Voice & tone
Our product has always been about voice. In the past, that meant the literal voice of ALEX.
These days, our voice manifests in many unique forms across both ALEX product surfaces and Jellyvision marketing materials — advertising copy, rich media scripting, UX writing, sales decks, and the list goes on. Our core principle remains the same regardless of the venue or audience:
We’re not a brand talking to companies, we’re not a program talking to users, we’re just humans talking with other humans.
Individually, we each bring our own humanity to our writing. That’s a unique part of what makes Jellyvision creative so interesting — if you squint, you can probably find tells that are unique to different writers. But the overall character of our writing is consistent and on-model.
A friend, not a best friend
Our audience is our hero, and we’re the friendly coworker-supporting character, helping the hero make the right moves. We’re nice and normal and genuinely care about what’s going on with the hero, but we’re also at work and need to keep the vibe business casual.
Frame around the value, not the feature.
The people who use our products don’t care that we launched a new feature. They care that something that was hard is now easy. Focus on that.Do
And because her wife recently started a new job, Sonia uses the family comparison tool to stack both employers’ plans side by side.
Don’t
ALEX’s family comparison tool is a must-have for anyone juggling multiple benefit options. It makes evaluating plans quick and seamless—so you can feel confident you’re choosing the right coverage.
Don’t get overly casual with slang or emojis.
Overshooting makes us feel fake, cringe, and vaguely undercover cop-like.Do
Heads up, you need to enroll in benefits by Friday, or you may not be able to change them again until next year.
Don’t
Hey bestie, ready to pick your bennies or nah? 👀
Don’t presume to know what your audience is thinking or feeling.
If you’re writing interactive content, feel free to stop and ask people how they think or feel to increase personalization. Otherwise, keep it general.Do
Benefits jargon can be a pain.
Don’t
You hate benefits jargon, huh?
Good news isn’t always good news, and bad news isn’t always the end of the world.
Keep emotions out of it and stick to the facts of what you can know and what you can help them do.Do
There’s a lot to think about when preparing for a new child.
Don’t
Congrats on the new baby! You must be pretty jazzed.
Always lead with empathy.
We often discuss health, money, and career — all potentially fraught topics. It’s not presumptuous to acknowledge when things may be a little more challenging to discuss.Do
Thinking about cancer insurance can feel a little heavy, but it’s important to consider. Let’s break it down together.
Don’t
Cancer sucks, but cancer insurance can help you by giving you some sweet, sweet money if you get it.
Clever, not corny
We have a sense of humor, but it’s easygoing. We’re not zinging zingers with finger guns. We’re not t0t3lly rAnd0m.
We charm with self-awareness, interesting metaphors, and unexpected turns of phrase that make you smile and lean in. In a world of faux AI-voice enthusiasm and corporate sales doublespeak, we’re the real humans who it’s a relief to interact with.
Humor should be baked in, not tacked on.
If you can cleanly chop off “the funny part” without disrupting the meaning around it, you might need to bake it a little longer.Do
Trying to understand benefits on your own can feel like riding a bike without a handlebar.
Don’t
Trying to understand your benefits is tough — much like that time my Uncle Lucas tried to ride his bike without a seat. Didn’t get far!
People can tell when you’re trying too hard.
This is going to be the least tactical, most vibe-y bit of guidance in this section, but: humor should feel spontaneous and organic. If you feel yourself trying really hard to make something funny, you’re trying too hard. A great bit of simple, concise copy is worth a hundred shoe-horned gags.Do
The only thing I like more than flossing is not having to lie about flossing every six months in the dentist’s chair.
Don’t
My favorite benefit is dental insurance, and no, my dentist is not standing over my shoulder as I type this. But just in case she reads this, hello, Dr. Johnson.
Be subtle about breaking the fourth wall.
Little drops of awareness help us stay human, but too much can skew aggressive. Also, don’t imply that ALEX can see the user. It’s creepy.Do
If you’re nodding along while reading this, you’re not alone. HR pros everywhere are juggling the same challenges.
Do
If the letters H-S-A make you feel apprehensive, let me put your mind at ease.
Don’t
Hey you! Yes, you, reading this while surfing LinkedIn. Put down the snack, and let’s chat benefits communication.
Don’t
I see you’re looking pretty apprehensive when I talk about HSAs, but let me put your mind at ease.
Keep metaphors simple and specific.
The user should get what you’re going for without a ton of adornment. A “1,000-piece puzzle” is the right level in that it’s more specifically complicated than just “puzzle.”Do
Picking benefits can feel like solving a 1,000-piece puzzle without the picture on the box.
Don’t
Picking benefits is like tackling a 1,000-piece jigsaw where half the pieces are missing, the dog ate the corner, and you’re not even sure it’s the right puzzle box in the first place.
Avoid topical references.
If people don’t get your reference, it can make the writing feel exclusionary. And anything topical will make the content feel dated a year or two down the line, which is a problem when we’re trying to make evergreen stuff that can last for years.Do
It’s highly valuable to understand how your medical plan works.
Don’t
The only thing more valuable than a golden Labubu is understanding how your medical plan works.
Optimistic, but realistic
We’re solving real problems and making lives easier, and you can tell we’re legitimately excited about what we’re talking about. But we also know where we fit: benefits guidance is just one small part of a reader’s bigger picture. Signaling self-awareness helps us build trust, and exuding confidence in ourselves helps other people feel more confident in what we have to say.
Focus on the legitimate value we provide.
In other words, don’t overpromise our significance.Do
We can’t fix every HR headache, but we can take some big ones off your plate.
Don’t
Every generation, a new piece of technology comes along that changes the world forever. This…is ALEX!
Don’t speak in absolutes.
Very few things in this world are all or nothing (see how not absolute we were just now).Do
Need an extra hand to field employee questions? ALEX is here to help.
Don’t
The only thing more valuable than a golden labubu is understanding how your medical plan works.
Relative language is better when you want to toot a horn.
We can’t definitively prove that we’re the most helpful tool in the world, but we CAN point to how changes we’ve made to our product make it more helpful than it was before.Do
We’ve made ALEX smarter, friendlier, and even more helpful.
Don’t
ALEX is the smartest, friendliest, and most helpful tool you’ll ever use.
We rarely exclaim.
Using too many exclamation points can feel like we’re begging our audience to applaud. Present exciting information with confidence and let the reader decide how exciting it actually is to them.Do
It’s open enrollment season, time to pick your benefits.
Don’t
It’s open enrollment season! Time to pick your benefits!