Real powerlines that pack a punch
A single well-chosen word can be enough to change a business’s brand – or even history. It’s why it is worth investing in a tagline that defines and distinguishes your company now and in decades to come, says Steve Cone IT WAS THE changing of one word in his sentence which made his pronouncement go [...]
A single well-chosen word can be enough to change a business’s brand – or even history. It’s why it is worth investing in a tagline that defines and
distinguishes your company now and in decades to come, says Steve Cone
alt="Ronald McDonald">
IT WAS THE changing of one word in his sentence which made his pronouncement go down in 20th century history when US president Franklin
Delano Roosevelt declared war on Japan in 1941. Originally, his speech was going to begin: “December 7, 1941, a day that will live in world history…” At the last minute before going on live radio to America and the world, FDR crossed out ‘history’ and replaced it with the word ‘infamy’. It transformed an ordinary sentence into an extraordinary one that has left its mark.
In the first decade of the 21st century, we have almost forgotten how powerful a few well-chosen words can be and how critical for businesses of any size. When you realise that promotional material amounting to US$60 billion per month is spent worldwide on advertising and related activities, it gives an idea of just how crucial it is.
alt="Above: Enduring phrases from Kelloggs">
Yet few companies today are adequately geared up about how to create and maintain a brand promise with just the right words to propel them to the top of their
category – and then stay there indefinitely.
Trends such as the changing nature of the family structure and our reliance on the internet, digital dating services and the connection to group technology links such as Facebook all impact on brand communication. These trends tell us that consumers, who are moving at digital speed to communicate with each other, lack the time or
the interest to have their chosen brands keep changing their brand promise. Creating an emotional connection – through a keen insight using wordplay psychologically
– appeals to consumers who are otherwise bombarded with endless streams of text, email, mobile, and other messaging that delivers information but little if any personality.
Widely forgotten are five simple rules that can help you create a powerful tagline – what I call a powerline – that can serve as your particular brand promise. And looking out past the rest of this decade and beyond, I see no change to these rules other than it will be ever more critical to follow them as closely as possible.
- Creating a tagline is an art, not a science
alt="BMW">
Take your pick from the following: “Ah! Bisto!” (Bisto); ” The
ultimate driving machine” (BMW); “Beanz meanz Heinz”
(Heinz); “Because I’m worth it” (L’Oreal); “When you care
enough to send the very best” (Hallmark).
These memorable lines and many more throughout the past 100 years were created by individual writers on assignment to pen just the right words for a product or
service to rise above and beyond the competition. Instead, these days many companies simply hold endless employee brand discussions and costly
consumer focus groups which result in taglines created by committee. These lines are almost always unfocused and so general in meaning they could apply to any
business, and none specifically.
A few examples without naming the companies are: “Reach higher”, “Moving ahead”, “The power of possibilities”, “The power of you”, “This is what we do” and “The future is yours”. Amazing how low the bar has fallen. Avoid the platitude trap. When you hire someone to give you a powerline, the best help you can give them
is to describe the three core benefits or features of your company, product or service.
alt="Green Giant">
- Your company is different – say so
Every company has a distinct selling proposition waiting to be brought to light. Think of your company as a personality. What is it that is special, genuine, timeless, or
even fun and wildly different? Then simply say so. A few of my personal favourites include: Hebrew National Hotdogs: “ We answer to a higher authority.” Gonzer Electric Engineers: “ Let us check your shorts.” Red Cross UK: “The greatest tragedy is indifference.” The town of Summit, New Jersey: “Summit. Everything else is downhill.”
- People buy from people or characters who act like us
Humans are most fascinated by other humans; a good thing for the continuation of the species. We pay rapt attention to everyone from political front-runners, business icons, sports figures, religious leaders, media spokespeople and – too much – to celebrities.
Personality is all-consuming – while asleep we even dream about people, real and imagined. It is therefore perplexing that marketers think they can sell without the
aid of a spokesperson or endearing human-like character. Is it essential? No. Does it dramatically boost your chances of gaining consumer attention over your
competition? Yes.
The one disclaimer is you must be sure that you select a spokesperson or character that fits your selling premise and does not appear false or forced. Major
past successes include: Ronald McDonald, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Tony the Tiger and the Jolly Green Giant.
- Sound becomes memory like no other sense
alt="which inspired a James Bond story and the theme song for the movie">
Through millennia of evolution, the animal and human mind is wired to accept and remember sound much more so than the other dominant sense, sight. If you are in any doubt about this, think of your all-time favourite movie and then think of watching it without sound. There is virtually no impact.
Although smell, taste, and touch are powerful, they are not part of the media mix from television to radio to internet and are of limited use in print.
Taglines become firmly embedded in our memories if they are delivered with a unique sound signature – a special rhythm and inflection that has never been used before. Radio actually trumps TV in making people remember sound, because there are no visual distractions. The internet is sound-challenged for two reasons: first, the sound is often hard to hear and comes across as hollow sounding and void of emotion; secondly, the screen of a computeror hand-held device is too small to give the impact of a large TV screen.
Yes, a tagline can become a powerline without the use of a special sound signature, but it takes far longer and the chances of success are far less.
- Never change a great tagline
Companies continue to change their taglines at great expense and to no effect. Whether it’s the likes of American Express, Coke, McDonalds or Federal Express, to
name a few, what consumers remember are taglines each of these companies used decades ago. Yet every new line they have tried since has achieved much lower recognition.
alt="Steve Cone’s book explains in depth what makes a great slogan">
Taglines that are distinctive, spot-on, genuine, and compelling are timeless. They don’t need tinkering with or refreshing. What should be updated are the promotions
done year after year that the tagline is headlining. That is the secret to effective marketing.
Powerful taglines define brands for all time and are immune to changes in technology and the basic living patterns of present and future generations. “A diamond is
forever” (written by a 27-year-old copywriter in 1948 ) will always define that gem as long as people inhabit mother earth. Powerlines, like the one above, are inspired phrases created by gifted writers who see a clear and compelling brand promise and make it come to life to inspire, entertain, and enlighten the rest of us.
Steve Cone, chief marketing officer for Epsilon, a leading provider of data-driven marketing technologies, is the author of Powerlines (£10.95, Kogan Page, www.koganpage.com).
