You’re right, the key message isn’t dead. It just feels like we should shoot it in the head, so it doesn’t continue to get misused as a way to avoid answering valid questions.

Thanks for your comments and examples. That gives me an idea for another post.

I think that a fake, contrived, canned “key message” is dangerous and should be outlawed.

But I don’t see that as a key message. I see that as spin. A key message, to me, is when a company knows what they do, what they stand for, and why the can do the best job. Then, they communicate that through a human, in a human voice.

To me a key message is, as others are saying, values based. It is the north star for a company so that they can be sure that all their communications, and – for that matter – business practices, are driven by that one, core value or key message.

If the employees of a company are conversant with the values, anyone can easily construct a flexible “key message” that fits the situation and sounds natural, while clearly communicating the corporate/oraganizational values.

I’ve always trained my clients that a “key message” was not a statement. It is a principle, or core value. No one will remember the exact text of what you say, but they will remember what they thought you were trying to say.

The biggest practical application of the Key Message is not that it’s a mantra worth repeating in every answer. Rather, it’s the final thing you say. MOST interviews end with a simple question: “Is there anything I failed to ask that I should have?”

Work in the core value from your Key Message, and in many circumstances, that’s the soundbite that will air. Teevee types under deadline are VERY prone to backing up the tape just far enough to the first usable soundbite. (And I am in a position to know that is true.)

I had a similar thing happen when I wrote about David Pogue’s column in the New York Times in which he talked about OpenDNS. Within minutes of the post, both David and the John Roberts from OpenDNS had commented on the item. Impressive.

That’s another aspect of media relations in a world where social media are pervasive. You need to know what’s going on so that your spokespeople aren’t caught off-guard. When you’re blind-sided is when you’re most vulnerable to making that comment you’ll regret.

Thanks for your comments, and welcome to the new blog! I’ve always enjoyed Inside PR, partly because you talk about public relations as it’s applied, and not just as it applies to social media.