Brand messaging that resonates.

Go from fuzzy and confused to clear and concise. Brand messaging architecture provides clarity. Explain who you are, what your brand stands for and what your target audiences can count on. Get response.

Brand messaging architecture is your verbal brand

Is it hard to explain who you are and what you do? Or tough to describe why someone should choose you instead of a competitor? If a potential customer asks, "what's in it for me?" could you answer easily? Does your website's home page quickly confirm who you are, what you offer and why to choose you?

Do people "get" what you're about, what they can expect?

Even when the visual brand (logo and graphic elements) is recognized quickly, the verbal brand can be confused, inconsistent or missing. Or you or your team default to listing a bunch of products and services and not the important elements that lift you above the crowd.

With strong brand messaging, the verbal brand will inspire response after an introduction. It will appeal to your audiences, from their point of view, and it will clearly express what you deliver.

Tagline? Nope. Brand promise.

Stronger than a tagline, a brand promise is focused on your promise to your audiences. What can people count on from you?

Messaging architecture adds context to the brand promise. It defines what you're known for, what audiences recognize as your "wow!" It's the foundation for marketing and guides how you want to be perceived and remembered.

Brand messaging architecture includes:

• Brand promise (promise to your target audience)
• Positioning statement (who you are)
• Value proposition (what you do/have/offer)
• Value description (who you work for)
• Three key ideas/messages (which make you unique)
• Each of the three key ideas supported by three proof points

An internal messaging chart guides the flow of content

This chart is the reference for all written and online communications. Once established, messaging guides the verbal brand. It helps everyone to speak clearly about the benefits you offer, instead of list products or services.

• Cascade Employers Association achieved recognition when messaging was crafted and then brought to life on business cards, posters and the website.
• Johnson Glaze & Co., CPAs separated their accounting services from others with messaging to emphasize both their proficiency and their personalities.
• Job Growers, Inc. based their new brand identity on the name and messaging hierarchy. Their board members quickly communicated their purpose and scope of services.

Messaging architecture blends positioning—defining a niche and purpose—around specific audience benefits. It can be versioned for different target audiences. Messaging becomes the structure to organize website information and communicate critical ideas in all communications.

Messaging architecture can be developed on its own, as part of a rebrand, or as the foundation for a new name and new brand.

As an integral element of the branding process, messaging articulates the positioning of the organization. It's a keystone to a successful rebrand.

Read more about messaging and its applications on our blog.

• Message strategy or messaging hierarchy?
• Create the visual and verbal brand
• Flavorful messages on food packaging engage buyers
• Messaging hierarchy leads audiences through your content
• When audiences say, “tell me more!”
• Brand messaging is more powerful than design

Download our messaging guide below to see examples and learn more. Or drop us an email to schedule an initial discussion of your objectives. There's no charge to learn more about creating your verbal brand.