How do you get Brand and/or PR teams onboard with new messaging?

One really interesting technique I have used is to start by writing a press release for any new major message update. Or for a major launch. This puts the brand/PR team in an arena they feel comfortable in, and forces you to really refine the message for this audience. Once you have a draft PR, get feedback from a few respected Sales leaders, and relevant PM leads. Use this to develop a short message deck, and do messaging testing with some analysts in your space. They'll help you refine the mes ...Read More

Similar to how you need to enable sales when you roll out new messaging, you need to enable your marketing partners as well, especially if they're part of a cross-functional launch. I encourage marketing to attend the sales trainings, but it's usually also worth doing a dedicate session with folks from all parts of marketing where it might be easier for them to ask questions.  And remember it's always important to set the context around messaging or a launch. Especially if it's a more technical ...Read More

Involve them early, and involve them often. People often construe a tension between brand and product marketing when in fact they're often part of the same team. To paraphrase Jay-Z to Nas during one of their epic rap beefs: Brand can come up with hot lines, Product Marketing will come up with a hot song, except that here everyone wins. Brand is one of the many outlets where your messaging can sing, but it has to start with a common understanding of what your product does and why it's different, ...Read More

When you're crafting new messaging, it's always good to start from a framework that includes your benefit and positioning but also answers the question of why now. Substantiating the new messaging with statistics and key proof points also reinforces the strategy behind the change since there are external facts that support it. I also find it's important to walk through the framework with your brand and/or PR teams vs. just throwing it over so you can have a meaningful discussion about the messag ...Read More