In my last blog, I talked about the importance of tone of voice. In this, the second of a two-part blog looking at how I lay the foundations for communicating a brand, I’ll focus on brand messaging.

Defining key messages is vital in any marketing campaign, for a number of reasons. These include:

• Clarify the proposition: Messaging helps to clearly communicate the brand’s unique value proposition and create a strong brand identity

• Ensure consistency across channels: It helps to reinforce messaging across all marketing channels including social media, advertising, editorial and digital content

• Sales strategy: Brand messaging exercises are often vital exercises for internal teams too, giving focus and alignment for sales strategies

• Evaluation: Key message penetration is one way to set and evaluate targets, particularly in PR and media relations, where it has traditionally been notoriously difficult to define success beyond ‘did we get coverage?’

So how do we do it?

One of my favourite exercises with a new client – and one of the most valuable – is to undertake a key messaging matrix. Depending on maturity of the client’s own proposition and messaging, this could include:

• Working with the client to understand their objectives, audiences and products/services

• Defining key messages – and plotting them in a matrix by brand, by product and/or by target sector

• Attributing spokespeople per brand/product/sector

• Defining key products and services per brand/sector

The end result is a comprehensive, authoritative record of key messaging that can be used going forward not only to shape written communication, but to provide clarity, consistency and a means of evaluation.

What’s involved from the client?

It’s a cliché, but the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Investing in a full day’s workshop with input from senior individuals will give inevitably give more than if we’re preparing a messaging matrix remotely, based on vague conversations.

The former will be an added-value exercise that will ignite ideas for thought leadership, enable creative ideas and improve our understanding of the business. But that’s not to say we can’t deliver a successful campaign if you don’t have the time to invest up front.

Want to know more? If you think you could benefit from a messaging matrix to kick-off a successful foodservice marketing campaign, get in touch or connect with me on LinkedIn.