values and beliefs; the way Spotter speaks. Personality is Spotter’s brand traits and characteristics. Our tone and personality help reinforce Spotter’s messaging and the language we use every day with Creators and with each other.

Tone

Confident

never arrogant; hubris is the antithesis of who we are

Friendly

but not ingratiating

Conversational with a personal charm

never unprofessional, inappropriate, or disrespectful

Helpful

never overbearing

Intelligent

but never the smartest in the room

Genuine

never hyperbolic

Clear, concise, human

We are elevated, but we never overwhelm our messaging. We don't isolate Creators with what we say or how we say it.

We avoid cliches and isolating industry jargon. We speak clearly so anyone can understand what we say. We are thoughtful, considerate, and intentional with our word choice. Our expression is both eloquent and refined, while never getting carried away with ourselves.

In writing, we value clear, easily understood language.

Brand personality

We are professional, thoughtful, trustworthy, inspiring, and determined; we are smart, humble, purposeful, respectful, and collaborative. By being deliberate and thoughtful with the way we use language, we encourage Creators to feel a deeper connection with Spotter.

We are professional.

Our voice conveys expertise and reliability.  

Tactics

  • Use clear, precise language that never becomes “too” formal.

  • Speak with simple, elevated language that balances authenticity with expertise.

Best practices:

We’re so happy you reached out to us.

We’re so happy you reached out to us.

Instead of:

Thank you for your interest!

We couldn’t have done it without you!

We are Trustworthy.

Our voice conveys knowledge and credibility.

Tactics

  • Use transparency and honesty in all communications.

  • Focus on expertise and data-driven insights to build credibility and trust.

Best practices:

Look for brand partnerships that align with your brand and content so they’re relevant to your viewers’ interests and to the video itself.

Instead of:

Look for brand partnerships for an easy way to earn revenue.

Early beta results showed an average of 49% increase in video views in the first 7 days compared to videos made without Spotter Studio.

You’ll be able to increase video views by using Spotter Studio.

We are Inspiring.

Our voice conveys aspiration and empowerment.

Tactics

  • Incorporate case studies and examples that demonstrate success, potential, and wins.

  • Encourage and empower Creators to achieve their goals. Use motivational and positive language, without being too full of ourselves.

Best practices:

Creators are the most impactful voices of our time.

Instead of:

Creators can be impactful if they make it big, but it isn’t easy to get there.

Drew Binsky uses Spotter’s AI creative suite, including Idea Generator, Thumbnail Explorer, and Title Exploder, to help increase pre-production efficiency, saving him 5-7 hours per week.

Creators have told us that they’re saving time by using our tools.

We are Thoughtful.  

Our voice conveys empathy and understanding.

Tactics

  • Employ empathy, consideration, and interest in all interactions. Use personalized messaging that shows you understand (and are investing in) our Creators and brands.

  • Offer solutions and insights that add value and demonstrate an understanding of the Creator and brand goals, work, and audience. Provide relevant anecdotes about recent content and campaigns.

Best practices:

Ideally, you don’t want to see either of these patterns in the retention curves for videos with sponsorships. So, what do you do if you’re noticing these dips? We’ve found that when brand partnerships are seamlessly integrated into the narrative of the video, viewers will willingly stick around.

Instead of:

These patterns should be avoided. Integrate brand partnerships more seamlessly into your video to retain viewers.

We want to extend our sincere thank you for applying to be an early-access tester of Spotter Studio.

We have received your request for a free trial. Your participation is valued.

We are Determined.  

Our voice conveys commitment and motivation.

Tactics

  • Inspire confidence and empowerment that never become haughty or lofty.

  • Highlight our commitment in Creator innovation, solutions, and advancement. Set and communicate a clear vision and commitment to the goals ahead. When Creators win, Spotter wins.

Best practices:

Spotter empowers Creators to accelerate their business and achieve creative freedom.

Instead of:

Creators succeed with help from Spotter.

Spotter Studio was created for and with Creators. Our goal is to help you do what you do best -- create winning videos.

We created Spotter Studio to help Creators realize their potential.

Copy styling

Commonly used words (Dos and Don’ts)

  • Use Creator, instead of YouTuber:  the word Creator is capitalized in all our materials.

  • Use memberships, instead of subscriptions: convey partnership even when selling a service or product.

  • Use software, instead of tools.

  • Use capital, instead of money.

Titles and headings

Use sentence casing (only capitalize the first word) rather than title casing (capitalizing each word) for titles and headings. Example:  Product highlights (rather than title casing: “Product Highlights”)

Bulleted Lists

Use periods at the end of bullet points when they are complete sentences. Lists with short phrases or a few words don’t require periods. In either case, make sure it’s consistent within the list and document.

Examples:

Bullet list with sentences:

YouTube

  • Retrogaming is having a moment on YouTube. The team at YouTube Trends dives into it

  • YouTube is testing a new feature that automatically makes the “Subscribe” button glow when creators say “subscribe” in their videos.

Bullet list with short phrases:

Join us in person at VidSummit for the following:

  • Welcome reception

  • Spotter Studio demos

  • VIP reception

  • Panels featuring Spotter leaders and Creators

Commas

Use the serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma) in a list.

Example: Airrack is hiring an Associate Producer, Junior Media Manager, and Associate Casting Producer.

Dates and Citations

Dates:

Long version: Wednesday, October 12 at 1pm
Short version: Wed., Oct. 12 at 1pm
Date range long version: From October 2023 through (or to) March 2024
Date range short version: From Oct. 12-14, 2024

Citations:

Provide as much information as needed to locate the information from the source. For stats, this should include the relevant date range for the data.

Examples:

  • First 30 days performance for long-form uploads from Oct. 2023 through March 2024.

  • Analysis of Spotter Creators via Tubular Labs, 2024.