What’s in the business slogan?

Experts say that a good business slogan evokes emotions and ideas and associates it with the brand, even without naming the product. For instance look at the brand Nike. The company doesn't have to write the name of the brand in its advertising. The brand slogan "Just do it" used with the logo in itself tells everyone whose brand it is.

But at the same time, the brand should be able to deliver the slogan. Brands that are not honest with the slogan will lose its customers who will notice it immediately. Inc.com suggests five tips for writing an effective slogan. First give the slogan a rhythm, rhyme, and ring. For example County's slogan "The quilted quicker picker upper" has the rhythm, rhyme and ring to it. The second tip is highlighting a key benefit of the product or service. The slogan should help differentiate your product from competitors and that's what we need to focus on. For example Miller Lite's brand slogan "Great taste, less filling" highlights the key factor of the product. The third tip is to explain the company's commitment. Here we need to say what differentiates the company from competitors. For example Avis brand slogan "We're number two, so we try harder" makes use of this tip. The fourth and the most important tip is to stay honest. The slogan should accurately reflect the business. For example Visa's slogan "It's everywhere you want to be" very honestly conveys its business. And the last tip for effective slogan is to keep it short. Experts say that a slogan should not go beyond one sentence and would be best if it is between six to eight words long. For example Apple's brand slogan "Think different" may be a simple two word slogan but it can create a strong impact (Smith, D.).  

  However critics say that a brand slogan is really not required to market a product or service. For example brands like Starbucks, Whole Foods, Lululemon, Nordstrom do not have a brand slogan (Lee Yohn, D. 2013).

Critics say that 100 of the most influential brand slogans were written before 1948 and two-thirds ran before 1980. Even half of Forbes' best loved brand slogans ran before 1975. This clearly shows that brand slogans were a thing of the past when advertisers were needed to summarize their product in a tagline. Also brand slogans help differentiate a product or service from the competitors’ products and services. But in today's world most brands are distinguished less by their products and features and more by their values and personality. So if this is the case do we really need to wreck our brains finding the right brand slogan for our product or service?

Reference list

Lee Yohn, D. (2013). The Death of the Tagline Flexible branding is the new name of the game. Adweek. Retrieved from website link

Smith, D. 5 Tips for Writing an Effective Slogan. Inc.com. Retrieved from website link

Advertising versus Public Relations

Many folks confuse advertising with public relations and vice-versa. In fact advertising is completely different from public relations and shouldn't be mixed with each other. While Public relations (PR) is a more subtle and disciplined approach with the aim to influence public opinion and behavior, advertising is a paid space designed to lure consumers to buy the products (McLuhan, M.).

Advertising is losing its effectiveness because of its low credibility. And because of this companies are now spending more in public relations than advertising. The public is becoming smart and exactly knows that advertising is over-the-top and simply not true (Ries, A. & Ries, L. 2002).

Al and Laura Ries, in their book The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, says that companies which are launching new brands should focus on its PR strategy. This is because during product launch, the company will want to create a buzz, and the buzz can only be created through PR tools. Over and above PR is cheaper than advertising.

Besides advertising will need organizations to hire designers, content writers and creative directors, while public relations is more affordable. PR requires a smaller staff which focus that revolves around engaging the media. However having said that, PR is not always the best way to market business. There are some products and services that still depend on advertising to be successful (Rick, 2012).

So as it is seen, it is wiser to start with PR if the business is small and is entering the realm of marketing and publicity. PR in this scenario would involve contacting local media and informing them about the existence of the business. Many events can also be planned to showcase the business. These small tactics help to draw media attention to the business. When the company grows and expands, it can move toward advertising spending.

Besides PR can reach out to a larger audience as compared to advertising. For example inserting an ad in a print magazine with 5000 subscribers can find you 5000 viewers, many of who will ignore them. But if you write one press release, you can send the press release to magazines, newspapers, radio, TV stations, networks and shows, online news, sites and blogs, all at one time.

So to put it in a nutshell, PR is certainly a better investment than advertising because it is cheaper, it is credible, it has a bigger reach, it is more personal, and is active (Mudd, J.).

Ukraine crisis affects everything Russian

The crisis in Ukraine seems to be getting bloodier as each day goes by. The invasion of Russian military into southeastern Ukrainian territory has left the whole world in a tizzy. This is no longer only a problem between Russia and Ukraine, but has become a global problem. The United States jumped in by imposing sanctions over Russia. The European Union seems to be silent but only gives testimony to what the United States think about the situation. The United Kingdom seems to be silent. The United Nations carries out meetings and discusses the situation in Ukraine. While people like you are me who don't want war or a war-like-situation, are expressing our thoughts on Twitter and other social media sites. It feels horrible when you can’t do anything to be able to combat a situation. But at least writing what you think on social media eases out that tense nerve a little, with a hope that someone out there who can make a difference is reading what we have to say.

In the midst of all the hullabaloo, one of Russia's public relations firm in the United States is facing the heat. The PR firm Ketchum Inc. is said to be lobbying for the Russian government to promote Russia in the United States. Reportedly the Russian government is said to spend millions in building the image of Russia in the west. To achieve this goal the Russian government and state-owned companies have even partnered with Western public relation firms.  (Kupchinsky, R. 2009).

Although the PR firm is dragged into the Ukraine controversy, the company seems to have distanced itself from anything that can tarnish its image. Responding to scrutiny, official from the PR firm said in a statement: "We are not advising the Russian Federation on foreign policy, including the current situation in Ukraine" (Sullivan, A. 2014).

Ketchum Inc. continues to stress its objective to support economic development and investments in the country and to facilitate relationship between representatives of the Russian federation and western media. But will the PR firm be able to survive after the Ukraine crisis. The US-Russia relationship has always been a shaky boat and using PR firms like these, Russia is trying really hard to make this relationship steady. Post Ukraine, will Russia’s PR machinery in the U.S. still be able to do their job and rebuild trust. That’s something we’ll have to wait to see.

Reference list

Kupchinsky, R. (2009). Russia's Hired Lobbies in the West. The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved from website

Sullivan, A. (2014). Russia's U.S. PR firm distances itself from Ukraine dispute. Reuters. Retrieved from website

Brand promise can make you or break you

A corporation's brand promise is the commitment to deliver made between the brand and its audience. A brand promise motivates the audience to buy. So ultimately what is important is to live by the brand promise. If the brand doesn't deliver the promise, it will die. In a Gallup survey involving four-million customers, it was found that one in five unhappy customers feel that the brands they patronized were not keeping up with promises (Timmerman, J. 2013).

The brand message, the customer expectation, and execution have to be aligned with one another. The minute there is disengagement, people will begin to be disinterested in the brand. It's like making a promise to your friend and then not keeping it. But a friend might give you a second chance, a customer will never give a second chance.

I believe that as a brand it is important to be able to touch the heart of customers and prospective customers. Doing that will help us emotionally connect to our audience. For instance, I am not brand conscious at all. But when it comes to my shoes, it has to be "Adidas." Over and above, if anyone asks me to recommend some good pair of shoes, I recommend Adidas. So without actually paying me, I have become a brand ambassador. If a customer is emotionally engaged with a brand, they become fully engaged brand ambassadors. Gallup finds that an effective brand promise is compelling, connecting and credible.

A lot of thinking goes into setting up a brand promise. And more efforts go into keeping the brand promise. A brand promise must be able to convey a compelling benefit, it must be authentic and credible, and it must be kept every time (Hinge Marketing). A few examples of brands that have kept their promise are FedEx's "Your package will get there overnight. Guaranteed," Apple's "You can own the coolest, easiest-to-use cutting-edge computers and electronics," McKinsey & Company's "You can hire the best minds in management consulting," and The Nature Conservancy's "Empowering you to save the wilderness."

Before developing a brand promise, the company should ask itself a few questions, What is the value of the company and its brand?; How is the brand different from competition?; What are the attributes of the company’s brand?; Then, what is the company’s brand promise? Companies that manage to answer these questions honestly, create a livable brand promise.

Reference list

Elements of a Successful Brand 4: Brand Promise. Hinge Marketing. Retrieved March 7, 2014 from website

Timmerman, J. (2013). Your Brand Is Your Company's Engine. Gallup Business Journal. Retrieved March 7, 2014 from website