Author: Shubhadeep B.

China & America – last seven years

A Biblical Seven Years (link)
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Came across this piece by in The York Times. Some interesting notes :

  • “Holy mackerel, the energy coming out of this country is unrivaled.” And, two: “We are so cooked. Start teaching your kids Mandarin.”
  • The rich parts of China, the modern parts of Beijing or Shanghai or Dalian, are now more state of the art than rich America. The buildings are architecturally more interesting, the wireless networks more sophisticated, the roads and trains more efficient and nicer. And, I repeat, they did not get all this by discovering oil. They got it by digging inside themselves.
  • How China and America have spent the last seven years: China has been preparing for the Olympics; we’ve been preparing for Al Qaeda. They’ve been building better stadiums, subways, airports, roads and parks. And we’ve been building better metal detectors, armored Humvees and pilotless drones

Brand Taglines

I did some research on brand taglines for a professional requirement. Am sharing some info I collated. Hope its useful to someone.

Tagline is an often repeated phrase associated with an individual, organization, or commercial product.

A tagline should do some or all of the following:

  • Clarify (what you do, how you are positioned, etc.)
  • Express an important brand attribute
  • Support your positioning
  • Help people recognize and remember you
  • Emphasize a compelling customer benefit
  • Brand promise
  • Remind your organization of key focus
  • Amplify central marketing message

Helps to visualize what the tagline should be :

  • Think of a tagline as an opportunity to articulate your differentiation, express your personality or convey some other important brand quality
  • One of the few ways a company can explicitly articulate its brand promise express your company’s vision or unique market
  • Think of your tagline as a final exclamation point that wraps up your elevator pitch
  • Think of your tagline as a promise
  • Value of a great tagline to be two-fold—it helps explain your brand to your customers, and it continually reminds you of your brand’s ultimate focus (what you are trying to be)

8 Ingredients of a Great Tagline

  • Keep it short
  • Convey a single simple idea or benefit
  • If possible, be specific
  • Be sure your claim is believable
  • Avoid generic or clichéd statements that could apply to other businesses
  • Support or explain your positioning
  • Make it memorable
  • Stick with your tagline for the long haul

Characteristics of a good tagline:

  • ‘sell the sizzle, not the steak’ (benefit vs. feature)
  • not be usable by a competitor
  • impart positive feelings about the brand
  • differentiate the brand

Examples:

  • “Innovation” (3M)
  • “Better things for better living, through chemistry” (DuPont)
  • “Disease has no greater enemy” (Glaxo/Wellcome)
  • Holiday Inn: “Pleasing people the world over”
  • Karry-Lite: “Takes the ‘lug’ out of luggage”
  • Polaroid: “The fun develops instantly”
  • The Economist: “Free enterprise with every issue”
  • British Rail: “We’re getting there”
  • Cheese Council: “Anyway you please it, cheese it”
  • Timex: “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking”
  • Metropolitan Home: “Mode for your abode”
  • Apple: Think different
  • TAZO: The reincarnation of tea
  • FedEx: The world on time
  • Saturn: A different kind of car company
  • eBay: The world’s online marketplace
  • Target: Expect more. Pay less.
  • GE: We bring good things to life

Test for a good tagline:

  • Is your tagline consistent with your brand name and brand positioning?
  • Will your target audience understand the language you’ve used?
  • Are you communicating one simple idea?
  • Will your tagline stand out in advertising and corporate communications?
  • Have you tried out the tagline with clients and prospects?
  • Does your tagline differentiate your firm from the competition?
  • Have you removed all acronyms and jargon?
  • Are you using specifics rather than vague words or generalizations?
  • Lastly, check if your tagline communicates your brand promise to your prospects and customers. And helps them choose YOU in a cluttered marketplace.

Online Resources: