--- title: "Brand Storytelling vs. Marketing Messaging: Why Both Are Uniquely Important" description: Messaging for specific marketing tactics needs to be focused on how the product or service provides a customer-centric solution in the moment. image: https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hubfs/Blog_images/Blog-04.18.2018-855035004.jpg --- [![White Space Marketing Group](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ws-logo-header.png?width=253&height=80&name=ws-logo-header.png "White Space Marketing Group")](https://www.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/) ![blogbanner](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blogbanner.png?width=1500&name=blogbanner.png "blogbanner") [Gray Matter at White Space](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com) [B2B Marketing Strategy for Small and Mid-Sized Companies](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com) # [Brand Storytelling vs. Marketing Messaging: Why Both Are Uniquely Important](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/brand-storytelling-vs-marketing-messaging-why-both-are-uniquely-important) ![Ilene Rosenthal, CEO](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hubfs/IHR%20BioPIc%20643x703.jpg) by [Ilene Rosenthal, CEO](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/author/ilene-rosenthal-ceo) on Sep 23, 2019 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![Blog-04.18.2018-855035004](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_images/Blog-04.18.2018-855035004.jpg?width=300&name=Blog-04.18.2018-855035004.jpg) As a veteran ad woman, I understand that building a brand entails delivering the brand promise, holistically. This is realized through design, copy, as well as brand “behavior” such as pricing, service, offers, and innovation, so a brand fully conveys what it means to its present and future customers. Developing specific marketing materials that sell is about messaging: telling a customer what to do in the moment, and why. [![Get a complementary messaging audit](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/176305/c9c3d348-1c7a-47c8-8385-40051d477a23.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/176305/c9c3d348-1c7a-47c8-8385-40051d477a23) I realize there’s some tension here.   As marketers, we err when we try to tell the whole brand story when we’re trying to engage prospective customers to take a specific action “now.” Yes, the full brand story plays a key role in tone, voice, pricing approach, offers, and lead nurturing. > *We need to give marketing tactics a specific job to do in real time.* But messaging for specific marketing tactics needs to be focused on how the product or service provides a customer-centric solution in the moment, whether that's on a home page, on a landing page, in an email, or in a piece of sales collateral. We need to give marketing tactics a specific job to do in real time, in order to get the lift we need. I used to think the process of brand building was sequential: You build the big brand story, put it out there, then try to sell the stuff that the brand delivers. Perhaps we turn that on its head: Describe how a brand’s products help customers survive and thrive then and there. If we do this, they’ll stick around for the longer story. [![Get a complementary messaging audit](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/176305/cfc50674-ebcb-4052-8df2-b2af22eea903.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/176305/cfc50674-ebcb-4052-8df2-b2af22eea903) Topics: [marketing strategy](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing-strategy) About The Author ![Ilene Rosenthal, CEO](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hubfs/IHR%20BioPIc%20643x703.jpg) [ Ilene Rosenthal, CEO ](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/author/ilene-rosenthal-ceo) Ilene Rosenthal is the CEO of White Space Marketing Group, fulfilling her aspiration to bring hybrid marketing expertise to the mid-market. With a dee... 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