Messaging hierarchy
The ranked order of what you say: one core message, a few supporting claims, then proof. What lands when someone reads only the top.
See it
What it is
Messaging hierarchy is the ranked order of what you say: one core message on top, three or so supporting claims under it, and proof attached to each claim. The classic artifact is the 'message house': roof (the single line you want remembered), pillars (the claims that make it credible), foundation (the numbers, demos, quotes, and logos that back the pillars up).
It exists because readers do not read. They take the top line and maybe one section. So the hierarchy decides what survives partial attention: hero carries the core message, each section owns exactly one pillar, and every proof point sits next to the claim it proves instead of floating in a logo strip nobody connects to anything. Do it before writing a landing page, a pitch deck, or a launch, and the page structure falls out of it for free.
Gotcha: five co-equal claims is not a hierarchy, it is a list, and lists get skimmed into nothing. Rank ruthlessly, even when every stakeholder loves their pillar. Second trap is confusing this with visual hierarchy: making a claim big does not promote it if the sentence itself is generic. Test it by asking what a reader who saw only the top line would be able to repeat back.
Ask AI for it
Using [positioning], [audience], [approved claims], and [evidence pack], build a messaging hierarchy in the message house structure. Output: (1) core message, one sentence under 15 words, specific enough that a competitor could not paste their name into it; (2) exactly 3 supporting pillars, ranked, each a claim rather than a feature name; (3) under each pillar, up to 2 proof points, using only the metrics, customer quotes, mechanisms, or demos supplied in the evidence pack; (4) a page map showing which pillar owns which section, hero first. Never invent a number or a quote. Any claim with no supplied proof gets listed as an evidence gap instead of being dressed up. Ban generic claims like 'powerful', 'seamless', 'all-in-one'. Then state what you deliberately left out and why.