Battle Cry: 7 Point Guide to Slogans That Excite Customers

Did you know the word slogan is derived from the Scottish Gaelic word slogorne, for "battle cry?" I didn't until the other day when I read C. Kohli's "Got slogans? Guidelines for creating effective slogans."

Working in concert with a brand name and logo, a slogan is one of the easiest product or brand elements of a company's identity that can change with the prevailing zeitgeist. As Kohli et al explain, "a slogan is in a unique position to act as a bridge between a brand's legacy and its evolving image." In the long haul a slogan can become a valuable corporate asset.

But what separates a good slogan from a bad one. That's the point of this seven point guide. Follow these and you'll have an uncommon slogan that rallies and excites customers.

Keep your eye on the horizon.
This is really about knowing where you are and where you're going. Which, incidentally, requires some long-term planning that creates a slogan with some shelf life. Changing it can be costly, so a slogan made today should embrace the business climate of tomorrow.

Slogans are brand positioning tools.
Whether the brand is competing against another brand, take Avis for example. Avis is "Number Two -- We Try Harder." If you're carving a niche of your own, the slogan must communicate that clearly, or you'll be taking "The Headache Medicine" aplenty. Guess which brand that slogan belongs to?

Link'em. The slogan and brand I mean.
Make sure every place the brand goes, so goes the slogan. Putting the brand name in the slogan is one way to ensure they are top-of-mind for customers. "Surprisingly, the vast majority of slogans do not include the brand names," explains Kohli and company. 

Repeat. Repeat. Oh, and repeat that again.
There's a mountain of research that tells us the more times we repeat something, customers have a higher recall rate of whatever we drill into their heads. Many times the slogan is the only element that can stay consistent from ad to editorial to brochure or direct mail. 

Jingle, Jangle. Make it an ear worm.
Subway sandwiches are famous for foot long sandwiches. As of late, I've been hearing the jingle "five dollar foot long," which has become an ear worm I can't shake. Neither could a friend of mine who voiced disdain for such advertising. Funny thing, a few days ago we stopped at a Subway, and she unconsciously sang the jingle and performed the hand motions. I laughed. The point is jingles help us remember brands.

Use a slogan from the get go.
As a three-part brand identity, you've got the slogan, the brand name and a logo. That's it. Think of it as a tripod. If you're missing a leg, will the tripod do it's job? No. Same for brands. Eliminate one piece and your seriously cripple your efforts.

Go ahead, be creative.
I say that, but in your creative fervor, remember the KISS (Keep-It-Simple-Stupid) philosophy. "While most slogans are kept simple for the sake of brevity," explained Kohli et al, "evidence suggests that slogans with a moderate level of syntactic or semantic complexity trigger deeper processing and may be recalled better than simpler ones." Kohli cites Vicks Nyquil. It's "The Nighttime, Sniffling, Sneezing, Coughing, Aching, Stuffy Head, Fever, So You Can Rest Medicine."

Whether you want to play semantic games with your customers or keep it simple (I like "Spoon Me," a west coast frozen yogurt chain, as a slogan), let your research be a guide. And hire a professional.