The Contact Strategy Visualized: Message Personalities (Part 2)

Picking up from my last post on Contact Strategy Development, we’ll continue to explore the message personalities that make up successful contact strategies. As our own human personalities set us apart as unique and special, messages also provide the opportunity for a brand to allow their unique voice to come through. Brands can set themselves apart from the pack using clear communication, unique presentation and outside-the-box thinking, and those results become more meaningful when the value to the subscriber is apparent.

Message Personalities
When planning, each message that makes up an overall contact strategy needs a clear purpose and value proposition. Messages take on personalities based on the type of content presented and focus on two major points – “what’s in it for us?” as marketers, and “what’s in it for our subscribers?” Ultimately, a great message will answer both questions and provide value to both parties. Let’s take a look at the personalities behind effective messages:

Subscriber-Centric Messaging
A subscriber-centric message must focus on the basics of building a 1:1 relationship with a subscriber or customer and often support the more direct messaging within a program that directly sells or promotes content. When these messages come at the beginning of a program, it’s appropriate to spend time setting the stage for future communication, communicating overall brand goals and an ongoing value proposition. It’s also important to be clear about the desire to send valuable information that the subscriber wants to receive, while respecting their unique preferences. When these messages show up later in the program, it’s also another opportunity to let the brand’s unique voice shine and restate the value the messages offer.

Subscriber-center messages:

• Focus on the basics of building a 1:1 relationship
• Set brand voice and tone
• Include touch points throughout a subscriber lifecycle
• Aid program cohesion


Example: A welcome email is often subscriber-centric, thanking the subscriber and telling them what to expect from the program. This is often the first email touch-point with that subscriber and provides prime opportunity to explain what they will receive throughout the year (and why it is important).

Brand-Centric Messaging

Brand-centric messages center around promoting a brand’s core content, delivering value that relates directly to the marketer’s core business goals. These are often heavily product-focused and very direct, showcasing new ideas, products or programs that may be of interest to the subscriber. The earlier-mentioned subscriber-centric messages within the program are key to supporting these types of messages, ensuring that the subscriber receives what they are interested in and understands what overall value the sender offers.

Brand-centric messages:

• Focus on timely brand information and resources
• Deliver clear value proposition
• Often take the form of promotions and newsletters

Example: A brand-centric message might look like a product email from your favorite retailer or a newsletter from a vendor you work with, providing updates on new products and functionality.

Relationship-Building Messaging 

Relationship-building messages focus on delivering added value, supporting a program with a less traditional approach and encouraging subscribers to participate beyond just making purchases. These messages essentially add heart and soul to a good program, peaking interest throughout a program lifecycle, spurring conversation about the brand and sharing unique and less sales-focused content, providing valuable context for real-world usage. These messages can be fun and playful or provide an unexpected value-add to an email subscription.

Relationship-building messages:

• Focus on customer retention and engagement
• Specifically encourage conversation about the brand and between brand followers
• Keep brands top-of-mind via communication that’s less traditional
• Supplement basic programs with unexpected conversation and value

Example: A message about an upcoming contest or a holiday card can take on the personality of a relationship-building message, mixing up the flow of traditional messages and spurring more subscriber engagement.

Contact Strategy Cohesion and Focus

While certain messages fall directly into a single, distinct personality, there’s also room for crossover within a campaign to resonate and create greater relevance with the end reader. This means a message could mainly be brand-centric, communicating a product or sale, but also include crossover from another personality, including account information or modules that encourage social interaction.

Remember to continually ask: what is the overarching goal of your contact strategy? Often, a thoughtful combination of messages uniquely develops a powerful 1:1 relationship. Don’t be afraid to break the rules and implement a solution that’s outside the box if it delivers results.

Stay tuned for more information on message types and formats. For additional visuals and examples that communicate clear value proposition, view the slides from my Connections presentation, The Contact Strategy Visualized.

For additional interactive marketing tips and advice, read our past blogs or follow @ETDesign on Twitter.

Andrea Smith
Senior Design Consultant
ExactTarget Campaign Solutions Team