Does your brand need a messaging matrix?

Ever come across a piece of sales collateral or a company presentation and realised every department across your business is practically speaking a different language?

These mixed and competing messages can leave your customers more puzzled than a 10,000-piece jigsaw without the box lid. Not ideal, right?

This is what happens when you don’t have a unified framework to communicate your business’s value and purpose. A clear, consistent brand experience across all touchpoints is crucial for the success of any business. But how do you build such a united front? One way is with a message matrix.

What exactly is a messaging matrix?

Consider it a kind of playbook. It’s a single, organised document that contains your brand’s key messages – the things you want to be known for.

A messaging matrix can take many forms. Some will provide general guidance on core value propositions (CVPs), while others can be more detailed with specific examples of copy for each channel or customer group.

The most effective messaging matrices we’ve seen – and created for brands like UNSW, Opal HealthCare, F45 Group and more – include the following:

• Brand positioning statement

• CVPs – your brand’s key proof points

• Example messaging for each proof point, written for at least 3 different channels

An effective messaging matrix is one that any member of the business – from marketing and sales to people and culture – can pick up and confidently speak from. That’s why including contextualised examples for different channels is so important!

Think of how effectively Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola and other iconic brands reinforce core messages across every platform – that cohesion provides the foundation for memorable brands. And yours can be one too.

Your messaging matrix will provide that same concrete infrastructure for representing your brand in the market, no matter who communicates it or what content they create.

Why your brand needs one

Consider these risks of not having a unified messaging matrix:

Loss of trust and credibility

Ever received a marketing email from a brand, then visited their website only to find that they sound like a completely different business? Continuity across channels is crucial for building trust among potential customers – and retaining the trust of your existing ones.

Lack of cut-through in a noisy market

Conveying mixed messages won’t help your brand voice stand out in a crowded marketplace. If you try to say too much – be too much – all at once, your brand will lack distinction and simply become background noise. Clarity and consistency around key messages will be the difference between a brand that thrives and one that flops.

Wasted time and resources

Teams wasting endless hours second-guessing brand narratives and re-inventing the wheel each time they create content add up to major inefficiencies. Cha-ching – there goes all that hard-earned revenue out the window.

What exactly is a messaging matrix?

Consider it a kind of playbook. It’s a single, organised document that contains your brand’s key messages – the things you want to be known for.

A messaging matrix can take many forms. Some will provide general guidance on core value propositions (CVPs), while others can be more detailed with specific examples of copy for each channel or customer group.

The most effective messaging matrices we’ve seen – and created for brands like UNSW, Opal HealthCare, F45 Group and more – include the following:

• Brand positioning statement

• CVPs – your brand’s key proof points

• Example messaging for each proof point, written for at least 3 different channels

An effective messaging matrix is one that any member of the business – from marketing and sales to people and culture – can pick up and confidently speak from. That’s why including contextualised examples for different channels is so important!

Think of how effectively Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola and other iconic brands reinforce core messages across every platform – that cohesion provides the foundation for memorable brands. And yours can be one too.

Your messaging matrix will provide that same concrete infrastructure for representing your brand in the market, no matter who communicates it or what content they create.

Why your brand needs one

Consider these risks of not having a unified messaging matrix:

Loss of trust and credibility

Ever received a marketing email from a brand, then visited their website only to find that they sound like a completely different business? Continuity across channels is crucial for building trust among potential customers – and retaining the trust of your existing ones.

Lack of cut-through in a noisy market

Conveying mixed messages won’t help your brand voice stand out in a crowded marketplace. If you try to say too much – be too much – all at once, your brand will lack distinction and simply become background noise. Clarity and consistency around key messages will be the difference between a brand that thrives and one that flops.

Wasted time and resources

Teams wasting endless hours second-guessing brand narratives and re-inventing the wheel each time they create content add up to major inefficiencies. Cha-ching – there goes all that hard-earned revenue out the window.

However, creating a messaging matrix is only worthwhile if…

You actually use it!

Brand kits, style guides, tone of voice documents – after their initial roll-out, these critical brand artefacts tend to slip into obscurity, gathering dust in the proverbial graveyard of your company’s shared drive. If you’re not careful, your messaging matrix might face a similar fate.

Developing a messaging matrix is a significant undertaking, so be sure to use it. More importantly, encourage others to use it. Yes, even folks outside marketing. It’s important to consider all stakeholders when creating and circulating your messaging matrix. Explain how people across the business can get the most out of it – this is the only way to ensure your messaging matrix actually does the thing it set out to do.

Now, the real fun begins

If you’re ready to bring your brand messaging into alignment, you’ll need to dedicate some serious deep thinking and copywriting hours to it. There are many ways to approach it – you’ll need to audit your current messaging, define your CVPs and, of course, get buy-in from relevant stakeholders. It’s a big investment, but a worthwhile one with transformative potential.

And if you need some guidance on getting started – or simply want to bring in the experts to take care of it for you – give us a shout. We’ve developed message matrices for brands like the UNSW, Opal HealthCare, F45 Group and more. Drop us a line and we’ll make it happen.