The Importance of Key Message for Your Brand Marketing Campaign

Have you ever watched a lengthy product promotion and then muttered, ‘What the heck is this selling?’

Well, confusing promotional material is definitely missing one important factor in it. What is it? Key message.

Here, you can see what a key message is, its importance to marketing, and how to create one. Let’s take a look!

What is Key Message?

A key message is the core message about a brand, product, or service that a business conveys to its potential customers. This key message contains the important value of a brand that is expected to be remembered by potential customers.

Why is key message important? Because business competition is now so high. Thousands of new businesses emerge every month. Your potential customers always have alternatives when they want to buy a product. That’s why, having a clear and memorable promotional message is important.

Characteristics of a Good Key Message

A good key message has several characteristics, such as:

• Short: focus on a specific value or part of the brand.
• Memorable: stands out from other brands so that it is not easily forgotten.
• Simple: simple and easy to understand.
• Specific: raises a special point that distinguishes it from competitors.
• Repeatable: easy to say so it can be shared and talked about easily.
• Engaging: triggers an emotional and thought reaction from the listener.

In addition to the characteristics above, there is a specific framework for creating key messages, which is The Rewired Group’s 4 Forces of Change. This framework helps you shape a key message that will capture the attention of potential customers.

In addition, this framework helps you convince consumers why your product is the best. At the same time, it answers any doubts that consumers have about your product.

• Push from the Current Solution: emphasise why thecurrent solution is inconvenient and unsatisfactory for consumers.
• Magnetism of a New Solution: explain the benefits of your product in terms of features, value, and the like.
• Anxiety of the New Solution: explain how your product works and reduce theanxiety that customers feel.
• Habits of the New Solution/Habits of the Present Solution: explain how your product will make customers’ habits easier.

Key Message Examples and How to Create Them

So that you can have the right key message, here let’s review some examples of key messages and how to create interesting key messages.

1. HiLo

You must be familiar with this milk brand. With the tagline, ‘Tumbuh Tuh ke Atas’ HiLo has a key message that encourages consumers to rethink about dairy products in the market.

Although many agree that milk consumption is important and healthy, not many pay attention to the composition of milk powder in circulation. Many make sugar or added sweeteners as the main ingredient.

This is why milk consumption leads to weight gain, diabetes, and even obesity among young people.

From there, HiLo’s key message emphasises the difference between its products and dairy products produced by other manufacturers. It is also clear that the brand’s key message is simple, memorable, and easy to repeat.

2. Rinso

‘Dare to Dirty is Good’ is the key message of a detergent product that has been operating in Indonesia for decades. This key message is deliberately aimed at the target market of mothers who have children of playing age.

Usually these children will play and dirty their clothes. Something that is sometimes annoying for mothers because children’s clothes will be difficult to clean.

From the perspective of the 4 Forces of Change framework , Rinso’s key message relies on the appeal of a new solution. In this case, Rinso did so by highlighting the various advantages of its products. Starting from the fact that it is 3x effective in removing stains and killing 99.99% of bacteria & viruses.

3. Traveloka

Traveloka is arguably the pioneer of online ticket booking platforms in Indonesia. To maintain its existence, of course, it needs to make the Traveloka brand something that customers remember.

That’s why associating Traveloka with various activities is a genius key message. Starting from during the pandemic with, ‘#KagaKesehatan first, Traveloka later. During Lebaran, ‘Traveloka first, Lebaran later’. And, various modifications depending on the situation and trend.

Ready to Create Key Messages for Your Brand Promotion?

Now, you know all about key messages. Hopefully, this article will help you design the best key message for your brand promotion.

In addition to creating a beautiful key message, don’t forget to think about the right channel to announce the key message that has been created. Because that way, key messages can be spread more efficiently and right on target whether published in the media, blogs or in other channels besides SEO such as social media to paid performance.