# Consistency rubric & prioritization

Used in Execution Step 3 (score each element) and Step 5 (rank the fixes).

## The four-level consistency scale

Rate every core messaging element on this scale by comparing how it appears across all in-scope assets aimed at the same audience. Always attach the evidence.

| Rating | Definition | Evidence you must show |
|---|---|---|
| **Aligned** | The element says the same thing across assets. Wording may vary; the meaning is one. | Quote the consistent language from two or more assets. |
| **Drifting** | Same general idea, but emphasis, framing, or key terms shift enough that a reader would notice. Not yet a contradiction, but eroding. | Quote the versions and name what shifted (term, benefit, emphasis). |
| **Contradictory** | Assets make claims that can't both be true, or point the audience in incompatible directions. | Quote both conflicting versions side by side. |
| **Absent** | The element isn't stated in any asset. The brand has no articulated position on it. | Note which assets you'd expect it in and confirm it's missing. |

### Scoring guidance
- Judge **across assets for the same audience.** Audience-appropriate variation (investor deck versus buyer homepage) is not Drifting or Contradictory. See Navigation. When you're unsure whether variation is legitimate, mark it and add a note under Your Strategic Take rather than scoring it as a defect.
- **Wording is not meaning.** Two taglines phrased differently but meaning the same thing are Aligned. Two identically formatted claims that promise different outcomes are Contradictory.
- The **overall consistency read** for the executive summary is a plain-language summary of the pattern (for example, "Aligned on audience and tone, but Contradictory on the core value proposition and Absent on differentiation"), not an averaged number. Don't manufacture a precise score the evidence can't support.

## Prioritization (Step 5)

Rank contradictions and gaps by **severity and by how much they block new work**. The ordering logic:

1. **Foundational elements outrank surface elements.** Value proposition, positioning, and target audience sit under everything else. If they're Contradictory or Absent, nothing downstream (pages, campaigns, sequences) can be written cleanly. These go to the top regardless of how easy they are to fix.
2. **Contradictory outranks Drifting outranks Absent-but-low-stakes.** An active contradiction confuses buyers now. Drift is erosion. A missing minor element is a fill-in.
3. **Blocking beats cosmetic.** Ask: "Does fixing this free up other work?" A contradictory value prop blocks the whole messaging rebuild. An inconsistent CTA on one page does not.
4. **Effort is a tiebreaker, not the sort key.** Don't bury a critical fix because it's hard, or float a trivial one because it's easy. Note effort so the marketer can sequence, but rank by impact.

Deliver the result as an ordered list (most important first), each item naming the element, its rating, the one-line "why it matters," and the suggested owner or next step (without doing that step).
