The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde effect on brand communication

In business—and in life—consistency is key to building trust and connection. But what happens when a brand seems to have a split personality?

This is more common than we think.

I see entrepreneurs and CEOs who, face-to-face, are fun, spontaneous, charismatic, with an innate ability to captivate. But when they write a corporate email or a social media post, they sound like a mortgage contract: stiff, impersonal, and devoid of that warmth.

Other people, face-to-face, are sweet, calm, and approachable. But on their website, Instagram, or LinkedIn, they sound like a robot working overtime in "civil servant 1998" mode: neutral, distant, and completely disconnected.

The big mistake? Thinking that, to be professional, you need to communicate "how it should be." When, in reality, the key is identifying your own DNA and aligning it as much as possible with the company's values and customer profile.

No matter how professional you think the customer is, they're human. And relatable language—or a touch of humor—will make them connect better. They don't need texts that sound like instruction manuals. They need them to sound natural, credible, and authentic.

Communicating with the right phrases, trite And without a soul doesn't make a brand more professional. It makes it distant.

This mismatch between channels may seem anecdotal, but it isn't. When the tone changes depending on the context (or, worse still, depending on who is communicating within the company), the message loses strength and credibility, diluting the perception of value. Whoever receives the message doesn't know exactly who they're talking to or what to expect. And trust, which costs so much to build and so little to lose, begins to crack.

Consistency doesn't mean being inflexible and hermetic, but rather maintaining a recognizable DNA and, preferably, one that differentiates it from the competition. A unique voice, a unique heartbeat that truly connects with its customers.

If each channel displays a different personality, the brand has no identity. It has an internal conflict.