A messaging framework is the page every writer, designer and salesperson should be able to work from without calling you. Most of them don't get used because they're twenty slides of adjectives. This one fits on a page, and every claim has to have proof next to it.
Here are the eleven sections, what each is for, the mistake I see most, and a line from a filled-in example for a made-up coffee subscription. You can see the whole framework here, or start your own. It's free and there's no sign-up.
Copy this into a doc, or fill it in here and send it as a link. Each section is explained below.
Messaging framework: [Brand or product name] 01 Who we're talking to One real person. What they're trying to get done and what gets in the way. Not a demographic. 02 What they're up against The problem in their life that we help with, in their words. 03 What they'd compare us to The category or the alternative they'd pick if we didn't exist. Often it's doing nothing. 04 Positioning statement One sentence: For who, we are the what, that does what, because why. 05 The promise The single benefit in plain words. Short enough to say out loud. 06 Message pillar 1 A reason to choose us, then the proof behind it. 07 Message pillar 2 A second reason, then the proof. Different from the first, not a rewording. 08 Message pillar 3 A third reason and its proof. If there isn't a real third one, leave it empty. 09 How we sound Three words for the voice, and what each one doesn't mean. 10 What we never say Claims we can't back up, words a competitor owns, and anything legal has ruled out. 11 Say it in thirty seconds How someone on the team would explain us out loud to a friend. No slide language.
One real person. What they're trying to get done and what gets in the way. Not a demographic.
The usual mistake is listing three audiences because nobody wanted to choose. Pick the one person the pillars are really for.
Push harder: What were they doing five minutes before they needed us?
The problem in their life that we help with, in their words.
If you write the tension in brand language, you've written what you wish they felt. Put it in quotes and make it sound like a person.
Push harder: Would they say it in those words?
The category or the alternative they'd pick if we didn't exist. Often it's doing nothing.
Teams usually list competitors here. Often the real alternative is doing nothing, and that changes what counts as a reason to switch.
Push harder: If we disappeared tomorrow, what would they do instead?
One sentence: For who, we are the what, that does what, because why.
If a competitor could swap their name in and it would still be true, it isn't positioning yet. The because is where it becomes yours.
Push harder: Could a competitor put their name in this sentence and it still be true?
The single benefit in plain words. Short enough to say out loud.
Two benefits joined with "and" means nobody decided. Keep the one the audience would miss most.
Push harder: Could you say it in one breath?
A reason to choose us, then the proof behind it.
A pillar without proof is a claim. Write the proof in the same box so nobody can forget it.
Push harder: What's the proof, and could you show it in a meeting?
A second reason, then the proof. Different from the first, not a rewording.
The second pillar is often the first one reworded. If they'd both be proved by the same fact, merge them.
Push harder: Is this actually different from pillar 1?
A third reason and its proof. If there isn't a real third one, leave it empty.
Frameworks don't need three pillars. They need true ones. An empty third box is better than a weak one.
Push harder: Is this pillar here because it's true, or because frameworks have three?
Three words for the voice, and what each one doesn't mean.
"Friendly, confident, human" describes every brand. Saying what each word doesn't mean is what makes it usable.
Push harder: What does each word not mean?
Claims we can't back up, words a competitor owns, and anything legal has ruled out.
This is the most useful section for review rounds, and the one most often skipped. Put legal's no-go words here up front.
Push harder: Which claim would legal cut first?
How someone on the team would explain us out loud to a friend. No slide language.
If it sounds like a slide when you read it out loud, rewrite it until it sounds like you talking to a friend.
Push harder: Would you actually say this out loud?
Answer the eleven sections, run the check for the usual problems, and send it as a link. People can comment on the part they mean and approve it with their name.
Start a messaging framework See the example
Also on one page: the creative brief and the measurement plan.
Need it as a file?
The One-Page Strategy Kit has the creative brief, the messaging framework and the measurement plan as fillable PDFs and Word files, for when a client wants a document. It's $19.
Get the files Just the messaging framework: $8 on EtsyFrom the same desk
A weekly note on account planning for agency strategists. One thing that changed, the tension in it, and what I'd do Monday. The first three parts of every issue are free.
Latest issue · No. 9 · Oct 26Safari now blocks email-based ad IDsApple's WebKit team confirmed last Monday that Safari 27 blocks the services that turn email addresses into ad IDs. A lot of open web plans lean on those IDs.Read the free part →Written by Cody Simmonds. I also write The Rationale, a weekly note for agency strategists.