Message Mapping, A Better Way to Communicate

Message Map A better way to communicate

A Critical Part of Leadership • A leader establishes themselves through concise communication • A leader is able to succinctly and articulately tell their personal story in an engaging way • A leader needs a personal message map!

• Message Mapping simplifies large volumes of complex information into a concise story that helps guide a host story telling – – – – – –

Media interviews Advertising In-store POP materials Sales presentations Speeches Digital & social channels

• Through Message Mapping, we extract the most compelling messages and positive points about your brand or your campaign – Organize them in a diagram to show how each message fits into the larger context of your strategy – Focus on consistent messages across the entire organization

Why?

Why?

• It’s important to convert marketing language and strategy into language that can grab consumer attention and inspire conversation and story-sharing about the brand through PR and social media channels

• It’s critical to achieve consensus among internal parties on the story

It Helps You Break Through

• Simple • Organized • Flexible: update it when you need to Because you must tell a compelling story, quickly, to break through to consumers and other audiences

Message Map Model The Landscape Expresses the marketplace need

The Pay-off Your chance to strut your stuff a bit, cite your credentials

Proof Points: 1.____________ 2.____________ 3.____________

Home Base Message

Proof Points: 1.____________ 2.____________ 3.____________

State your goal or mission

Should be ownable and provocative

Your Response What you’re doing

Get into more detail about it – the features, the innovative attributes How are you doing it? Describe the product or service Proof Points: 1.____________ 2.____________ 3.____________

Proof Points: 1.____________ 2.____________ 3.____________

Proof Points: 1.____________ 2.____________ 3.____________

Keys to Success • Avoid

marketing jargon

• Avoid “brand speak” • Know and keep in mind your audience • Message Map should be able to be used as an “elevator speech” or for a media interview or to guide content of advertising or other marketing tools

Message Mapping – How do we do it? • Facilitated group conversation • Primary audience filter – 3rd parties

• • • •

Build simple, compelling messages White board supports the process Don’t give up! Leave if you must; be present while in the room

Retail Store Message Map X brand health and wellness products and the pharmacists who back them are proof of the company’s commitment to help people live happy, healthy lives. * Since 1801, X store has been helping keep people well

PHARMACISTS Everyday people rely on the expertise of X brand pharmacists to help manage their health

• 25,000 certified immunizing pharmacists •7,600 stores; a store within 3 miles of 63% of the U.S. population • Pharmacist Live Chat • RX Interactions counsel

Today’s consumers are concerned and confused about how to get the most for their limited healthcare dollars • Product recalls have seeded doubt and concern about many name brand products • Overwhelming explosion of online information (millions of health Web sites; 82% of Americans w/ Internet access in ‘08 (61% of all adults) had searched for health information online) • Consumers want more control over their health & their healthcare choices

X brand health and wellness products are pharmacist-recommended to help people and communities live well, stay well and get well for less

X Store is tapping its 110 years of expertise to educate consumers , support community wellness and be a more active partner in helping people stay well.

PRODUCTS X Store is more closely aligning its brand of health and wellness products with its mission to be a retail health and daily living store • Over time, the X brand will be

PHILANTHROPY

X brand health and wellness products will bring free preventive health services to communities thru the X brand Community FundTM

• In 2011, 1¢ from the purchase of every X brand health & wellness product, up to $3 million annually, will support preventive wellness services in communities through the X brand Community Fund . •The Fund will offer free preventive health tests, services and education via the Wellness Tour Bus and vouchers redeemable in stores •X is the only brand to support local health & wellness initiatives at this level

solely focused on health and wellness products •X store has a wide variety of products to meet all your daily needs (pain, allergy, digestive, baby care, sun care, dental, etc.) • Compare active ingredients as other leading brands • Pharmacist recommended (pharmacists surveyed cite quality and price as basis for recommendation • 100% satisfaction guarantee • On average, X brand costs 20-30% less than other national brands for the same quality

The Landscape

My Message Map

Today’s consumers are hit with more than 5,000 commercial messages a day, plus hundreds of social media messages.

What Else? I complement my professional passion with other interests and activities to bring rounded thinking to every situation Playing music, practicing yoga, blogging, cooking, entertaining

How? I seek creative inspiration everywhere Study the competition, the consumer and the marketplace

Technology has led to increased consumer expectations and demands.

Home Base Message I’m a communications professional who thrives on helping clients break through today’s cluttered marketplace with bold stories told in engaging ways.

Consuming media, brainstorming, traveling, vacationing, listening to music, cooking, shopping, gardening, talking to neighbors

Your Response I tap my years of experience and mine multiple sources for creative strategies and tactics that command attention

How?

From silly to scientific

I use a planning process aimed at getting buy-in and scoring quick wins early and measurable, meaningful results later Tap experts, internal & Capitalize on external proven, best practices

Now you try it!

First steps • Identify your strengths (and weaknesses) – – – –

Define what your bring to the market place Make it ownable Make it interesting Make someone want to know more

Consider the landscape • What about the marketplace sets up your own unique offering? • Competitive environment? • Changing communication landscape? • Lack of creativity?

And in response to that, you… • Do or bring what? – – – –

Insight Skills Experience Interest or enthusiasm or desire

• How do you do it or bring it?

One Last Thing… • If someone were to ask you: what else should I know? – What’s that last statement that makes you unique? • Outside interests? • Multi-lingual? • Educational creds? • Future goal?

Questions? THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING 