In PR we often talk about the power of “messaging” and one of the acronyms I love to preach during media training is SPEAR. Short, Personal, Emotional, Accurate, and Repeatable are some of the thumb rules that make messaging work. I had the pleasure of visiting two restaurants in Wayanad, Kerala recently, and apart from adding many yummy calories to my tummy, these visits got me thinking about the finer nuances of messaging. 
Let’s start with Raviettan’s Pork Kada. Its signature dish is barbecued pork. He also serves chilly pork and pork roast. Built around this core offering are a range of carbs – the Kerala parotta, kappa (tapioca), and rice. Accompaniments range from sambar and Moore kolumb to fish curry gravy and pork curry gravy. A steaming hot glass of lemon tea is highly recommended to wash down this sumptuous meal. Anyone looking for some good local pork preparations make a bee-line for Raviettans Kada. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit. To top it all, the prices are unbelievable value for money. Nine of us ate to our heart’s content and the bill was below 2000 rupees.
Raviettan has got his messaging bang on. If you are looking for some Kerala-style Pork preparations this is the place to visit. No frills, tasty wholesome food served hot and prices that are very affordable. What I liked most was the way he handled billing, he came and asked us at the end of our meal what we had eaten. The place lived up to its promise.
Now for a visit to Baker Homie. We had finished with our hearty lunch at Raviettan’s and decided to drive into the local town Sultans Battery for Ice Cream. Just next to the ice cream store, we saw a lovely shop facade and an inviting interior. Baker Homie beckoned. The pistachio green interiors were inviting and we went in to explore. We found a range of baked goodies from brownies to Nutella pancakes and Kunafa. However, on further examination of the menu, we discovered that it was a full-service restaurant with a host of savoury dishes like pasta and sandwiches on offer. The ambience was lovely, the service was good, everyone was super friendly and I really hope that the owner and her team succeed. 
When I think about the messaging, however, something does not seem to jell. With a name like Baker Homie, it seemed to be a desert destination. The mindset with which I entered had my palate all set for sweet stuff. Finding a range of savour offerings took me by surprise.
The basic idea of messaging is to identify a clear and concise position to own. “The local pork place” works well and all the add ons built around the core work well. By that logic, the “local bakery” should also work well but the build around it does not and it is also not differentiated. I went in looking for dessert and left thinking that maybe I should come back to try out the main course next time. Depending on the quality of my experience with my taste buds I will then decide if baker homie is a destination for sweet or savoury or both. In messaging, I often use the line “control your narrative or someone else will take control of it”. The risk Baker Homie runs is that it can become different things to different people and in doing that lose some of its identity.
I guess what this teaches me is that in messaging it’s important to decide what the core offering is. What is the main dish and what are the add-ons? This is such an important part of getting messaging right. The proof of the pudding as they say is always in the eating. In both places the owners were present themselves, engaging and friendly, so there was genuine emotional engagement. Great signage, location and ambience can draw you in, but the fare has to be spot-on to keep your customers coming back. SPEAR-tipped messaging works for sure, but only when it is attached to a strong body of work.
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A trusted coaching and communications professional, Nikhil Dey is a certified life and leadership coach (International Coach Federation - ICF). Nurturing talent and helping clients achieve their goals is what makes him happy. He loves learning from students of communication, teaching courses and guest lecturing at various educational institutions. When he is not working you will find him on the tennis court or out for long walks with his family and four legged friends.
Previously he has held senior leadership positions at Weber Shandwick and Genesis BCW.
He can be reached on twitter @deydreaming
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