Riddim’s 10/10 use of patois

It’s very rare when we see a brand voice that feels original and immediately distinctive from the moment they pop up.

But from the moment their ad that popped up on our feed, we knew they were going straight in the swipe file.

A really, really well done brand voice that stands out, is authentic, is fun, is memorable... absolutely no notes.

There's so much we love about this brand voice, but our absolute favourite thing is that the whole site is written in a blend of Caribbean patois and plain English.

This is double clever because if you speak patois, you feel immediately seen. You feel like you've found a brand that's just for you and that makes authentic Caribbean food. Perfect.

(In fact, research published in the Journal of Marketing found that when copy matches the linguistic style of a brand's customer group, conversion rates increase directly because it makes people feel seen, builds trust and makes them feel like the brand was made for them.)

And that on its own would be super clever.

But it goes one step further too. They're using patois is a way that is accessible, even if you don't speak it.

There's no weh yuh ah seh-level patois that you need to translate.

Through context and subtle clues, you can figure it all out. And that means that no customers are excluded, you feel like you're being let into the brand's inner circle.

And that's double-clever because research has found that people actively seek out and buy from brands that represent the group they want to belong to. So creating that sense of earned belonging (AKA, understanding the patois) is wicked smart.

The whole thing is just so, so clever. We love it.

Pinch this for your brand:  your brand probably won't have a patois. But your audience has its own language, the words they use in reviews, in community groups, in the way they talk about their lives. Go read your reviews and sprinkle it into your own copy.

Those little details and phrases tell the people that are your target audience "we're the brand for you". And they tell the people who want to be your target audience, "this makes you one of us".