What’s the difference between a message and a story?

At first glance, this seems obvious. Yet, when you turn marketers loose it quickly gets murky.  A message conveys a single point; a story many points (i.e., messages, perspectives, thoughts, etc.). So, forget trying to a build a compelling message or crafting a phrase that’s says it all. A story narrative is a much better way to turn messages into someting much more memorable.

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One Response to “What’s the difference between a message and a story?”

1. Greg French says:

   November 23, 2008 at 3:01 pm

   Though I do not completely disagree with the difference between stories and messaging above, I do not see it as being necessarily “obvious.”

   While its true that stories are permitted the latitude to amble and ramble a bit, the great stories of all time ensure that even the most subtle subplots, sidebars, and innuendo come to bear on a final point (moral of the story, if you will).

   Great messaging can do the same. It can incorporate a system of messages that support a core point of issue, or in the case of an organization or product, “what it stands for” (esp. from the customer perspective). Every message in the hierarchy beneath (or which surrounds) the core message should support this point or position.