The Core Message

So much more than a superficial tagline.

Cover photo: @jerrysilfwer

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The core mes­sage is the corner­stone of pub­lic relations.

A core mes­sage artic­u­lates an organ­isa­tion’s essen­tial prom­ise to its stake­hold­ers and pub­lics. It’s a state­ment that cap­tures what the com­pany stands for and what it con­sist­ently seeks to deliv­er, regard­less of the medi­um or platform.

The core mes­sage should under­lie all mar­ket­ing mater­i­als, advert­ise­ments, press releases, and cus­tom­er inter­ac­tions. It is not neces­sar­ily pub­lic-facing in its raw form but is reflec­ted in all com­mu­nic­a­tions’ tone, con­tent, and approach.

Here we go:

Core Message vs Slogan

Core message in public relations.
The core mes­sage for pub­lic rela­tions professionals.
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Core Message vs Slogan

A core mes­sage is the found­a­tion­al concept for all mar­ket­ing and com­mu­nic­a­tion strategies. 

Unlike a slo­gan, which can be seen as a catchy, often super­fi­cial tagline, the core mes­sage is a deep­er, con­sist­ent nar­rat­ive that con­veys a brand’s fun­da­ment­al val­ues and promises.

Core mes­sage = the fun­da­ment­al idea or prom­ise that a brand con­sist­ently com­mu­nic­ates across all plat­forms, defin­ing its val­ues and what it stands for in every inter­ac­tion with its audience.

Slogan = a catchy phrase or series of words used in mar­ket­ing and advert­ising to quickly cap­ture atten­tion and accur­ately encap­su­late a brand’s appeal or mission.

Together, the core mes­sage and the slo­gan ensure all com­mu­nic­a­tions and mar­ket­ing activ­it­ies are aligned, rein­for­cing the brand’s iden­tity and mis­sion across all platforms.

Please note: Seen as a prom­ise, the core mes­sage must reflect the organ­isa­tion’s main advant­age over com­pet­ing organ­isa­tions. All mar­ket­ing- and com­mu­nic­a­tion activ­it­ies must rein­force this sen­ti­ment more clearly than any efforts by their competitors.

Core Message vs Slogan Examples

These examples show­case how the core mes­sage com­mu­nic­ates a deep­er, ongo­ing mis­sion or cus­tom­er prom­ise. In con­trast, the slo­gan is a catchy, imme­di­ate hook that com­ple­ments and enhances the core message.

Red Bull

  • Core Message: Energizes and enhances per­form­ance in extreme sports and adven­tur­ous activities. 
  • Slogan: “Red Bull gives you wings.”

Apple

  • Core Message: Innovating user-friendly tech­no­logy with soph­ist­ic­ated design to enhance every­day life. 
  • Slogan: “Think Different.”

McDonald’s

  • Core Message: Providing con­sist­ently good food quickly in a fam­ily-friendly environment. 
  • Slogan: “I’m lov­in’ it.”

Microsoft

  • Core Message: Creating tech­no­logy that empowers every per­son and every organ­isa­tion on the plan­et to achieve more. 
  • Slogan: “Be what’s next.”

Ikea

  • Core Message: Making styl­ish, func­tion­al, and afford­able Scandinavian fur­nish­ings avail­able in the spir­it of every­day simplicity. 
  • Slogan: “The Wonderful Everyday.”

Nike

  • Core Message: Inspiring ath­letes every­where to reach their poten­tial with innov­at­ive sports gear. 
  • Slogan: “Just Do It.”

IBM

  • Core Message: Developing tech­no­logy and con­sult­ing to lead busi­nesses towards innov­a­tion and efficiency. 
  • Slogan: “Let’s put smart to work.”

Spotify

  • Core Message: Personalise music stream­ing exper­i­ences to con­nect users with the right music for every moment. 
  • Slogan: “Music for every moment.”

Learn more: The Core Message

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Content Themes

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Content Themes

Let’s use a fic­ti­tious example of an IT com­pany. First, they decide on a core mes­sage for their con­tent strategy:

Core mes­sage: We make IT easy to understand.

Then, the IT com­pany breaks their core mes­sage down into four busi­ness-crit­ic­al con­tent themes:

Q1 Content Theme: We make people under­stand the Internet of Things (IoT).

Q2 Content Theme: We make people under­stand busi­ness auto­ma­tion.

Q3 Content Theme: We make people under­stand cloud com­put­ing.

Q4 Content Theme: We make people under­stand man­aged services.

For easy plan­ning and boost­ing SEO with con­tent sky­scrapers, you can cre­ate con­tent pack­ages for each theme.

Using con­tent themes comes with sev­er­al upsides:

  • Planning. Using con­tent themes makes it easi­er to plan your mes­saging for the year.
  • Visibility. Search engines love it when you pro­duce and pub­lish related content.
  • Growth. You’re provid­ing valu­able and ever­green con­tent on a niche topic.

Learn more: The Content Themes PR Strategy

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Thanks for read­ing. Please sup­port my blog by shar­ing art­icles with oth­er com­mu­nic­a­tions and mar­ket­ing pro­fes­sion­als. You might also con­sider my PR ser­vices or speak­ing engage­ments.

PR Resource: Free Content PR Course

Jerry Silfwer
Jerry Silfwerhttps://doctorspin.net/
Jerry Silfwer, alias Doctor Spin, is an awarded senior adviser specialising in public relations and digital strategy. Currently CEO at Spin Factory and KIX Communication Index. Before that, he worked at Kaufmann, Whispr Group, Springtime PR, and Spotlight PR. Based in Stockholm, Sweden.
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The Cover Photo

The cover photo isn't related to public relations obviously; it's just a photo of mine. Think of it as a 'decorative diversion', a subtle reminder that it's good to have hobbies outside work.

The cover photo has

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