The Corporate Voice

Our corporate voice is the tone in which we talk to our audience and to our stakeholders. More than just the words and phrases we use, our voice is how we “speak” to our customers, consumers, employees, prospective employees, and shareholders.

The corporate voice reflects our vision of improving life at home and should be used across every piece of content we produce. This voice differentiates us from competitors, shows our corporate personality, and helps to attract and retain customers, consumers and employees.

Corporate personality traits:

Casual and uses everyday language, not jargon
Professional but not stiff
Diverse and inclusive
Authentic and genuine
Shows modern manufacturing as a great career choice and Whirlpool Corp. as a great place to work
Portrays our products, people and processes as being innovative
Reflects our true desire to improve life at home for people and for our planet, incorporating messaging related to corporate social responsibility and sustainability when appropriate

Two coworkers chatting on a balcony at Whirlpool Corporate offices. A pretty African American woman is on the left smiling shyly and a young man is on the right. Photo was taken from the downstairs lobby

Further Guidance on Tone and Style

When we write external articles, we follow AP Style and speak in third person. For internal messaging or blogs, it’s okay to use first person and speak more casually and use “weekend” language. For either type of communication, the voice will remain the same. Messaging incorporated into communications should reference the themes set forth in the Corporate Narrative.

Corporate reports and correspondence

Always use the full word “Whirlpool Corporation” (vs. AP style “Corp.”) on the first mention of the company in each section, then it drop to just “Whirlpool” to reduce repitition.
Always include “Corporation” or “brand” after “Whirlpool” on reports and product page(s) to eliminate confusion between the company and brand.
Never add a possessive or plural form to the word “Whirlpool”; possessive forms may only be written as “Whirlpool Corporation’s” or “Whirlpool brand’s”. The trade and brand names are always used as nouns in all narratives. “Whirlpool” may never be used in the possessive or plural form on its own; i.e. “Whirlpool’s”.
Always add “Corporation” to Whirlpool when referring to one of the company brands; i.e. “Whirlpool’s KitchenAid announced color of the year” should be “Whirlpool Corporation’s KitchenAid brand…”
In maintaining AP style, we spell out “percent” with a few exceptions. Use the percent sign (%) in tables and technical writing where multiple data is discussed. For example: “From 2005 to 2016, we achieved a 53% reduction in these emissions and continue to progress towards our Science-Based Targetinitiative (SBTi) approved target of another 20% reduction by 2030 compared to 2016 levels.”