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.