MESSAGING LADDERS VS BRAND PYRAMIDS

Okay, you guys, today I am talking about one of the coolest little unlocks that I have discovered in, more years than I care to admit working in marketing.

One of the things we do quite a bit is brand development and one of the go-to tools for anyone doing that is a brand pyramid.

I used to think that a brand pyramid was used just for brands.

And then I sent it to a client and her response was, I had done some work, and she was like, this is just a messaging ladder.

And she was really dismissive about it. And so for the first 10 seconds, I was like, annoyed.

And then I realized, holy crap, she's completely right.

It is a messaging ladder, and that means you can use it for all kinds of things. And this ended up being an enormous unlock for me.

So let me just roll it back a little bit and tell you about the components of a brand pyramid.

I'm going to try not to be totally boring.

It starts with what the thing is at the very bottom, the basic what is it?

And then the next level up are like what the features of that thing is.

And then on top of that, what are its benefits? You've heard of features and benefits before. They're on every sell sheet for every product you've ever bought.

So what is it? What are its features? What are its benefits?

And then you get into like, what is the reward? Which is kind of special.

What is the emotional reward of using that thing, buying that thing, participating in that thing.

That's kind of special.

And then at the very top, you get into like, what does that thing represent?

What is it a metaphor for?

At those top two levels, that's super powerful because it's tapping into not just what it is, what it costs, what it does, but it's like, what does it mean to me as a customer?

And if you can use a messaging ladder to develop a brand, you can also use a messaging ladder to write ad copy.

You can use a messaging ladder to build social media content.

The key message here is that whatever you're doing - if you are living, if your messaging, your storytelling, the reason behind your graphics development - if you are living at the top of that pyramid, you are living in a powerful place and your message will get across more deeply and more effectively and have a more lasting impact.

If you can develop your marketing materials and your content in that place, rather than in the bottom place.

Live in the reward. That's my thing for today.