Is Your Brand Messaging Presidential?

Election year is upon us and what better time to evaluate your franchises messaging? Are you campaigning effectively? Is your brand messaging winning over consumers?

None of us are immune to the unrelenting and repetitive messages of the candidates. Why can’t they just answer the question? There’s a good reason. They are programmed to stay “on message,” and you should be too. But what is your brand message and is it serving you and your target audience?

Messaging is more than your tagline or your ad copy; it’s the work that precedes all pertinent strategic information that is disseminated on your company. Messaging answers the following questions:

• Who and what are we? (organization-centric mission)
• What do we do better than most? (i.e. brand positioning)
• Why does it matter? (customer-centric brand promise)

The answers to those questions will distill the essence of your franchise (service and/or products) and are the “take away” for the tagline, website, brochures, sales collateral and ad copy that follows. Messaging requires a serious commitment of time from top management, marketing and some field personnel. It can be handled internally or externally through a brand identity company. It is important that there is an internal consensus so that everyone is united and focused on delivering the same distinct message that filters down to every last person on the franchise team.

While we’re discussing “brands” we should probably review the definition. While there are many, one of my favorites is, “a brand is the sum of experiences that individuals have whenever they associate with your product or service.” Distinguishing the brand from the brand promise is critical when creating a brand message. A brand is the entity we experience. The brand promise is a statement that helps position the brand in the consumers mind. A good tagline reinforces your brand promise.

Your messaging, properly and consistently executed, will give you a sustainable competitive advantage and a clear promise of distinction. It will reinforce your strongest point of differentiation. Be sure to leverage it to its fullest.

Sales consultant Michael Corbett said it best; “you must gain a share of the consumer’s mind before you gain a share of the consumer market.” Thus, it is incumbent on every organization to formulate the answers to these questions in order to leverage your organization to the fullest and connect pursuasively with your target audience.

So what is the return on your investment of time in this task? Management guru Peter Drucker said, “because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business has two – and only two – functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation create value, all the rest are costs.”

Again:

• Who and what are we?
• What do we do better than most?
• Why does it matter?

Stay on message and have your target market elect you over the competition. Lose sight of your message and risk being voted off the island. 

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Susan Murphy is president of Circle®Brands a multi-discipline design firm passionate about creating distinct company, product and service names, taglines/slogans and logos. Circle®Brands has had the distinct privilege of creating and designing original corporate identity and consumer branding packages for a host of prestigious companies. Our endeavors reveal a deliberate emphasis on conscientious quality, conspicuous originality and meticulous attention to detail.