Maybe you remember Ace of Cakes, the 2000s-era Food Network show about a Baltimore cake shop where they used power tools and insane artistry to make sculptural (and oftentimes massive) cakes. If you do, we have a lot to talk about. It was awesome.
Each episode followed a week’s worth of orders from the initial customer brief to the nerve-wracking nearly-dropped-it final delivery. But the cake stuff was only half of what made the show great. It was the artists/decorators, who could masterfully avoid a cake-tastrophe with one strategically-placed fondant flourish, that made the show so phenomenal. They could make anything out of cake. It was riveting. They also had great banter, swore a lot, pranked each other, and seemed to genuinely enjoy their time together.
Ace of Cakes has been top of mind lately because I found a signed first edition of their book in a used bookstore. Flipping through it reactivated all kinds of memories, including Duff’s iconic intro line from the opening credits:
“After pastry school, I decided to make cakes my way. [guitar riff] So I set up shop and hired the most talented people I know: my friends.”
I can’t stop thinking about it. Because, one: it’s a banger (iykyk). Two: it’s great messaging. In two lines, it encapsulates the entire world of Ace of Cakes. It conveys purpose and expertise, defines a niche, gives context, and oozes personality. Writing something that tight and that effective is hard as hell.
Why messaging is so hard
In Design 101, there’s a classic critique technique where you first look at a piece from across the room, and then again up close. A successful design should communicate at both distances—grabbing attention and delivering substance.
The same rule applies to messaging. You should be able to encapsulate your brand in one sentence (from a distance) and in one paragraph (up close). Those two pieces become the foundation for everything else you write.
And here’s the wild part: those are the hardest words you’ll ever write. Because they need to hold so much (clarity, tone, information, identity) all in a super tight space.
What makes messaging work
I dug through a bunch of local brands’ websites to study what works and why. Here’s what strong messaging usually includes:
- Purpose – what you’re here to do
- Differentiation — what sets you apart
- Approach — how you do it
- Context (optional) — what influenced your work
- Expertise (optional) — why people should trust you
- Personal touch (optional) — your je ne sais quoi
Two great examples:
Uncle Bobbie’s in Germantown
Okie Dokie Donuts in South Philly
Not every business can achieve the same level of clarity as the two above examples because not every business is equally distillable. Success will look different depending on your audience, your offering, and how much context your audience actually needs to understand what you do.
It’s also totally normal to write your way into clarity. You might need to start long before you can go short. But even if the final result is a full page instead of a punchy paragraph, it's helpful to aim for clarity somewhere in the process. There’s a time for story, and there’s a time for simplicity. Your job is to figure out which goes where.
More inspiration:
Kith & Kin
“A gathering space for kids and their grown-ups to play, grow, and find community.”
FarmerJawn
“FarmerJawn is reintroducing farming into the lifestyles of urban people to cultivate physical, social, & environmental health.”
Tufas Boulder Lounge
“Philadelphia-based bouldering gym focused on building the best boulders possible, fun, accessibility, inclusivity, equity, and community.”
Honeysuckle Provisions
“Honeysuckle Provisions is a family-owned and operated Afro-centric grocery/cafe committed to the highest quality standards, from not only a culinary perspective but also socially and politically.”
Tiny WPA
“Tiny WPA helps build better-designed spaces, stronger places, and equity by supporting citizen-led design improvements and the growth of Building Heroes.”
