Now that we’ve revealed our secret recipe for deliciously inspirational mission statements and taglines, let’s talk brand messaging examples and how to keep your brand’s messaging clear, coherent and flavorful in your copywriting.
What is brand messaging?
Try to think of brand messaging like a good recipe. With fresh and complementary ingredients, plus a little bit of focused vision and care, you’ll end up with a satisfying meal. Except in this case, the fresh ingredients are your brand’s tone and vocabulary, and the satisfying meal is a well-rounded brand voice and copywriting that’s uniquely yours.
We’ve found the most important ingredients for your brand messaging:
- Mission statement (and variations, like your tagline and verbal elevator pitch)
- Brand voice tone and personality
- On-brand vocabulary and phrase bank
- Key differentiators (what sets you apart from the competition)
- Your brand’s target audience
One quick aside — with our clients, we create a separate brand statement and mission statement. The brand statement acts as the core message, typically placed at the top of home pages, whereas the mission statement is the underlying heart, soul and why behind every decision — something more useful for an about page, for example. For the purposes of this blog, we’ll just stick to calling either version a mission statement.
How to establish your brand’s messaging
Coherent and consistent brand messaging begins with a clear vision of your business’s purpose. A mission statement is the best place to start. What’s your business’s name? What services do you provide? How will your services benefit your target audience? Luckily, we’ve written all about mission statements and taglines with SEO-filled examples on our blog.
Your mission statement will lay the all-important foundation for your brand’s overall message. For Glenna Joy Flowers, a florist in Santa Barbara, our goal was a creatively sophisticated feel with modern touches, honing in on that laid back California luxury vibe.
Our favorite line from Glenna’s mission statement:
“I’m known for creating magic with homegrown flowers straight from my garden, combining an elegant, editorial look with a down-to-earth, artisanal approach.”
More flavorful brand messaging examples: taglines and mission statements
Millennium Moments tagline (a photography and videography couple)
“Hype duo + long-lost best friends for kickass couples”
Chloe Creative Studio (a brand and web designer for clinicians)
“Custom-created looks that speak for themselves”
Humankind Sites mission statement (brand and web design company for nonprofits)
“Established with an intent to create mindful impact around the globe, Humankind Sites believes in bringing opportunities to the organizations and causes that should never be overlooked. Partnering with humanitarian brands and social-minded enterprises, we abide by the notion that these are the very organizations that should have unrestricted access to the influence and innovation the rest of the world benefits from. Starting with a mission-driven, strategic narrative, our design studio is committed to not only representing your cause, but furthering your journey with sustainable solutions.”
Morris Homes mission statement (realtor)
“I’ll help you feel inspired and informed, with a focus and hot market information that makes it easy to trust the process. I’m invested in your goals and will seek to understand your lifestyle, budget, and real estate dreams so I can thoroughly accommodate you.”
Establishing your brand’s tone and personality
Here, you’ll pinpoint the way you want your voice to come across. If your brand was a person, how would you describe them? Would they be bold and witty, or more formal and straightforward? Maybe they’d be bubbly and outgoing. Once you’ve determined your brand’s tone and personality, you can use this as a frame of reference for your brand content to keep a uniform voice.
Your brand vocabulary and phrase bank
Having a word bank of on-brand words and phrases that perfectly describe your business will help your brand messaging stay on track. We like to make a list of words that fit the style, process and results of a brand’s work and sprinkle them throughout the website content. For this Cincinnati wedding photographer, Cassidy Alane, words like “ethereal,” “lighthearted,” and “enchanting” perfectly fit the bubbly and sociable tone we established for her brand.
(Between you and me, Wordhippo.com is a huge help for adjective inspo)
Your business’s key differentiators from the competition
Now’s your chance to highlight what makes you stand out from the crowd. Outlining your brand’s unique offerings and values (the very things that will make clients choose you over other competitors) on places like your services or landing page will set you apart. For Agatha Kerkhoff’s branding and web design studio, Ederra Design, we came up with eight key differentiators, but here’s three for now:
1. Minimal design
“A minimalist at heart, this shines through profoundly in every design project Agatha touches. Minimal design makes the world a better place, and she purposefully aligns with brands that feel the same.”
2. Built to last
“Agatha creates brands akin to classic fine art, timeless and constantly creating impressions — both new and longingly familiar.”
3. One concept technique
“Receive one, strategy-backed concept — a complete, finished look that avoids confusion and design delays.”
You can learn more about how we incorporated mindfully minimalistic brand messaging examples into Agatha’s website content on our blog.
Who is your target audience?
Regardless of the content you are creating, you have to know who you are talking to. Our advice? Identify one or two types of people, client avatars, that embody your dream clients that you could work with day in and day out. Then, jot down a few descriptors about them and what they are like. What do they do for a living? What are their hobbies? Do they have any pets? You’ll want to keep these avatars in mind to make for coherent and compelling brand messaging.
For Marcella Astore and her brand Lovable Letters, a digital lettering shop and creative online community, her main audience is mostly made up of creative women in their mid to late twenties, some new to the crafting community while others were more experienced.
We called one of her client avatars Anna:
“Somewhat new to the crafting world, Anna has an idea of what lettering is, but wants to learn more. She has tried other creative hobbies before and is ready to set up her skills… She’s hoping to create décor and a unique gift her close friend will adore.”
We labeled this target audience as “Learners,” and wrote website copy to convert people just like Anna.
Enjoying these appetizing brand messaging examples?
We can whip something up that’s tailored to your tastes and made to convert with our custom brand messaging guides. If you’d prefer to DIY, our digital brand messaging guide template is overflowing with copy prompts to give your brand voice a bit of flavor. For more tasty copywriting tips, follow along on Instagram.
