No, I'm not doing anything as reckless as knocking the venerable Aleksandr Orlov...
A little while back I picked up a leaflet which, I supposed, was intended to promote a local business. The strapline on the front read:
"Delivering sustainable improvements to your business with cost effective and bespoke solutions to your specific needs."
In how many ways is that wrong?
- 1. It doesn't say anything meaningful;
- 2. It goes on too long;
- 3. Don't we all do something in that vein?;
- 4. It really, really, really doesn't say anything meaningful.
- A good strapline or slogan needs to be snappy and convey something about your brand - its values, its personality, what it actually does and for whom. Its purpose is to leave a key marketing message indelibly printed on the customer's mind.
- The Advertising Slogans Halls of Fame lists some of their favourites. Blasts from the past some of them, certainly, but the fact that are still familiar only shows how effective they are. Comparethemarket.com's "Simples" slogan, by the way, wins their Slogan of the Year accolade for 2008/09.
- Above all, your strapline should differentiate your brand from your competitors. If you can put your strapline next to your competitors' logos and it still makes good sense, then it's just not spelling out what's different about your brand.
- For the record, the rest of the leaflet I'd picked up didn't really enlighten me much about what the business did either - no prizes, though, for guessing that it was IT related.