Anna Laman shared her methods to guide clients toward brand clarity on October 11 during Momentum’s latest Lunch & Learn session. Drawing from her experience as a messaging advisor, she shared five steps to help individuals and organizations communicate who they are and what they do.

Background What experiences has your client had, and how have they influenced their work? Origin stories can be vital to differentiating from competitors.

Define values Anna asks clients to define their mission, focusing on three central values. She urges clients to think of the concrete changes they want to see in the world and how their work addresses them.

Target Audience What makes your client’s audience tick? What keeps them up at night? What are you doing to address those problems and worries?

Elevator Pitch Clients need a powerful, one-sentence elevator pitch. Anna advises to keep the pitch as simple as possible.

Simplify Finally, Anna asks clients to narrow and simplify their message as much as possible. Every word counts and  needs to be understandable to the average person. She asks: “How would you say this to someone at a barbeque?”

Anna compared messaging to a house: Once you have clear branding as your basement, you can then build upon it. With clear branding, clients can work more effectively on everything else, like speaking opportunities, public relations, and social media. Thanks again to Anna for taking the time to share her insights with our team!