Craft Your Brand’s 30-Second Message.

Imagine if you could speak to each of your customers but you only get 30 seconds.

What would you say? What’s the most important thing to convey? What would grab their interest and make them remember you and your brand?

Remember the classic Elevator Pitch? Imagine you’re on an elevator, and a fellow rider asks, “What do you do?” Go!

There’s so much you want to say—what you make or do, the benefits of your product, how technology and the market are changing, and why you offer the best solution. The list goes on and on.

But you can’t—you only have 30 seconds until you reach your floor.

Therein lies the rub. Chances are your marketing efforts are doing just that—droning on endlessly in a jumbled mess without context or structure. Whether it’s a business lunch, a new ad pitch, or a social media post, we only have a brief window to win over a new customer. The challenge for marketers is clear: how do we say the most important thing in the least amount of time to leave a lasting impression?

Social media and content marketing are partially to blame. You’ve likely hired young, energetic graduates from college marketing programs to churn out streams of social posts for your company channels. It’s a huge chore—so much so that many companies neglect other key marketing messages like blogs, press releases, video scripts, advertising campaigns, and the ultimate message: the brand tagline.

Not every message holds the same weight. Some are high-level, persuasive statements, while others are simply instructional or informative. Each has its place. Unfortunately, many organizations lack a written brand strategy, marketing plan, or communications framework. That young college graduate never stood a chance—they’re left guessing what’s important to say in weekly Facebook posts. And what about your ad agency? Without a clear, concise positioning statement and tagline, they’re left guessing too. No wonder your marketing efforts feel scattered.

Instead, imagine a pyramid with your most critical brand message—the tagline, resting atop everything else. Apple–Think Different, Coke–It’s the Real Thing, BMW–The Ultimate Driving Machine. Messages descend down the steps of your pyramid according to their overall importance. Your tagline, elevator pitch, and other premier brand messages should spring from your brand strategy and the positioning of your brand. You have a written brand strategy, right?

So, I’ll ask you again. If you only had 30 seconds with each customer to tell them about your brand, what would you say?

Consider these three goals for your 30-second message:

1. Make it persuasive but avoid jargon or buzzwords.
2. Choose language that reflects the way people really speak.
3. Make it memorable.

Better still, don’t go it alone. Hallaron has a bespoke diagnostic process for analyzing your existing brand or a startup. We call it Ignite™. Insights gathered lead to a new brand strategy before the final creative fireworks begin. Lastly, we will help you rollout the revised brand for your internal team and customers. Take a look at https://hallaron.com/ignite/ to learn more and set up a no-obligation consultation.

Then the next time you’re on the spot, you won’t have to grasp for the perfect words when someone asks “What do you do?”.