Arthur Germain put the writing and story-telling skills he developed working in journalism, marketing and public relations to work when he started brand architecture firm Brandtelling. His three-hour workshop Sept. 28 at the MSP Summit in Orlando, FL, called Brandtelling: Build an Unbreakable Story for Your Brand, will offer valuable tips and advice for MSPs.
The workshop will help channel partner leaders identify and strengthen their unique brand so they can stand out from the pack. The workshop takeaways will include AI-powered tools designed to help leadership teams clarify, align, and govern their brand story:
- Brandtelling Story OS Diagnostic
- Category of One Intensive
- BrandVoice Shifters
I spoke with Germain about these tools, and how MSPs can better use AI to build their brands.
Are you seeing partners use AI in branding?
Germain: I've seen people at two ends of the spectrum. There are the people who are all in, hitting the gas pedal, and then there are the people pushing back, saying "that's crap, we don't think you should use AI." I have to admit I started out on that [pushback] side of things, but I've slowly adopted AI and began working with clients to do the same, because I recognized there are good ways to use it. But I don't want to fall into the camp of people who are just stepping on the gas pedal either.
So how do you advise partners to use AI?
Germain: I've created a set of rules — in AI parlance, "skills" — that help me use AI in a much more processed manner. I've built a couple of skills that provide guardrails so people don't just dump something in and ask AI to write an article. Instead, you tell it what you want your writing to sound like. I use a series of sliders. Do I want to sound more friendly, or more corporate? I also feed it phrases I use a lot that I want to own — for me, that's "brandtelling" or "brand storytelling." And I tell it phrases I don't want, like the AI-sounding phrases we've all noticed.
I built a tool I call a Brandtelling Story Builder. It’s a free brand bot that lets you answer questions about your brand: the who, what, how, why, your brand voice and personality, language you want to use and language you want to avoid, plus content guidelines. It creates a skill file you can upload into Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini, so that when you're writing and passing it by the tool, it actually helps you sound more like you — rather than generic AI slop.
Does this solve the problem of people handing everything over to AI? No, I don't think so. But it makes it better, and it gets people thinking about using AI more like a tool.
Arthur Germain
Your workshop description mentions "brand voice calibration" across five key dimensions. What does that mean?
Germain: I look at brand voice across five axes.
The first is conversational and casual versus corporate and formal. Think of a fun retailer targeting teens — they're not going to be corporate and formal, they're going to lean into casual language across their website and in-store experience. Compare that to a law firm handling heavy litigation — they're going to be more corporate and formal, because any misstep in language could damage a case.
The second is contemporary versus traditional language — am I going to say "no cap," or "I don't believe so"? It depends on the personality you want for the organization.
The third is fun and friendly versus serious. That law firm again is going to lean serious, where a water park is going to be fun and friendly. Companies often make small missteps here, even down to something like whether they use contractions or spell things out. You'll see inconsistency even within one company's own content.
The fourth axis is simple and jargon-free versus complex and jargon-heavy. Sometimes jargon makes sense — New York's SHIELD Act is a lot easier to say than spelling out what it stands for every time, so you can assume your audience knows the term.
The fifth is aspirational and idealistic versus realistic and practical. MSPs and channel partners tend to run through the center — they want to sound aspirational, but at the end of the day it's practical: networks that work, technology you can rely on.
Sounds like a stylebook.
Germain: Exactly — I think of it like a living, breathing style book. This is where AI is better than a static style guide: it's active. If you tell the AI your current and desired voice — say, "I'm fine with contractions" — the next time you run something through, it'll flag you: "Did you want a contraction here, or did you mean to spell it out?" There are always some contractions people are inconsistent about.
Do you have a favorite generative AI tool? Do you recommend one to clients?
Germain: I've used them all, and each one seems good at something different. They all feel like they have a different personality. ChatGPT is the eager beaver that wants to please — it tells you you're brilliant every time you do something. Gemini has been great for web research and searches, though these things change every day. My preference, and the one I've used most, has been Claude. I find it enforces better guardrails and looks ahead better, especially when I'm developing a skill.
(See here for more on Germain’s MSP Summit workshop).