Public Messaging
Getting an organisation's core message right and used consistently: what you say, in what order, and how it holds up when someone pushes back.
Überblick
Most organisations have a message in the sense that a document exists. What they usually lack is a message that different people repeat the same way, that holds up when challenged, and that says something a competitor could not also claim.
Developing one is mostly editing. Establishing what is genuinely true and distinctive, cutting what is aspirational, ordering it so the strongest claim leads, and then testing it on people outside the organisation who have no reason to be generous.
Für wen das gedacht ist
- Companies where every department describes the business differently
- Organisations whose message has never survived a difficult question
- Businesses preparing for a launch, a funding round or a change of direction
Unser Vorgehen bei Public Messaging
Die konkreten Arbeitspakete eines typischen Projekts. Der Umfang steht vorab fest, nichts davon taucht später als Überraschung auf der Rechnung auf.
Core narrative
The central statement in one paragraph. If it needs a page it will not be repeated accurately by anyone.
Message hierarchy
Primary and supporting messages ordered by audience, so different people emphasise different things without contradicting each other.
Proof points
Evidence for each claim. An unsupported claim is a liability the first time a journalist checks it.
Difficult questions
Prepared, honest answers to what you would rather not be asked. These get asked whether or not you prepared.
Message testing
Tested with people outside the organisation, because internal audiences fill in context that outsiders do not have.
Adoption
Getting it used consistently across sales, support, recruitment and leadership, which is where messaging usually fails.
Vom ersten Gespräch zum gemessenen Ergebnis
Immer dieselbe Reihenfolge, damit Sie wissen, was als Nächstes kommt.
Gather
Interview internally and externally to find what is genuinely true, distinctive and believed.
Draft
Write the narrative and hierarchy, cutting the claims that cannot be supported.
Test
Try it on outsiders and on the difficult questions, then revise where it does not survive.
Embed
Roll it out with examples and short sessions per team, and check after a quarter whether it is actually being used.
Ergebnisse statt Aktenordner
Ein Stapel Dokumente ist kein Fortschritt. Das hier sind die Veränderungen, die die Arbeit bewirken soll.
One company, one story
Consistency across departments is noticed by buyers more than anyone inside expects.
Claims that survive scrutiny
Proof points mean a challenge is answered rather than deflected.
Prepared for the hard question
Having an honest answer ready is the difference between a difficult moment and a damaging one.
Faster communication everywhere
An agreed message removes the argument that precedes every campaign, page and pitch.
Häufige Fragen zu Public Messaging
Was Kundinnen und Kunden fragen, bevor sie sich melden. Fehlt Ihre Frage, stellen Sie sie uns direkt.
How is this different from brand positioning?
Positioning decides the space you want to occupy against competitors. Messaging is what you actually say, in what order, with what evidence. Positioning usually comes first, and messaging without it tends to circle.
How long should the core message be?
One paragraph that a person can repeat from memory after hearing it twice. Messaging documents that run to several pages are reference material, not messages, and nobody uses them under pressure.
Who should the message be tested on?
People outside the organisation: customers, prospects, and ideally a journalist or analyst who will be sceptical. Internal testing produces agreement because everyone already knows the context that makes it make sense.
How do we make people actually use it?
Short sessions per team using their own real situations, plus examples of it applied to their work. A document circulated by email changes nothing, which is why adoption is part of the engagement rather than the end of it.
Public Messaging im Kopf?
Sagen Sie uns, was sich ändern soll. Passen wir nicht, sagen wir das und nennen Ihnen eine bessere Adresse.
Interessiert Sie das grössere Bild?
Public Messaging steht meist neben weiteren Themen aus Public Relations & Communications. Sehen Sie sich den ganzen Bereich an.