Messaging captures an organization’s core differentiation, with prioritized benefits and proof points for each audience and offering. Messaging is a creative springboard so that an organization’s storytelling is always clear, relevant, different, and better than the competition.
If positioning defines an organization’s story for the general public, then messaging makes that story more specific for prioritized discrete audiences. Usually, positioning and messaging architectures are developed in tandem, sometimes with brand voice and editorial guidelines, too.
Messaging architectures evolve over time, so the best ones are stored in a central location that can be updated easily, allowing new changes and additions to cascade through the internal organization—and the external marketing mix—as easily as a code update.
Our recent messaging clients include: Bankrate Insurance, Community Vision, Community Youth Center San Francisco, Coral Reef Alliance, Enhancio, FullContact, Honeycomb.io, Izzi Early Education, Leapfrog Toys, Linux Foundation EnergyNextag, OfferUp, Omidyar Network, Pace Capital, Small Magic, Spring Valley School, Synopsys Software Integrity, Terrain Data, Zazzle
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“Partnering with Mark has been transformative for our organization’s strategy and communications work. Not only has The Next Us done phenomenal work for us, but Mark has taught myself and our staff so much in the process. Our partnership has made a tremendous impact on both our internal operations and our impact in our community. And the cherry on top: Mark is just truly fun to work with.”
“Working with Mark has been an exceptional experience. He took the time to understand our mission, values, and audience, and translated that understanding into thoughtful, effective marketing strategies. One of our greatest takeaways was the opportunity to see our revamped messaging come to life in the form of a viewbook for our school. It guides us in all of our outreach efforts, ensuring that our messaging is seamless. We would highly recommend Mark to any organization looking to strengthen their marketing in a purposeful and strategic way.”
Zazzle
The Next Us worked with Zazzle as an embedded team member to help the company navigate a major transformation of its product, external brand, and internal culture.
In 2012, Zazzle was already a one-of-kind maker platform with a stellar track record and a bold vision for the future. The Next Us worked hands-on with the Zazzle leadership team on brand repositioning and served as interim Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for two quarters.
As part of this project, The Next Us consulted on brand identity redesign and product experience redesign, and led the cross-channel marketing strategy and creative direction for Zazzle’s 2012 holiday campaign, which exceeded revenue and profitability benchmarks.
OfferUp
The Next Us led positioning, messaging, brand voice development, and cross-channel content and editorial guidelines for this fast-growing, mobile-first P2P marketplace. OfferUp was named by Forbes to be one of the Top 5 Hottest Startups of 2015, and the company reached a $1B valuation in September 2016.
Coral Reef Alliance
For the CORAL website relaunch, The Next Us led positioning and messaging, sitewide content development, UX strategy, and WordPress development. Long-time partner Todd Schulte Design led the gorgeous visual design work. The new website helped CORAL break its online and general giving records for the 2021 annual campaign.
![[Confidential]](https://thenext-us.com/wp-content/uploads/black-608x608.jpeg)
[Confidential]
Over the course of 2021 and 2022, The Next Us worked with one of the largest and best-known investment firms in the world on a series of inter-related efforts, including vision, strategic planning, positioning and messaging, and values.