Your brand is the sum of many parts
Before we dive into your specific messaging, it helps to understand how the pieces fit together. This is the framework behind everything in your playbook.
01
Brand building blocks
Every brand is made up of four pillars. Your messaging playbook addresses each one, giving you a clear and consistent way to talk about who you are.
Brand Persona
Brand Personality
Your brand’s human-like characteristics. The traits that make people feel something when they encounter you.
Brand Voice
Your brand’s style of communication. How you sound in writing, conversation and marketing.
Brand Position
Audience
Your customer demographics and psychographics. Who they are, how they think, what they need.
Competitors
Other businesses that provide an alternative solution to the problem your brand solves.
Differentiators
The key elements that make your brand different from competitors and give you an advantage.
Visual Expression
Visual Brand Identity
Your logo, typography, colours and visual elements. The way your brand looks.
Brand Presence
How and where your brand shows up to the public. Every touchpoint, physical and digital.
Brand Communication
Name and Tagline
The distinctive name and tagline that defines your brand and makes it memorable.
Brand Story
The narrative, including facts and feelings, used to explain your brand to the world.
Key Phrases
Distinct statements that reflect your brand message and are used repeatedly across all communications.
02
Making a brand make sense
Once your brand building blocks are in place, your brand will make sense to your team and customers.
When these decisions are made, three things happen:
- You can craft consistently on-brand communications.
- The public experiences your brand as cohesive in look and sound.
- Customers understand how your brand makes their life better, and they buy.
Use these channels to execute your brand building blocks
Logo
Style guide
Websites
Professional listings
Lead generators
Email marketing
Video
Social media & content
Web & print ads
Brochures
Marketing collateral
03
How we position your brand
Your messaging playbook is built on three foundations: understanding your audience, assessing your competitors, and finding what makes you different. Here’s the thinking behind each one.
Audience
Understand them
Their emotions
Their lives
Their problems
Their fears
Their desires
Competitors
Strengths
Weaknesses
Assess them
Audience perspective
Why are they happy?
Why are they not happy?
Differentiator
What’s different about you?
Does it fill an unmet want?
Does it fill an unmet need?
Is it a fresh option?
Does it fill a gap?
Can you make it your own?
This is the work we do in the messaging workshop. The answers to these questions become the raw material for your core message framework, your brand story and your taglines. Everything in your playbook traces back to this foundation.
Now open your playbook
The framework above is universal. Your playbook is where it gets specific to you.