Keep in mind that messaging and creative development need to support your brand assets. The brand assets are your checks and balances. If your tactics don’t support some or all the brand assets, then your tactic is off strategy. Consistency and repetition are key.

The primary goal of marketing is to communicate with your audience, and you must do this in a way that reinforces the values, tones, style, and strategy that your brand represents. The ultimate outcome should be an effective message that moves them to action.

Messaging (and every interaction) must support the overall brand. For this to happen consistently, there needs to be some framework or foundation from which you build everything on top of. These are the brand assets we discussed earlier in the book. Strong messaging comes from a strong branding foundation. Strong branding requires consistency so use brand asset checks and balances when implementing individual marketing tactics. Your brand assets are powerful tools at your disposal, and they need to be honored in every piece of communication.

You may remember seeing a box when you were writing an essay for school; we’re going to use the same idea in our marketing. Every time we launch a new campaign or message, we’ll check it against these brand asset questions:

• Does this message support the tone and strategy that I’ve built around my brand?
• Does this message fit into the overall feel for my brand?
• Does this align with what I’m communicating on all other channels?

If your answer is yes, then you can proceed confidently knowing that your messaging is not only on strategy but also reinforcing the branding foundation that’s already there.

If the answer is no, then you need to go back to the drawing board and ask yourself why. It will help you rebuild your branding foundation so that it’s stronger next time. Remember, you’re building this over time. Don’t give up!

By taking a holistic approach, messaging and creative will reinforce your brand values for marketing to be effective.