Southern Cross Health Insurance

With over 955,300 members, the challenge for Southern Cross Health Insurance was to create a comprehensive Tone of Voice Strategy that had the flexibility to resonate with each and every member.

Background

Southern Cross Health Insurance (SCHI) recently refreshed its overarching brand identity. However, the Tone of Voice section was only a page or two. This meant stakeholders interpreted the writing the way they chose, and it was easy to fall back on a formal tone. Moreover, as companies adopt AI, Tone of Voice is essential to train their internal Co-Pilot.

What was required was a proven Tone of Voice framework and writing expertise. That’s where Big On Writing came in. Our brief was to define SCHI’s brand voice and develop a full toolkit and training programme to bring it to life.

Aligning stakeholders

With so many stakeholders, the first task was to agree on what goals were, namely:

1. Promote consistency. Ensure our written content is consistent across Marketing and Engagement communications programmes and subject areas.‍

2. Set standards for contrast. Create (slightly) different tones of voice for the various business units to align with the nuanced types of messaging and audiences. ‍

3. Reflect expertise. Create a Tone of Voice that makes the Southern Cross Health Insurance experience informative, reliable, practical and purposeful so that users feel supported and their realities understood.

Stage 1: Tone of Voice Audit

Our process began with a full Tone of Voice and content audit which is a simple and effective way to get everyone on the same page.

The team combined all the existing content, from website copy to emails and social media. Then, as a group, we identified the inconsistencies and areas where the tone felt too formal or unclear.

From there, our BOW strategist spoke to internal stakeholders, such as marketing teams, customer service representatives, and leadership, to understand how they saw the brand’s voice.

Customer feedback also played a key role. By reviewing member surveys and analysing common questions, we could pinpoint areas where communication was causing confusion or frustration.

Finally, we looked at how other leading brands in the health and insurance sector communicated, identifying opportunities to differentiate Southern Cross Health while ensuring clarity and trust remained at the forefront.

‍

Stage 2: Discovery and Tone of Voice Development

With the research in hand, it was time to define a new tone that would align with the brand’s values and be easy to apply across different touchpoints.

BOW kicked off with a Discovery session involving key SCHI stakeholders. Using an Archetype wheel, we mapped out the existing Brand Tone and discussed the shift that needs to happen.

From there, Southern Cross Health’s brand personality was shaped by three core archetypes:

• ‍The Sage (80%) – The knowledgeable guide, offering expertise with clarity and confidence.
• ‍The Caregiver (10%) – The supportive and compassionate brand that looks out for members.‍
• The Innocent (10%) – The approachable, optimistic voice that makes things simple.

What followed on from this is three key principles to guide all communication:

• ‍Confidence Without Arrogance – Speaking with authority, but always in an approachable and reassuring way.
• Blending Knowledge and Storytelling – Using real-life examples to make complex topics easier to digest.
• ‍Honest but Understanding – Communicating directly and transparently, while always showing empathy.

Stage 3: Establishing a Tonal Range for 30+ channels.

‍
While SCHI’s voice principles won’t change across content and business categories, tone will vary depending on the audience or content type.

This was a significant part of the project because Southern Cross has many different channels and business units. For example, the B2C tone is different from B2B, as are channel-specific comms such as website, emails, surveys, social, articles and more.

Each one of these different channels (30 in all) required specific, purpose-built guides, with ‘Before’ and ‘After’ examples to express the principles.

Stage 4: Building a Tone of Voice Toolkit

‍
To make sure the new tone was embraced across the organisation, Southern Cross Health created a comprehensive Tone of Voice Toolkit. This wasn’t just a set of rules, it was a practical guide designed to help teams bring the brand’s personality to life in their everyday work. The toolkit included:

• ‍Guidelines & Best Practices: Clear instructions on how to apply the tone in different contexts.
• ‍Before & After Examples: Real-world rewrites of customer emails, website copy, and social media posts to show how the new tone worked in practice
• ‍Writing Checklists: Quick-reference guides to help teams review their content before publishing.
• ‍Tonal Ranges: Advice on adjusting the tone depending on the audience (e.g., more formal for corporate communications, more conversational for social media).

Stage 5: Implementation & Training

With the guidelines in place, it was time to roll them out across the company. Southern Cross Health took a hands-on approach to implementation, ensuring that every team understood the new tone and felt confident using it. Interactive sessions were held for marketing, customer service, and internal teams to practice using the new tone in real scenarios.

This phase is so important, we even wrote an article on top tips to train your team on Tone of Voice Guidelines.

Results

Taking everyone on the journey helped Southern Cross Health’s communications become clearer, more engaging, and more aligned with the brand’s values.