Reasons Why a Slogan is Crucial to Your Advertising - Part 2
By Dominick Gladstone
Even if you're an advertiser, you're also a consumer. So think about all the media YOU are exposed to in a day. Can you remember any of the advertising you saw, heard, or looked at today?
The average American is exposed to thousands of marketing messages a day. Think about all the advertising mediums you are exposed to each day; television, radio, Internet, billboards, magazines, and newspaper. Perhaps now you can understand how hard it can be to be remembered by the average consumer.
You know that YOU need to hear a message more than once before you'll decide to take action... or at least remember the new business you want to try.
There's a term in advertising--'breaking through the clutter.' And there's more clutter than ever before. Have you had the pleasure of finding advertisements in a public restroom yet? If not, you will.
So obviously, you have to get people to remember you before they buy from you. This is especially true if they don't need what you want to sell them today. But they will eventually, right? Remember, you can't sell a refrigerator to someone who doesn't need one. But if you develop a consistent advertising presence, you will build awareness in potential customers, almost without them even realizing it. So when that old Frigidaire does give out, the prospect will remember a source for affordable appliances delivered to their home.
Creating awareness about your business-along with a descriptive, evocative slogan, will pay off when people are ready to buy. It can be as few as two words-Got Milk?™--or three-Just Do It™. A slogan is a phrase-a motto, a saying, a tag line, whatever you like-that expresses a particular concept that you want to stick in your audience's mind.
What makes a slogan memorable? Brevity, rhythm, repetition, vivid language.
Slogans come in many formats.
A feature: It keeps going, and going, and going...
An entreaty: Don't leave home without it. Let your fingers do the walking. Just do it.
An endorsement: They're grrrreat! Finger lickin' good!
A question: Got milk? Does she or doesn't she?
A benefit: Melts in your mouth, not in your hand. Tastes great, less filling.
A rationale: Because I'm worth it. It's everywhere you want to be.
A statement: A diamond is forever. Beef... it's what's for dinner.
An assurance: What happens here, stays here. Have it your way
There are seven ways to make a slogan memorable:
(1) Make it exciting
(2) Be boastful or exaggerated
(3) Self-referencing
(4) Metaphorical, playful or humorous
(5) Inspirational or uplifting
(6) To trigger painful memories or possibilities
(7) Use of colorful or fresh language
Sometimes a slogan becomes an indelible icon .... "The Real Thing" was used for which soft drink ...?
Where do you start to build a slogan? The most obvious is to hire a professional who brings a certain level of expertise to this crucial business decision. Professionals don't simply write some words...They create icons.
What do I want people to think of when they think of my business?
Ask yourself, "What do I want them to do?" This is another type of slogan. Yellow pages had a great one for years, "Let your fingers do the walking."
Another way to create a slogan is to take two phrases that have parallel construction and place them together with a comma. Ex: Prizefighter Ali, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
Add a slogan or a tag line to your marketing plan and you could become an icon that's Finger Lickin' Good!
This article is part 2 of 2.
To learn more about marketing, advertising, and public relations for the small to medium-sized business; click here: http://www.gladstoneandassociates.com
Dominick Gladstone has over 25 years of experience helping businesses grow.
Gladstone & Associates Inc. is a marketing, advertising, and public relations consulting firm that assists small to medium-sized companies who cannot afford a full-time ad agency.
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