A hierarchy of communication goals, cohesive multichannel experiences, long-term consistency... we all want these things. But actions speak louder than words—and as content strategists, we're in the business of both! What steps can you take to ensure your recommendations are always on brand—and that everyone understands what that means? Just as content without content strategy can delay a launch or undermine an otherwise lovely design, content strategy without a message architecture is a waste of your time and creativity. In this session, Margot will coax you back from the content audit, style guidelines, and copywriting to first create a message architecture. As a strategic driver of content strategy and visual design, a message architecture will help you and your stakeholders rally around a common vision, ensure everyone is speaking the same language, and clarify what we really mean when we say content is “good”—all while avoiding political arguments that come down to personal preference. Presented at CS Forum London #csforum11, September 5, 2011.