Messaging is the string that ties marketing and sales together. It’s a crucial part of how brands come across to their audiences.But how do you balance now with the future when presenting your story?In this episode of Demand Gen U, Mark Huber, Head of Brand & Product Marketing at Metadata, is joined by Emma Stratton, Founder and CEO of Punchy. Emma provides her top tips on cutting through the noise as a brand and explains how to balance your present-day messaging with your brand’s future plans. Plus, she outlines her definition of positioning, messaging, strategic narratives and more.Find out:Why some brands need strategic narratives and others don’tTips on using emotion to fuel your messagingHow Punchy put together strategic narrativesFor more of Emma’s insights on telling a strong company story, tune into the full episode.0:00 – 1:43 Intro1:43 – 2:48 How Emma defines brand “positioning” 2:48 – 3:25 Why Emma defines “messaging” as bringing your strategy to life 3:25 – 5:44 Why strategic narratives are key to telling a good story5:44 – 7:00 Why a lack of alignment and buy-in are the secret killers of any messaging strategy 7:00 – 15:57 How to balance positioning, messaging, and strategic narratives 15:57 – 20:23 How to stay close to your customer without getting too far ahead 20:23 – 27:48 The best ways to approach messaging 27:48 – 30:56 How to get your sales team to adopt your new narrative 30:56 – 32:44 Emma explains how she tests messaging strategies for clients 32:44 – 38:43 How to steer clients away from using buzzwords in brand messaging 38:43 – 39:58 Emma announces Punchy’s messaging training for brands 39:58 - 41:10 Outro