So, you’ve crafted killer key messages. What comes next?

Key messages are the North Star in public relations—they guide storytelling, shape narrative, and anchor campaigns. Key messages encapsulate the most important aspects of your company, cause, or candidate— they are what you want your audiences to understand, remember, and act on. A good message framework gives PR pros a solid foundation on which to build all communications, ensuring consistency and maintaining focus. But you can't just craft your messages and put them on the shelf to collect dust. Messaging must be constantly adapted, tested, and practiced to steer you toward your goal successfully.

Test Them

Launching messaging without testing is like lobbing the proverbial pasta against the wall and hoping something will stick. Using formative research to develop your framework increases the chance of reaching and connecting with audiences – the first time. Evaluative research provides practitioners with proof of what works and points to places that need to be refined to optimize your messaging strategy. 

Adapt Them

Messaging must evolve with the changing landscape, reflecting the nuances of time, context, and audience knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes. This flexibility ensures that your overarching story remains consistent while allowing you to frame or emphasize messages differently to resonate with diverse groups over time.

Practice Them

And once you know what works, practice makes perfect. Spokespeople should never wing it—regular practice and message coaching will help them confidently deliver key messages with authenticity, clarity, and consistency.

The mighty message is one of the most powerful tools practitioners can employ to ensure cohesive, compelling narratives that cut through the noise and keep communication efforts laser-focused and impactful. But like any tool, they require constant sharpening to remain effective.