Developing key messages in marketing

Key messages are an extremely important category of information that a company wants its target audience to hear, understand and remember. A key message articulates what a business does, why it does it, how it is different, and what value it brings to stakeholders. Key marketing messages should have certain traits, as enumerated below.

Concise

Shorter attention spans and the increasing use of mobile devices have made it necessary to create messages that are concise. To make sure that a message is received in the right way, the language used has to be simple and clear. A succinct message carries less risk of being misunderstood.

Consider the Customer’s Viewpoint

A fruitful key message will include what is relevant to the customer. For instance, Smile Direct Club’s key message emphasizes the value of their product using both numbers (‘$3 per day’) and emotion ( ‘a smile you’ll love’).

Originality

Key messages should deliver content with credibility and authenticity. The message should seem to belong to the particular product or service which it aims to convey. For instance, Geico’s time-based promise through its message, ‘15 minutes or less can save you 15% or more on car insurance’.

Reassuring Consumers

When a key marketing message reassures customers, it conveys comfort. It also confirms that a business understands how customers think. One example of this is Lysol’s message ‘protect like a mother’. This message not only aims at comforting customers, but also empowers and validates mothers and positions the brand as one that mothers can trust. Ikea’s ‘I’m staying home’ message during the pandemic invited everyone to view their home from a different perspective.

Humor

Laughter is good for people. It can reduce stress. Getting people to laugh also makes them more inclined to think more positively about a business. Humor creates memorable messages. The trick is to find the right kind of humor to connect with the consumers. For instance, Huckberry repeatedly touches on the work-from-home theme with the message, ‘looks great on Zoom’.

Security

Security and safety also go a long way in assuring customers. For instance, in the competitive car market, Volvo makes it a point to focus on safety and security. Their recent, ‘A million more lives’ successfully conveyed the message of safety and security by highlighting the brand’s long-time commitment to vehicle safety and their ongoing efforts to keep the tradition alive with their latest models.

Meaningful

A meaningful marketing message can connect emotionally with the audience. For instance, to kick off Pride month, Sephora decided to celebrate LGBTQ, genderfluid, and non-binary people with a beautiful message: ‘we belong to something beautiful’. It featured influencers such as interdisciplinary artist Fatima Jamal and gender non-conforming model Aaron Philips. The message successfully conveyed the brand’s aim to create a welcoming and safe space for every client.