Deloitte Digital

Creating a strategic messaging framework for an innovative new suite of products and services

Summary

I’m particularly proud of this project because, since finishing it, the client has come back to us multiple times asking us to do the same work, but for a different product/offering. By interviewing their subject matter experts, asking precise questions, and crafting careful copy, I created a messaging framework that became the client’s new standard for similar content.

One of my bosses, who I also consider a mentor, hates messaging frameworks. He says they often overcomplicate things and create a lot of “work about work.” I see where he’s coming from, but I also understand why so many clients want messaging frameworks so badly. They have something new that they’re excited to talk about, and they want to create something clear and concise that summarizes how people should talk about that new thing. To me, the difference between a good, useful messaging framework and a bad, unhelpful one is to keep things concrete. When everything is hypothetical and theoretical and overly technical, messaging frameworks can quickly get lost in their own sauce. But when you can include simple, concrete examples of how and why your new offering genuinely helps your audience, a messaging framework can become the foundation of compelling content and campaigns.

This framework was for Deloitte Digital, who worked with Salesforce to develop a suite of technology and services designed to help automotive companies create unified digital ecosystems that enabled stronger relationships with both customers and partners. We turned the framework into a deck and I’ve included pictures of each slide below.