What are the key factors to consider when developing a brand messaging strategy for a startup?

IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THIS, YOU ARE BOUND TO FAIL. It’s actually two things. 1. Know exactly what and who you are. If you don’t know how to describe yourself or quickly identify what you are, no one else will. 2. Understand the audience you are trying to attract. Not just know who you want to speak to, truly understand them, how they think and what they need to feel. You are never selling a product or a service. You are selling a feeling. Once you care enough to know what people feel, or need to feel, you can sell anything to anyone. However, authenticity and trustworthiness play a crucial role in longevity. Be clear, concise, and no matter how different you may be, you must simplify what you are in simple language.

Don’t be afraid to niche. I’ve worked as a mentor for a number of accelerator programmes and observed how investors often encourage startups to broaden their audience and sell to as many people as possible. I disagree with this strategy. The more targeted you are about who—especially in the beginning when resources are scarce—the better you can serve them; not just through your messaging and voice but through your product—building brand advocacy and community.

1. Note down a one sentence 20 year roadmap. Who will you be 20 years from now? 2. Your top 3 values 3. Define What? How? And Why 4. Define 3 audiences 5. Define 3 brand personality traits 6. Map out the competitive landscape 7. Create a story brand. A charachter -> Has a problem -> And meets a guide -> Who Gives them a plan -> And calls them to action -> That ends in a success -> That helps them avoid failure. * What do they want? * What’s causing the problem? * How can we be a guide (empathy & authority)? * What’s the plan? * What is the call to action? * What are the positive changes customer’s are experiencing? * Negative experiences if they don’t use the product? * Transformation; From, to?

Knowing your audience for any campaign is key. Too often I have seen a general market campaign simply translated into Spanish for the Latino market. The problem with this is, culture speaks louder than simple word translations. You must research and know the audience you wish to obtain as customers. Then be consistent with your offer to them. A great campaign is successful because the creators did their research.

- Be crystal clear about your identity - Deep dive into your audience's mindset - You're not selling a product; you're selling a feeling - Prioritize authenticity and trustworthiness - Communication is key; simplify your message

Coming from Leo Burnett I believe finding what we called the "Big Idea,"also known today as the Value Proposition or Differentiator is the most important part of launching a new brand. Curiously Strong for Altoids is the best example. It's hard to connect any other mint with a "Big Idea" which led to going from nothing to becoming the number one mint in the country. And you never stop putting that idea out there in every aspect of your marketing. If you question whether Altoids is still top of mind after sticking with that idea for over 20 years , look at page 248 in March Vogue magazine. It's labeled "Remains of the Day." It shows what falls out of your Hermes purse. Yes, you got it, among other things, a tin of Wintergreen Altoids.

I agree but in the case of a startup I think there is a step even before of defining your values as a company. Those values will help you develop your brand and form its foundation. For a startup that doesn’t have a legacy or history to rely upon, this step is essential to building your value proposition and your brand.

Imagine your brand was a person; what would it be called? What values does it stand for? Who would it friends be and how does it speak to them? Where does it hang out with them? These steps helps crack your messaging strategy.

Crafting your startup's value proposition is crucial. It succinctly communicates what you offer, how you solve customer problems, and why you're better than competitors. For example, "EcoClean offers environmentally conscious homeowners clean living spaces with innovative, plant-based solutions." This statement clearly defines the target audience (environmentally conscious homeowners), the benefit (clean living spaces), and the unique selling point (plant-based solutions). It's concise, compelling, and directly addresses the customer's needs and your startup's solution, making it an essential element of your brand messaging strategy.

Use brand success stories (case studies) to tell your brand’s story through the lens of your target audience. Include qualitative (quotes, testimonials) and quantitative data to help your audience understand your value proposition and how your brand will meet their needs.

The key to finding your brand voice and tone is to look at who your main target audience is. How do they talk? What level of understanding do they have of your project? Are they more likely to respond to a friendly voice and warm tone or do they need you to be an authority with a very serious and wise tone? Finding the right voice is a combination of who you are as a brand/company and what kind of relationship your audience wants to have with your brand. If you can find that Ven diagram intersection of those two circles, you will have an authentic voice and tone for both you and your customers.

Your brand at its core is an extension of you and should endear itself to your community. Thus, your brand voice needs to resonate with your TRIBE. You have to decide on a lane and stick to it. Are you motivational? Family oriented? From an authorative standpoint? Comical or whimsical? A personality should easily be associated to your brand voice and tone.

A good way to defining how your brand should behave and get itself across is to refer back to its actual spirit. Its unique personality. What makes your brand YOUR BRAND. What makes it unlike any other in the world. A good exercise to start understanding "who" your brand is and "how" it should act in the world around it, is to work out its archetype. The book "The Hero and the Outlaw" has truly laid out the foundations of archetypes and is a real "bible" for guiding strategists in the development of brand pillars. It's always a good exercise to compare your brand with others in parallel industries, working out their archetypes and uncovering how you can behave in your industry on the basis of a great example.

Remember Carl Jung's Personality Archetypes? There are 12 Brand Archetypes based on the same. A very helpful exercise I have previously used in setting up brand tone and voice is identifying what personality I want the brand to hold and how it should look to the outside world. Pick an archetype to base your brand personality. It will give you a few adjectives to use as your voice pillars. Eg, Sage archetype is great for academic institutions like colleges, universities who aim to inform and influence young minds. The tone is formal (in most cases) and voice pillars can be aspirational, assertive and encouraging.

It's true in theory, but when you're inventing a new brand, it's not detached from its founders, the company's values, or what it's like to work with the same brand on a daily basis. There needs to be a connection between the brand you're creating and the people who are actually there, so it's more of a process of extracting and understanding the company's values among partners and employees. This ensures cohesion rather than disconnection, aiming for authenticity rather than artificiality.

When it comes to creating brand messaging, hierarchy is the way to go. But it's important to understand why. Context is crucial in communication. Saying the right thing at the wrong time can be confusing. You don't want to sit down for dinner and be presented with a check right away. You've barely gotten settled! Messaging should match where people are in the customer journey. If people are just getting settled and browsing what you do, make sure the language matches that. At this stage, calls to action like "Learn more" and "Explore" feel like a much lower risk than something screaming "BUY NOW". As people click through your site or experience, you should change the language to match their mindset.

Two words come immediately to mind: experiential marketing. Focus on creating memorable brand experiences that strike an emotional chord with consumers. There aren't many ideas or products or services that were the first ever. If you don't have any competitors, trust me, you will soon. At its core, being memorable in marketing requires a combination of branding and design. However, what truly sets apart those who achieve remarkable success is their ability to innovate and reimagine conventional strategies. They find new and creative ways to engage with their audience, making their brand stand out amidst the noise of competitors.

Thinking of your value proposition as your home's "roof" and your brand pillars as the "columns" that keep it steady and standing still is always a good way to define messaging hierarchy. Each and every pillar "or column" should ladder back up to your value proposition, guaranteeing you'll never communicate something that isn't in line with what makes your brand... YOUR BRAND! Nothing is set in stone... You can always tweak your value proposition slightly and swap pillars for something more latent and timely, but make sure you remain truthful to your brand essence, every single day.

Enhance your brand message hierarchy by weaving storytelling into each layer. Start with your value proposition as the overarching narrative. The second level should depict key benefits and differentiators, akin to chapters in a story, making your brand's unique qualities vivid. The third level, with supporting messages, can include real-life customer stories and detailed examples, bringing features to life. Align these messages with customer touchpoints, ensuring each layer speaks to different stages of the customer journey, from initial awareness to final decision-making

When developing your brand message hierarchy, storytelling plays a vital role: it's like adding a secret ingredient that makes everything more exciting. By weaving a captivating story throughout your messages, you create an adventure that keeps your audience engaged. As they follow along, they not only understand your brand better but also become part of the story themselves. Ultimately, this storytelling approach helps brands communicate their values and goals to customers in a clear and concise way through their brand messages.

Testing and refining your brand messages is essential for fine-tuning your communication strategy. It's about gathering feedback, making adjustments, and ensuring your messaging hits the mark. By constantly refining your messages, you'll create a stronger and more impactful brand presence.

Always be testing - because if you might struck something that works, that will likely cease to work with time. On another note, it's so common for brand owners to assume what their target audience will resonate with, and I'm here to tell you that no respectable marketers will ever guarantee you something will work, without prior data to solidify their claims. Begin with a hypothesis and treat your test as a laboratory experiment. The hypothesis either gets validated or rejected. The key here is to keep track of all learnings, otherwise you'll likely be spinning in circles with very little data to inform your next best test

Never assume that “people” aren’t as smart or sophisticated as you are. I’ve seen many a marketer come up with messaging and creative that they personally would have snickered at, but believed “others” could relate to. If it doesn’t work on you, if you don’t find it engaging and interesting, no one else will. Condescension is the cardinal sin of marketing.

Testing and refining your brand messages is a dynamic, ongoing process essential for maintaining relevance and engagement. Utilize diverse methods like surveys, customer feedback, analytics, and A/B testing to gauge the impact of your messages. Regularly analyze these insights to understand what resonates with your audience and what needs adjustment. As your startup grows and market conditions evolve, be proactive in updating your messaging to reflect these changes. This iterative approach ensures your brand messages stay fresh, accurate, and compelling, keeping you connected with your audience's evolving needs and preferences

If you've developed a dialogue with your customers, you should always be testing to see what resonates and what needs to change. The right platform can help you do this with minimal work.

Branding has become the unicorn of the marketing world. It is sparkled with mission statements and company "stories". They are accessories in a marketing campaign. Items that stand alone without proof of anything. Reverse the thought process. Instead of being the "seller" view yourself as the "buyer" . What about a particular brand garners your trust and interest, long-term. Click bait is temporary and creates dis-trust. Align your brand with items that illustrate provable values.

Here’s a couple more gems for you: - Tap into ‘brand archaeology’. Dig deep into your brand’s origins. What’s the founder’s story? Why was the company started? Extract those raw, authentic elements. For example, if your startup idea began in your uni bar chatting with your mates, highlight that scrappy innovation in your messaging. - Do the opposite of your competitors. (contra-position the hell out of it). You can do this by studying your competitors’ messaging closely. If they’re all about speed, you be about thoroughness. If they’re formal, you be conversational. It’s a great chance to own a space they’ve neglected. Good luck and go get em’! ????

"Clarity and Simplicity" Your messaging should be clear, concise, and jargon-free. Complicated messages can confuse potential customers and dilute your brand's impact. --- "Legal and Ethical Considerations" Ensure your messaging complies with legal requirements and ethical standards, especially in industries that are heavily regulated. --- "Cultural Sensitivity" Be mindful of cultural differences and sensitivities, especially if your startup targets a global market. What works in one culture might not work in another.

What makes a startup unique is that the people who created or helped create the organization still work there. They have likely been thinking, developing and pitching their idea for years, so it's very personal to them. This is a rare opportunity for most brand professionals. Ask the founders to tell you the story of the first time they thought about the platform/product/idea. Where were they? Where were they living? What *color* was the paint on the walls? You want to get an image of a critical moment because you can weave those elements into the brand. If that story isn't interesting enough, move on and find another. There is always at least one great story, one moment you can use to influence many parts of the brand. Learn every story!