The message house template: one umbrella message, the pillars and the proof

A message house is a one-page drawing of what an organisation wants to say, built like a house. The roof is the umbrella message: the proposition in one sentence. Three or four pillars hold it up, each a reason to believe the roof. Under each pillar sit the proof points: facts, examples and third-party evidence. The foundation holds what never changes: the values, the purpose and the facts about the organisation that every message rests on. The term is in the glossary.

The message house has no single author. Marc Fest, who runs the Message House site and template, says its origin is unclear and that he refined the method by adding four questions to help draft the key messages¹. It is a practitioners' tool, used most in public relations, where spokespeople need to be briefed and rehearsed from one page.

Its logic comes from integrated marketing communications itself. Kliatchko puts content among the four pillars of IMC², and Duncan and Moriarty's relationship model puts messages and stakeholders at the centre of how brands build relationships³. A message house is where content is decided once, for every stakeholder. The pillars do the work that Keller, Sternthal and Tybout describe for positioning: some establish the points of parity that make the brand a legitimate choice, others the points of difference that make it the better one⁴.

The proof layer carries legal weight. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission treats an advertiser that lacks a "reasonable basis" for an objective claim before it runs as acting unfairly and deceptively⁵; in the United Kingdom, the Advertising Standards Authority enforces the advertising codes written by the Committee of Advertising Practice⁶. Proof points are where that basis is written down.

• Roof Take the proposition from the brand platform. Read it aloud; if a customer would not say it, rewrite it.
• Pillars Each answers "why should I believe the roof?" for a real audience: performance, service, value, responsibility. More than four and nobody remembers them.
• Proof A figure with its source and date, a named customer who agreed to be named, an award with its year, a feature that ships today.
• Foundation The values and facts that hold for every audience: who you are, where you operate, what you stand for.
• Fence Claims legal has not cleared, comparisons you cannot support, topics for the press office only.

Illustrative: the fictional Ourika Roasters, launching a home coffee subscription.

• Roof "Roasted this week, at your door this week."
• Pillar 1, freshness proof, the roast date on every bag; the roastery's weekly schedule.
• Pillar 2, craft proof, the head roaster's training; the origin and farm named on every bag.
• Pillar 3, ease proof, skip or pause in two taps; no lock-in period.
• Foundation a family-run roaster that buys named lots and roasts in small batches.
• Fence no health claims; no "best coffee in the city"; delivery times only where the courier contract guarantees them.

• Slogans on the pillars A pillar is a reason, not a tagline.
• Proof that is really an adjective "Premium quality" proves nothing; the roast date does.
• One house for every audience Employees, investors and customers share the roof; the pillars can differ.
• Writing it in a crisis A house agreed in advance saves hours when a reporter calls; the CIPR's crisis planning guide covers preparing messages before they are needed⁷.

• Marc Fest on the message house¹; Kliatchko on the pillars of IMC²; Duncan and Moriarty on messages and stakeholders³.
• Keller, Sternthal and Tybout on positioning⁴; the FTC on substantiation⁵; the ASA and CAP⁶.
• The CIPR's guide to crisis communication plans⁷.
• On IMC Report: the brand platform and the message house.