Learn why developing a great message requires: • A clearly defined strategy • Real research • Development that includes experimentation • Validation in the marketplace • Enablement of the message among stakeholders • Analytics to evaluate its impact You need to manage your message with even more rigor and discipline than you bring to managing your brand.

2. THE MBP MODEL
(M)
MESSAGE
(B)
BRAND
(P)
PROMOTION

3. MESSAGE MANIFESTO
MESSAGE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL MARKETING ELEMENTS.
// Great messages change the destinies of companies and people. Without message, brand
and promotion are crude instruments. Message is the essence of marketing; it personifies
your business strategy, defines your market position and declares your differentiation. The best
messages are bold, compelling and polarizing. Most messages are ships that pass in the night.
THE BIG PICTURE / THE STARR CONSPIRACY (M) FORMULA / THE STARR CONSPIRACY (M) OUTPUTS /
THE STARR CONSPIRACY (M) METHOD

4. WHY MESSAGES FAIL
They ... You ...
are not driven by business strategy never believed it to begin with
are created in a vacuum
seek to appeal to 100% of the market
are so neutral as to be invisible
use words people don’t understand
fail to connect on an emotional level

5. LAW OF MARKET SHARE
1ST
2ND
3RD

6. THE (M) FORMULA
STRATEGY
ANALYTICS RESEARCH
MESSAGE
ENABLEMENT DEVELOPMENT
VALIDATION

7. STRATEGY
Message must flow from strategy.
// If your strategy is not clearly defined, your message will confound employees, customers
and prospects. If you ask us to create a message and you don’t have a strategy, we will start
by forcing you to commit to a strategy.
TARGET MARKET­__ SOLUTION CATEGORY __ REQUIRED CAPABILITIES AND MARKET REQUIREMENTS __ PRICING STRATEGY
VALUE PROPOSITION __ COMPETITION __ DIFFERENTIATION __ DISTRIBUTION

8. RESEARCH
Confidence, deeply held beliefs, executive retreats and
anecdotal validation are no substitutes for real research.
// Don’t bet your company on a gut feeling. There is always time for research.
INFORMAL PRIMARY __ FORMAL PRIMARY __ INFORMAL SECONDARY __ FORMAL SECONDARY __ QUANTITATIVE __
QUALITATIVE __ VALIDATION

9. The majority of respondents believe that rewards and
recognition, and health and wellness programs are
effective in improving employee engagement.
HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THE FOLLOWING TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES AT IMPROVING
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT?
Not Effective Extremely Effective
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2.1% 3.5% 6.3% 15.6% 30.2% 28.8% 13.5%
REWARDS & RECOGNITION INITIATIVES (6) (10) (18) (45) (87) (83) (39)
HEALTH & WELLNESS INITIATIVES 1.4% 5.2% 11.5% 25.3% 27.8% 20.5% 8.3%
(4) (15) (33) (73) (80) (59) (24)
OVER 75% FOR BOTH

10. ROI is more important in choosing engagement programs
than doing it because “it’s the right thing to do.”
(It’s still a head argument before a heart argument.)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
55.9%
161
20 39.9% 4.2%
10 115 12
Employee engagement I’m not sure if employee I don’t believe that
solutions can improve engagement solutions employee engagement
productivity, revenue can produce any benefits solutions can produce any
and profit, and can show to the business or show benefits to the business.
measureable ROI. ROI, but I believe that The whole thing is a
creating a culture of waste of time and budget.
engagement is the right
thing to do.

11. dEVELOPMENT
Great messages are like jazz. First we must isolate the essential
notes. Then we must experiment with the notes to create an
utterly unique composition that defines us.
BRAND PROMISE __ UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION __ TARGET MARKET __ SOLUTION CATEGORY __ VALUE __
COMPETITION __ DIFFERENTIATION __ FEATURES AND BENEFITS __ KEY MESSAGES

12. VALIDATION
Never assume you got it right because it sounds good to you.
Before you spend millions of dollars weaving your message
through multiple brand expressions and campaigns, take
the time to test your message with real people you would like
to sell to.
SOCIAL MEDIA VALIDATION __ FORMAL OR INFORMAL FOCUS GROUPS __ ONLINE SURVEYS __ PHONE INTERVIEWS __
ANALYST AND INFLUENCER BRIEFINGS

13. ENABLEMENT
Most message initiatives fail because employees and other
stakeholders are not sold on the strategy and not given the
tools they need to adopt and amplify the message.
MESSAGE LAUNCH STRATEGY __ MESSAGE DELIVERY TRAINING __ FORMAL MESSAGE STANDARDS __
MARKETING TOOLS __ SALES TOOLS __ TRAINING MATERIALS __ INTERNAL PROMOTION CAMPAIGNS

14. ANALYTICS
Is your message working? There are multiple methods for
testing message comprehension, recall and performance — ­ ­
ranging from split-cell campaign testing to primary quantitative
and qualitative research. If you’re not analyzing message
performance, you have lost touch with your business strategy
and market requirements.
CAMPAIGN SPLIT-CELL TESTING __ MESSAGE RECOGNITION __ MESSAGE RECALL __ FUNCTIONAL ASSOCIATIONS __
MESSAGE ATTRIBUTES __ BRAND ATTRIBUTES __ MESSAGE COMPREHENSION

15. THE (M) OUTPUTS
Message management requires even more rigor and discipline
than brand management. A visual brand can change frequently
without losing the confidence of the buyer. But a message can
only change in extreme situations. Stray from your message and
you stray from your buyer.
BRAND ARCHETYPE __ BRAND PROMISE __ UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION __ FEATURES AND BENEFITS __
KEY MESSAGES __ (M) ENABLEMENT

16. BRAND ARCHETYPES
The notion behind brand archetypes is that brands are a
basic human social concept and that the same patterns and
ideas tend to repeat themselves over time, such that what we
now consider “brands” are roughly equivalent to archetypal
characters in literature, religion, folklore, mythology, etc.
// They’re a way for us to understand ourselves and affiliate with others, and by associating
them with those common themes and characters, we can better understand how buyers
connect with brands.
INNOCENT __ HERO __ LOVER __ CAREGIVER __ EXPLORER __ THE EVERYMAN __ REBEL __ CREATOR __ RULER __
MAGICIAN __ SAGE __ JESTER

17. the starr conspiracy ASTADIA Logo Development
15
INNOCENT

18. MESSAGE FRAMEWORK
Brand
Promise
Unique
Value
Proposition
Features & Key
Benefits Messages

19. BRANd PROMISE
The brand promise is a phrase that communicates the one thing
that your brand intends to own in the target market’s mind
and can be delivered 100% of the time. It must align with your
archetype and should possess three qualities:
Be extremely important to the target audience
Be able to be delivered by your organization
Not be addressed by your competitors

20. uvp
The unique value proposition is 50% science and 50% art.
It must communicate certain immutable variables. But it
must be delivered in a style and tone that brings your brand
archetype to life.
TARGET MARKET
SOLUTION CATEGORY
VALUE PROPOSITION
COMPETITION
DIFFERENTIATION

21. FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Your product or service has 1 million features and associated
benefits. Your audience can only remember two or three.
Pick the right ones and hammer on them.

22. KEY MESSAGES
Now it’s time to apply your message framework to countless
formats and applications.
WEB COPY __ BOILERPLATE __ CAMPAIGNS __ COLLATERAL __ BUSINESS PAPERS __ PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGIES __
SOCIAL MEDIA __ ADVERTISING EVENTS __ EMPLOYER BRANDING

23. THE (M) METHOD
CONFIRM STRATEGY ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FORMAL DISCOVERY DEFINE BRAND ARCHETYPE
FORMAL SECONDARY RESEARCH DEFINE MESSAGE VARIABLES
MARKET RESEARCH STATEMENT DRAFT MESSAGE FRAMEWORK
FORMAL PRIMARY QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH VALIDATE MESSAGE FRAMEWORK
(ONLINE SURVEY) TRAIN
FORMAL PRIMARY QUALITATIVE FOLLOW-UP LISTEN (MEASURE, MONITOR AND MANAGE)
(PHONE INTERVIEWS)

24. THANK YOU
WE CARE ABOUT THIS STUFF.
FOR YOUR TIME.