Building Your Brand House

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by Martin “Red” Fredricks

You know who you are, what you do and what you do better. Now you need to tell everyone else. Repeatedly and consistently.

Consistency is one of the keys to branding. In terms of copywriting and content development, that means making sure you’re saying the same things in the same and complementary ways through all message delivery channels and to all target markets. It does not mean the words or tone are exactly the same in everything; it just means you stay true to the message and to the key messages.

So how do you do it? Especially if your business or organization is more than just you, when prospects and customers are having brand-relevant interactions with lots of different people and materials and experiences? You build, and almost maniacally apply, a messaging framework. The messaging framework should guide the development of all your content, from copy for ads and brochures to content for blog posts and websites. Before your copywriter ever strikes a key, s/he should have this document in hand.

So what is a messaging framework?

Think of it as the house that encompasses your brand’s voice. You have to build the house before it’s possible to invite anyone in.

  • The positioning statement is the foundation. This should not be confused with what is commonly called a “tagline.” The brand statement describes – often in very clear, plain, non-sales languages – who we are, what we do and what makes us different or better. This internal statement helps us all get on the same page before we take our communications to external audiences.
  • The key message is the roof, the high-level overview of our business. If we can only convey one thing, this is it.
  • Message pillars are load-bearing walls. They support the key message and begin to fill in the picture of our business and its benefits for our target markets.
  • Message support points are the floor, the walls and the ceiling. They are fact-based messages that “prove out,” or support, what your message pillars convey. It’s one thing to say your product will save Joe Bloe money; it’s quite another say it’s going to save Joe cash by doing or enabling X (where “X” is something specific and, whenever possible, quantifiable). The support points fill in the gaps in our messaging by validating the pillars.
  • Tone is the confluence of everything that gives the brand personality – the paint colors, surface textures, floor coverings, curtains, furniture and so on.

Once your brand messaging house is built, you can make decisions regarding how much of the building members of particular target markets want or need to see, how much time they are likely to spend in each room, and which pillars and support points are likely to motivate them.

Strong copywriting and content development on every message delivery channel will get them there.

Want to have a house warming party? Contact me.

So this guy walks into a bar…

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by Martin “Red” Fredricks, Dec. 1, 2015

So this guy walks into a bar….

So begins the story I wrote about Trevor Cronk, an alumnus of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., and co-owner of Lift Bridge Brewing in Stillwater, Minn. (Man, have I been waiting a looooong time to write that line and get away with it!)

The story fun to write and more fun to see in the Fall 2015 issue of Concordia Magazine, which hit our mailbox this week (my wife is a Concordia Cobber, too).

Funny… all these years, and it’s still a bit of a thrill to see my byline.  Check it out on page 12. And lest I forget – Cheers!

Larry’s story, otherwise lost in Fargo Navy Week 2011 events & media relations

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Logo for the U.S. Navy. Fredricks Communications coordinated public relations for Fargo Navy Week in 2011, an event managed by the U.S. Navy Office of Community Outreach.

Navy enjoyed Larry-like welcome in Fargo-Moorhead

Published in The Forum, Fargo, N.D., Sept. 4, 2011

There’s one Fargo Navy Week story that deserves to be told again. It’s Larry’s story, but more than that, it’s about everyone in Fargo-Moorhead who helps make this a friendly, inviting place.

The people of Fargo-Moorhead made a huge impression on the Navy sailors who were in town August 8-14, but no one made more of a lasting impression than Larry Bosma and the table full of veterans at the Fryn’ Pan in Fargo.

Early on August 10, Rear Admiral Mark Guadagnini gave interviews on two downtown radio stations. Afterward, he and the three sailors accompanying him were hungry. Since there was time before their editorial board meeting, they decided to walk from Broadway over to the Fryn’ Pan for breakfast.

The Navy did a great deal of legwork leading up to Fargo Navy Week, but all the public relations in the world can’t compare to the positive impact of sailors walking down the street in their dress whites. People called out to the Navy men, stopped to shake their hands and thank them for their service and gave the thumbs up while driving by.

At the restaurant, Guadagnini, Lt. Commander Frank Ryan, Lt. Chika Onyekanne and Mass Communication Specialist Pat Migliaccio were seated in a booth next to a table full of older fellows who obviously gather there regularly for breakfast and coffee. Many of them greeted the sailors, and Guadagnini went around the table to shake hands and give each man a few moments of his undivided attention. Most of the men had served at one time or another; while none had served in the Navy, several other branches were represented.

After the Navy men placed their orders, some of the veterans from the other table drifted over in ones and twos to have a few more words with the rear admiral. One of them was introduced as a 94-year-old veteran of WWII who is still able to get around for coffee with the boys. A couple pulled pictures out of their wallets, images from their time in the service. Guadagnini, in turn, posed with them for new photos.

The men from the adjacent table departed before the sailors finished their breakfasts. When Guadagnini asked for the checks, the waitress informed him that one of veterans had already paid the tab.

The sailors were astonished, and as they walked toward The Forum’s offices they talked about the generosity of people in Fargo-Moorhead. Guadagnini told the story during radio interviews later in the week as an example of the welcome the Navy was receiving here.

Turns out the man who paid the bill was Larry Bosma, owner of Bison Properties in Fargo. When Larry was contacted on behalf of the Navy, he downplayed his act of generosity. “It was nothing,” he said. “I figured those guys are out there paying every day, so it was my turn to pay for a little something.” But it wasn’t nothing to the men who were in town representing an entire branch of our military.

It was an honor for me to help bring America’s Navy home for Fargo Navy Week by setting up events and handling media relations. But Larry and others like him reminded me what a privilege it is to live in such a hospitable, welcoming and supportive community.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Fargo Navy Week by hosting an event, attending an event or covering an event. We should all be proud of the colors we showed to our men and women in blue and white.

Written following Fargo Navy Week in 2011, for which I helped the Navy Office of Community Outreach with event planning and media relations. See the U.S. Navy page on this website for more information about the event planning and media relations Fredricks Communications provided.

An Awarding Run Comes to An End

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Communicator of Excellence Award Icon

 

For years, I’ve been entering work I’ve done for clients into various advertising, marketing, public relations and communication awards competitions. I used to report the wins the Red letter, but the entering and reporting ends here.

Here’s why –

Opinions in the industry regarding the value of these competitions, and the awards they bestow, run the gamut. “They help agencies recognize their talented people and show their clients that they’re doing good work,” goes one argument. But then, “They’re self-serving,” said one colleague. “They’re nothing more than a popularity contest, a beauty pageant,” said another.

I’ve always done it for three reasons:

  1. Winning made me feel good.
  2. I could show clients they really were getting good work.
  3. I was able to get the name of my business into the newspaper.

But I’ve been re-evaluating over the past couple of years. Staring me right in the face were these reasons for entering compared to the Fredricks Communications mission: “To drive clients’ success through creative, compelling and results-oriented concepting, writing, editing and communication consulting services.” Clearly, my motivations were out of line with that mission.

Then about a month ago, I read the following in “Your Marketing Sucks” by Mark Stevens, president of the agency MSCO and a leading expert on ROI-based marketing.

Every company, and every firm they employ, should be forbidden to enter any marketing or advertising contest. No more submissions for Clios. No more “most creative ad by a Midwest agency” competitions…. No more nothing that has to do with ego as opposed to sales.

Fact is, my clients really don’t care if some judges with advertising backgrounds say an ad, brochure or website is good. They care about whether the piece helps generate leads, bolster brand recognition and close sales.

Over the years my work has won awards here and there, and I’ve been part of teams that have won even more. It’s been fun, I appreciate the groups that have presented them to me, but now it’s done.

Now, instead, it’s back to the mission.

Graphic icon for Fredricks Communications