Are you considering undertaking a messaging project with Podymos but still unsure of what you’ll actually receive?
Unlike a project such as a website or video, a medical messaging project doesn’t seem to have an obvious deliverable at the end of it. Sure, you’ll get your new brand message, but how will it be presented to you? What will you be able to actually hold in your hands at the end of it?
It’s completely understandable to feel this way, so we’re here to give you an overview of the deliverables you’ll receive and the impact each will have on your overall marketing goals.
Your brand story
The first thing you’ll receive from your messaging project is a brand story. A brand story is the overall message you want to share with your audience.
What's the impact of your brand story?
Your brand story concisely explains the problem your audience is experiencing, how your technology/company solves that problem, and why your audience should trust you. This message will be crafted in simple language that is quick for your audience to digest. After all, if you confuse, you lose (Donald Miller, StoryBrand).
Tagline
We’ll work with your team to create a tagline that perfectly encapsulates your brand or device to elicit an emotional response from your audience. It will be a memorable and concise summary of what differentiates you and sets the tone for the rest of your branding.
It needs to be simple so it’s memorable, but it should also capture the essence of your brand. If it’s too complicated or not relevant, it can mislead or confuse the audience – the last thing you want to do.
What's the impact of a tagline?
Why do you need a tagline, though? Well, a great tagline can not only capture the attention of new customers, but it can also drive consistent repeat business.
It makes your brand easy to remember and recall at the point when they’re ready to buy. Your brand will be the one that comes to mind when they have a problem they need your product for.
One-liner
A one-liner is a few short sentences that relay your brand story. It’s crafted to include who or what your company or product is, the audience you serve, and the problem you solve.
This means that when your audience reads your one-liner, they will instantly know you are the company for them.
What's the impact of the one-liner?
Why do you need a one-liner? Well, a great one-liner can not only capture the attention of new customers, but it can also drive consistent repeat business.
It makes your brand easy to remember and recall at the point when they’re ready to buy. Your brand will be the one that comes to mind when they have a problem they need your product for.
Three messaging pillars
Your brand story will include three pillars that you want your messaging to focus on.
These three points will then be incorporated into all your marketing campaigns to ensure that your medical messaging stays on course.
What's the impact of the three pillars?
These three pillars should be consistent throughout. By picking three main pillars and sticking to them, you’ll be able to cement these messages in your audience’s mind over time, helping you become more memorable.
Without consistency, your messaging will lose cohesion, and your audience will likely become confused.
Lexicon
You’ll receive a lexicon, which provides clear direction on the vocabulary used to describe your company, device, or service.
It will consist of words and phrases that reflect your brand’s personality and values and can be used to support the creation of all future copy. These will be words and phrases that are already used, but the lexicon will standardize how they appear so they are the same each time.
Your lexicon will also include notes about your brand tone, as well as the use of punctuation, for instance, when hyphenation should be used.
What is the impact of an established lexicon?
A strong lexicon helps you maintain a consistent voice, which your audience can relate to and recognize. Furthermore, it helps to cement your messaging in their minds because they hear and see the same description over and over again.
Looking to update or overhaul your messaging?
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Messaging guide
Once the main elements of your medical messaging have been created, they are brought together in a master guide. This is the rulebook for how your messaging will be communicated moving forward.
This guide can be sent out to your company, as well as suppliers or other agencies you work with, ensuring everyone is informed and clear on how your messaging should appear.
What's the impact of the messaging guide?
The messaging guide ensures consistency across your company. It means that tone of voice, grammar, punctuation, and phrasing are consistent across all projects, no matter the author.
Timeline
Finally, it’s time to think about the rollout of your new messaging. We recommend a ‘slow rollout’ to avoid damaging the consistency you’ve established to date.
This just means that we confirm one document is correct before extending this across all.
We’ll help you develop a realistic timeline, plotting the introduction of your new messaging over the course of one or more months, depending on the number of materials to be updated.
What's the impact of the timeline?
The timeline ensures that none of your materials are missed, and each is updated correctly.
This is important because your audience needs to see the same message 15-25 times to take action (it used to be that your audience would have to see your message 7 times, but in today’s digital world, this has expanded to 15-25). If they see different messages, you risk them going back to the start, or at least a few steps back.
What does this mean for your marketing?
Hopefully, this has given you a better understanding of the deliverables of a messaging campaign. The deliverables outlined—your brand story, tagline, one-liner, three messaging pillars, lexicon, messaging guide, and rollout timeline—are all designed to create a consistent and powerful brand presence. When it comes to working with us we will ensure that every piece of your communication is aligned, memorable, and effective in reaching your target audience.