Core Messaging

Core messaging co-founder Sheperd Simmons helps you become deeply different. Sheperd is the founder of Counterpart Communication Design, the Message Strategy Experts?. Since 2002, Counterpart has served Fortune 500 brands, including FedEx, Progressive, P&G, Teladoc, Terminix, and AARP. Counterpart’s mission is to help you create customer-centric communication that’s clear, compelling, and controlled — the four things that make a message work. You can employ them in all forms of marcomm execution, from branding to web, email to video, paid, print, and social. ?? Sheperd is also known for: · The Position X? framework: Ensures a marketplace positioning that’s believable, ownable, desirable, and supportable. · The Single Slide Strategy? framework: Defines your organization’s belief, mission, vision, values, standards, and keys to success. · More than 500 industry awards, including the One Show, New York Festivals, Art Directors’ Club, Obies, Print, HOW International Design Annual, Graphis, and national Addys. If you’re responsible for earning buy-in for a large corporation — in health care, high tech, supply chain, or beyond — Sheperd and Counterpart can help. Learn more about Sheperd Simmons and the other Core Messaging co-founders at coremessaging.com.

Get to your core — with the help of the five Core Messaging co-founders. There's more than one approach. Which will best fit you? Find out when you sign up for the “Five ways to get to your core” email series on coremessaging.com. ·???????Think negative and dig deeper with Michel Neray. ·???????Talk beliefs and add problems with Tamsen Webster. ·???????Switch roles and prove failure with Brian Miller. ·???????Find your story first with Francisco Mahfuz. ·???????Start chatting and steal stories with Sheperd Simmons. ? If you’re responsible for winning buy-in for a product, service, or idea, you’re the intended audience. Because you’re in a position to inspire and motivate — when you find the meaning that moves people. ? Sign up for the five-part series. And see which approach inspires you most.

Core Messaging co-founder Francisco Mahfuz helps you become more interesting than Netflix. Here’s one of Francisco’s core beliefs: Your communication doesn’t have to be boring or artificial. Good news! Because with boring communication, customers don’t care, sales don’t close, your people are disengaged, and great ideas go nowhere. Instead, use intentional storytelling to engage, influence, and inspire. That’s what Francisco’s done to help organizations create a culture that drives engagement, purpose, and performance — teaming up with the likes of PepsiCo, Lays, HP, and the United Nations to win buy-in. ?? Francisco is best known as: · A storytelling expert. · An international keynote speaker. · The host of "The Storypowers Podcast." Through intentional storytelling, Francisco helps entrepreneurs, business owners, HR, and culture leaders present, pitch, or create influential content. Learn more about Francisco Mahfuz and the other Core Messaging co-founders at coremessaging.com.

We all need buy-in. For our products. Our services. Our ideas. And we all know that having the right message is essential. Problem is, we’re so focused on the message that we underestimate what it means to people. If your message isn’t meaningful, it won’t motivate anyone. How do you find a meaningful message? Look within. The strongest connections are based on shared beliefs — the convictions that exist at your core. The beliefs that are essential for your audience, too. Look back at how this post began. With shared beliefs. This is core messaging in action. We can agree that we want to know how to get the buy-in we need for our products, services, and ideas. We all know there are many barriers. But here’s the real problem: We focus more on the message than the meaning — yet meaning drives motivation. We can also agree that the strongest connections are based on shared beliefs. So, to achieve our goal of winning buy-in, we need to articulate the fundamental principles that connect how we do what we do with what our audience truly cares about. You have core values, a core purpose, core competencies. A?core message?aligns them all. Make it primary. Make it pervasive. And you can make a difference. That’s the meaningful message behind core messaging. Find yours at coremessaging.com.

Core Messaging co-founder Brian Miller shows you how to talk less, say more, and connect with anyone. He’s helped clients deliver viral TEDx Talks, build international movements, transform their company culture, and become industry leaders. Boiled down, he can help you get your point across in high-stakes situations. He’s an international keynote speaker on human connection — his TEDx Talk has 3.5 million views! So, you won’t be surprised to learn that Brian is a master of speech design. ?? Brian is known for: ? His TEDx Talk: “How to Magically Connect With Anyone.” ? Clarity Up Consulting: Teaching brands and leaders how to communicate like themselves, but better. ? Conquer the Red Dot? training program: Takes the guesswork out of writing and delivering a life-changing TED-style talk. Whether it’s interpersonal communication, external marketing, or presentations delivered from the stage, Brian believes this: Your first step is to develop a core message that is clear, understandable, and relevant. As Brian puts it, just say the thing!? Learn more about Brian Miller and the other Core Messaging co-founders at coremessaging.com.

Core messaging is the most important piece of your marketing puzzle. Our five co-founders believe in this idea so much that we came together to define it. See what we came up with (using co-founder Tamsen Webster’s Red Thread Strategy?). Core messaging is the simplest articulation of the fundamental principles that connect how you do what you do with what your audience truly cares about. A critical element: “simplest.” So let’s break it down with the help of co-founder Brian Miller’s handy graphic. ?“The simplest articulation of” To achieve simple, you have to make hard choices. You’re cutting out the fluff to focus on the foundational elements. The result: Clarity — for you and your audience. ?“the fundamental principles” These principles guide your brand’s behavior. The result: Integration of company values. ?“that connect” Your core message is built on the beliefs you and your audience share. The result: Alignment. ?“how you do what you do” Other brands can likely do what you do to some extent. It’s how you do it that sets you apart. By nature, this often includes why you do it that way. The result: You’ve got your differentiator. ?“with what your audience truly cares about” To inspire or motivate, your message must mean something to the audience. The result: You’re including the customer perspective. What you get is your core message — the meaning that moves people. You’ll agree that’s a goal worth pursuing. And that’s why core messaging exists. As a category of marketing, it’s the disciplined pursuit of the meaning that moves people. Discover core messaging examples and insights at coremessaging.com.

Core messaging reflects the collective conviction of five communication leaders. Before they sat down to study, understand, and define it, Michel Neray had the idea to bring them together. Michel is an award-winning advertising copywriter and motivational speaker. (Not to mention an accomplished musician!) He’s been helping companies dig down to their core message for 25+ years. He has unique expertise in helping tech companies and start-ups apply core messaging — to amplify differentiation, sales, and category leadership. ?? Michel is known for: · The origin story: Use it to clarify your core message. Then to inspire and motivate customers, investors, strategic partners, analysts, and internal stakeholders. ·?Essential Message D.I.G. (Discover, Identify, Galvanize) Methodology: Use it to strengthen your differentiation and brand position. And to become a leader in your category. ·?Inside-Out Storytelling: Use it to align the message you want to deliver with the message that gets through to the hearts and minds of your listeners. Learn more about Michel Neray and the other Core Messaging co-founders at coremessaging.com.

Meet core messaging, the disciplined pursuit of the meaning that moves people. To best understand this newfound — or newly defined — category of marketing, start with marketing as a whole. Marketing’s been described a lot of ways over the years. Everyone gives it their own twist. Modern marketing authority Neil Patel boils it down to this: “In essence, marketing lays down the groundwork for a brand’s relationship with its audience.” Bestselling author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert Seth Godin’s version: “Marketing?is the generous act of helping someone solve a problem. Their problem.” A shared point between the two — the connection between brand and audience. Patel calls it a relationship. Godin thinks of it as helping the audience solve a problem. That’s where core messaging fits in. It comes before you craft the perfect ad, press release, or marketing campaign. Because all those things are meant to earn buy-in for your product, service, or idea. And to win buy-in, you need a meaningful message — one that connects the how, why, and what you do with the things your audience truly cares about. That’s the job of core messaging. And that’s why it comes first. This is the collective conviction of the five co-founders of Core Messaging: ??Michel Neray ??Tamsen Webster ??Brian Miller ??Francisco Mahfuz ??Sheperd Simmons We launched a website to further the cause. And you’re invited to check it out. Visit coremessaging.com to learn more about Core Messaging and its co-founders. And to get to your core!