Key Message Development
The theme “telling your story” is revisited quite regularly in Member Services, from resources like Get Engaged
articles to workshop discussions that generate challenges and solutions among peers. How effective your
organization is at telling its own story is an important question to raise. This is especially relevant when
promoting the need for ongoing membership support, or during concentrated efforts like membership
recruitment drives.
Community-based organizations need to mindfully craft their messages. The information you present should be
relevant and stimulating, drawing interest from appropriate audiences at the right time for the right reasons, or
generating new interest and enticing people from the public realm to get engaged. It’s one thing to utilize many
communication tools available to you to reach a broader audience, but the content must be compelling and
strategically worded to represent exactly what it is you are trying to say, and to help you achieve your desired
outcome.
The following excerpt is from an article on helping organizations develop key messages:
“Key Message Development: Building A Foundation For Effective Communications”
By Debbie Wetherhead, President, Wetherhead Communications, December 2nd, 2011
View full article at: http://comprehension.prsa.org/?p=4426
With repeated use, [key message] statements serve as the foundation of your branding/marketing efforts and
should be reflected in all written and spoken communications.
Consider what business guru Tom Peters says: “In a competitive environment, only those who have a strong,
unified message, who create and sell quality and value, will survive.”
So what are key messages?
 The takeaway, master narrative, elevator pitch; essence of what you want to communicate.
 What’s needed to engage people.
 Bite-sized summations that articulate: what you do, what you stand for, how you are different and
what value you bring to stakeholders.
Communications cannot always be controlled; key messages can. They help you:
 Prioritize and crystallize information.
 Ensure consistency, continuity and accuracy.
 Measure and track success.
 Stay focused when speaking with media or stakeholders.
Organizations using key messages are quoted more…misquoted less
I suggest before you gather the troops to brainstorm:
 Start by revisiting [organization] goals and objectives to ensure key messages align with overall
business strategy.
 Identify brand vocabulary, considering words and phrases you want associated with your brand and
their SEO [Search Engine Optimization] implications.
What are the attributes of key messages?
 Concise: Optimally three key messages; each statement only one to three sentences in length or under
30 seconds when spoken.
 Strategic: Define, differentiate and address benefits/value proposition.
 Relevant: Balance what you need to communicate with what your audience needs to know.
 Compelling: Meaningful information designed to stimulate action.
 Simple: Easy-to-understand language; avoid jargon and acronyms.
 Memorable: Easy to recall and repeat…
 Real: Active rather than passive voice…
 Tailored: Effectively communicates with different target audiences, adapting language and depth of
information.
On a flip chart, collect explanations, words and phrases to fashion into sentences and, ultimately, package into
key messages.
I recommend a [multi-step] process:
1. Identify your messaging needs, considering if they are evergreen or need to support a specific offering,
issue, situation or combination of topics.
2. Verify your target audiences.
3. Determine if one-size communication fits all.
o Prepare key messages that are more strategic than “three most important things” and:
o Describe an organization, product, service, program or point of view.
o Differentiate it and showcase strategic leadership.
o Focus on benefits, highlighting your value proposition and stating the WIFM (What’s In It For
Me) for target audience members.
o Prove your points with supporting information to substantiate, distinguish and add credibility.
Facts, figures and statistics, quoting authorities, stories and visuals can be effective.
4. Put key messages through a litmus test, asking:
o Do they complement your [organizational] plans and brand strategy?
o Can you “own” them or can they be applied to [others]?
o When read out loud, do they sound conversational?
o Can you simplify the language or make statements more concise?
o Do they motivate stakeholders to act?
While key messages tied to your mission, values and brand may be long-lasting, you’ll want to routinely revisit
statements to ensure they still meet your and audience needs, as well as reflect current marketplace dynamics.
A public relations pro’s work is never done!
Wetherhead, Debbie. “Key Message Development: Building A Foundation For Effective Communications.”
Wetherhead Communications. December 2nd, 2011.