What Belongs in a Brand Messaging Guide (and Why It Matters)
As fresh produce brands grow, their storytelling can start to drift. The sales team might share one version in a buyer meeting, while the website says something different. Last month’s social post might have its own twist. These versions are not necessarily wrong, but they are not telling the same story.
This inconsistency is not usually because people are careless. It happens as the company grows. When more people get involved in sales and marketing, the story can drift simply because there is no shared foundation to keep it steady.
A brand messaging guide provides that foundation. It gives everyone a clear, shared understanding of who the company is, what it stands for, and how to tell its story. The guides we help brands create usually include:
- A brand foundation, covering what the company believes, why it exists, and what it is working toward
- A positioning statement that defines the company clearly in a single paragraph
- Defined audiences, so the core message flexes without losing consistency
- Differentiators, expressed as company-level strengths rather than product features
- Brand personality, voice, and tone
- A small set of core messaging pillars
- Proof points that back up the positioning
- A language guide of words to use and words to avoid, with the reasoning behind each
All these parts work together to do more than a tagline or mission statement can. They give everyone on the team, sales, marketing, customer service, even leadership, a shared answer to the question: what makes this brand different?
The benefit is worth the effort.
Creating a brand messaging guide is not something one person can do in an afternoon. The most credible brand stories come from what is actually true about how the product is grown, packed, and brought to market, and that information rarely lives in one place within a company. It means talking to sales, operations, and the growers. The goal is to find the story that already exists in the company and make it something everyone can share.
This effort pays off. When a brand has a clear, shared story, everything moves faster. New hires get up to speed quickly, there is less back and forth on campaigns, and everyone feels more confident in meetings.
Messaging guides also provide the guardrails needed as AI is used more to assist with sales decks, follow-up emails, and campaign copy. AI-assisted content creation is only as accurate and on-brand as the foundation behind it, so a guide is now a reference for both people and the tools they use.
DMA Solutions helps fresh produce brands build messaging guides. Our team understands the industry’s nuances and can guide the process. Reach out if you want help creating a guide for your company.
