Message
vs. Plan vs. Campaign
Build a Healthy Brand with a Strong
Foundation
If your brand were a person, would it have mood swings? Would
its personality change with the seasons? If yours is a healthy
brand—consistent and predictable—the answer is probably
not. Like a person, your brand can have various short- and long-term
goals, but its core values shouldn’t change. This means that
fresh copy and content should always populate your materials, but
not at the expense of your brand message. There truly is a hierarchy
to your brand, and it’s important not to compromise it with
shortsighted thinking. Here’s the rundown...
Your Message Platform
Your organization should have a defined messaging platform that encompasses
who you are, who you serve, and how you do it. The platform may or
may not include a mission and vision, but it should definitely include
the concepts and ideas that most closely represent your organization
and its core values. Certain adjectives and verbs may resonate so well
with you and your objectives that they are a part of your conversation
every time you describe what you sell or do. That’s your platform,
and it doesn’t change from month to month or year to year.
The Marketing Plan
One step down from your message platform is your marketing plan.
Your marketing plan is a one- or multi-year strategy that outlines
your goals for that period of time. The plan should apply your message
platform to help you accurately define your target audience and
appropriate tactics and messages to take to market. How do you plan
to increase your membership or client base? How is that approach
aligned with your organization's core values?
The Campaign
This is where things can get hairy! A campaign should be focused on one particular
goal, and ideally, have a start and end in order to accurately track its effectiveness.
Because of this finite shelf life, the tendency is often to focus so wholly
on the messages of the campaign that the organization’s platform message
is sacrificed. A truly effective campaign will be designed to meet its unique
goals while remaining aligned with your overall message platform. Campaigns
keep in mind both the forest and the trees.
A healthy brand should be consistently
represented on all three levels. If you find yourself struggling to keep marketing
plans and campaigns in line with your organization’s message platform,
it may be time for a check up to help you redefine the platform on which you’ve
been standing.
* * *
w•inktips is published by Bremmer & Goris
Communications. Each issue is packed with information and useful
insights into marketing design and communications issues that
affect your business life.
© 2007 Bremmer
& Goris Communications. All rights reserved.
Bremmer & Goris Communications
creative thinking. effective campaigns.
1908 Mount Vernon Avenue
Alexandria, Virginia 22301
703.739.0088 • www.goris.com • www.NoCannedAdvice.com
To subscribe, click
here. You will be added to the list immediately. Thank you!
|
