Comments on: Why slogans don’t sell

By: Dean Rieck

Dean Rieck — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:49:47 +0000

Wiliam:
A lot of Web sites have a slogan or tag line beneath their logo. That’s one example.

By: Wiliam Waites

Wiliam Waites — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:07:48 +0000

Slogans are not usually intended to sell. They are intended to summarize an advertisers persona. As such, they frequently are over ambitious. These “the stuff of life” slogans bear little or no direct relation to the sales message in the ad. Often, they are an afterthought. “Oh, that’s right. We have to put the slogan next to the logo.”

OTOH, when an ad and a slogan are integrated the slogan can work very well to close a sale, if not make one on its own. I think that is one reason WalMart’s works. They are advertising low prices and, by golly, that’s what their slogan says.

Incidentally, what is the role of a slogan in online commerce? In direct response advertising, I would rather close with a call to action than a slogan.

True for online communication too?

By: jeff

jeff — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:58:26 +0000

Enjoy the post and the comments. I agree with the sentiment that it’s tough to isolate one part of a company campaign (i.e., a slogan) and then draw conclusions about effectiveness. A bit like isolating whether a company has a twitter presence and then using that to explain financial performance…there’s just too many other factors at play. Of course, ad agencies have spent years claiming responsibility for good results, so perhaps it’s a bit of karma at work to heap everything on the lowly slogan

By: Consumer Mailing Lists

Consumer Mailing Lists — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:46:05 +0000

Those are some startling statistics, I would think slogans are more important that that. I would agree that slogans should be descriptive and have some meaning towards the particular product, however, if customers don’t remember the slogan how should a small business get their name into the consumers mind?

By: Shawn Christenson

Shawn Christenson — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:48:31 +0000

Hi Dean,

yes I agree – you need something measurable. But to state they don’t sell based on those facts, isn’t fair to a slogans feelings.

I got some great food for thought from this post, and appreciate it greatly

By: Dean Rieck

Dean Rieck — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:37:48 +0000

Shawn:

Good point. But I’m not sure how else they’d do the survey. They needed something simple and measurable.

By: Shawn Christenson

Shawn Christenson — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:01:14 +0000

The thing about a slogan is it’s that extra thing to remember – and of the parts to recall about a company, the slogan ends up being least important. I agree about the Wal-Mart slogan – it just gets to the point. It helps me make a buying decision.

However, does a slogan HAVE to be memorable? is that the POINT of a Slogan? I never really felt it was the point. I felt it was that little bit extra oomph. ‘That Was Easy’ doesn’t have to be memorable – but when it’s said it gets the point across – Staples makes it easy. Maybe you don’t remember the Slogan, but maybe what people do remember is what the Slogan is meant to instill.

By: Dean Rieck

Dean Rieck — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:55:50 +0000

Sylke:

You’re right about the LV slogan. But I’m certain it was based on careful research into why people go to Vegas, which is often to let loose and be a little naughty. It’s an adult playground. When slogans connect with people, they’re golden.

By: Sylke

Sylke — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:13:29 +0000

The ad slogan for Las Vegas “What happens here, stays here” was priceless. And it worked. During the height of that campaign, the destination saw a significant increase in the number of visitors aged 21-39.

Those five words rebranded Vegas into a cool, hip destination where 20- and 30-somethings (as well as celebrities) wanted to go and party.

And since it has since been copied, mocked and satirized, I think it may have to go in the annals of one of the best slogans in advertising.

By: Kimmo Linkama

Kimmo Linkama — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:43:28 +0000

Slogans, in my experience, are often deemed so important — after all, they should crystallise the company mission — that the C suite is eager to participate.

You can imagine the result when the entire management team and/or board of directors dig their teeth into a poor ad agency’s slogan proposals. Not to mention the legal department…

Committees cannot create, they can only criticise.