By Sean Robichaud of PDMA Digital Marketing
Based on “Marketing Communications” by Jill Avery and Thales Teixeira, Harvard Business School Core Curriculum.
In today’s crowded digital world, great products don’t sell themselves—great stories do.
Crafting a smart marketing communications strategy is how brands translate their value into narratives that get people to think, feel, and ultimately act.
In their Harvard Business School reading, Marketing Communications, Jill Avery and Thales Teixeira lay out a clear, practical framework for building smarter campaigns: the 6Ms model.
It’s a system we use every day at PDMA Digital Marketing to help businesses create better strategies that connect and convert.
Here’s what you need to know.
What Are the 6Ms of Marketing Communications?
The 6Ms framework gives structure to your marketing communications strategy by answering six key questions:
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Mission: What are you trying to achieve?
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Market: Who are you talking to?
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Message: What story are you telling?
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Media: Where and how are you telling it?
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Money: How much are you spending?
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Measurement: How will you track success?
Breaking it down this way ensures you’re not just throwing content into the void—you’re delivering targeted, coordinated messaging across every consumer touchpoint.
Strategic Intent: Mission and Market
Every communication needs a clear mission.
It might be to build awareness, change perceptions, drive immediate action, or reassure loyal customers.
But you can’t define your mission without first knowing your market.
Today’s consumers aren’t just passive receivers—they are active participants who create, share, and even reshape brand stories.
Brands need to define their audiences deeply—not just by age and income, but by motivations, habits, and values—to craft communications that truly resonate.
Strategic Execution: Message and Media
Once you know your mission and audience, it’s time to translate strategy into storytelling.
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Your Message needs to deliver meaning. Good marketing stories have a clear message, a relatable conflict, memorable characters, and an emotional plotline.
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Your Media Strategy determines how and where your audience encounters that story—whether it’s through traditional advertising, digital inbound content, events, social media, or earned PR.
In today’s fragmented, fast-moving media environment, integrating your message across multiple channels is crucial.
An ad, a social post, and a blog article should all feel like part of the same brand conversation—not disconnected pitches.
Strategic Impact: Money and Measurement
Budgeting and measurement close the loop.
Rather than setting a budget based on gut instinct (or just copying competitors), the 6M framework suggests aligning your marketing spend to your specific communication goals.
Use real metrics—like engagement rates, conversion rates, brand recall—to measure whether you’re actually achieving what you set out to do.
Without strong measurement, even the most beautiful story can lose its value.
Why It Matters
At PDMA Digital Marketing, we believe great marketing is where art meets analytics.
You need creativity to inspire action—but you also need structure, data, and a clear understanding of your mission and audience to make it work.
The 6Ms provide a blueprint that helps brands do both—and do it better.
If you’re ready to tell a smarter story and connect with your audience in a way that actually drives growth, let’s talk.
Credits:
This blog post is based on “Marketing Communications” by Jill Avery and Thales S. Teixeira, originally published as part of the Harvard Business School Core Curriculum.
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