Tune Your Message
Mizzou has one clear voice, and these carefully chosen tone words help clarify it for each of our audiences. When working on a message, think about your audience and adjust the tone words accordingly. While your content should epitomize characteristics of these words, the degree to which each audience feels them can vary. Dial them up or down to better reach your target audiences.
For example, when writing for an undergraduate audience, the tone and voice should convey our CURIOUS and AMBITIOUS nature. For a university donor or alumni, the tone and voice should reflect our HONEST, CARING, and ENTERPRISING side.
Tone Words
| Honest | Caring | Courageous | Enterprising |
| Curious | Committed | Ambitious |
Our Audiences
| Audience | Prospective Students & Family | Advocates | Influencers | General Public |
| Families in the target markets and from around the state | Alumni, current students and parents, faculty and staff | Legislators, business leaders, community leaders, general media, high school counselors and administrators | Missourians, college-bound students and their families, extension customers | |
| Objective | Build a connection between their needs and what we offer. | Enhance reputation and strengthen engagement | Show our commitment | Generate greater visibility, build strong relationships and partnerships |
Examples: Audience and Copy Tone Variations
Undergrad Example
Where will Mizzou take you? Dive into undergraduate research instead of just reading about it. Report on breaking news stories from the only university-owned commercial television station. Or take the lead by running a successful local business, all while you’re still in school.
General Public
Between academia and career success lies the Missouri Method — a strategic, learn-by-doing approach that gives students a head start to becoming the next generation of innovative leaders.
Donor or Alumni Example
It isn’t just early-morning classes and late-night pizza… Mizzou gives students a head start to success with hands-on learning — and the support of 339,502 alumni Tigers.
Examples of Tone in Headlines
| Our tone is | Original Headline | Headline in Our Voice |
| Honest but not blunt | Mizzou’s freshman enrollment increase among highest in SEC | Increased freshman enrollment highest in SEC |
| Caring but not sentimental | Older sisters can play a role in healthy conversations about teenage relationships | Sister time impacts healthy teenage relationships |
| Courageous but not boastful | Mizzou adopts tobacco-free policy to promote health of university community | Breathe easy on campus with tobacco-free policy |
| Enterprising but not commercial | MU researchers create specialized delivery methods that could help treat cancer, other disorders | Specialized treatment delivery system targets cancer cells |
| Curious but not prying | Student language beliefs are a reflection of parents more than class or race | Is language identity learned from our parents? |
| Committed but not stagnant | Mizzou receives $500,000 for fall prevention programs | Fall-prevention program reaches 6,000 elder Missourians |
| Ambitious but not zealous | MU receives NASA grant to study cryovolcanism | Studying ice volcanoes in outer space |