Like a Diamond, Good Slogan Lasts Forever

Quick. Can you name the tagline for Coca-Cola? How about for Pepsi? They’re two of the most recognizable brands in the word. They spend a lot of money on advertising. Surely, you can name their taglines, right?

Not so much, according to Steve Cone of Epsilon, who recently spoke to Humana’s marketing team about good marketing. Cone travels the country offering a $50 bill to anyone who can name the soda giants’ taglines. That $50 is still in his wallet.

These examples show that the biggest companies don’t always make the most of their marketing dollars, he said. In fact, Cone contends that bigger the company; the more likely it is that they are needlessly draining their marketing budgets.

If you’ve got a good tagline, stick with it, he said. Coke and Pepsi are two companies that are probably best known for earlier taglines. Have you had a Coke and a smile? Did you join the Pepsi generation?

Good taglines are simple, Cone said, reflecting a company’s values with an attitude. You do know that what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas, right? The slogan is actually “Vegas: What Happens Here, Stays Here,” but you get the picture.

Jingles work well, Cone said. He also likes personalizing the brand with a celebrity or a character, especially a character. After all, “Tony the Tiger” never gets caught like Tiger Woods. Finally, integrate your marketing campaign across all platforms.

Follow these tips and perhaps everyone will know your tagline, even if you don’t advertise on the Super Bowl.

By the way, Coca-Cola’s current slogan is “Open Happiness,” while Pepsi boasts that it “Refreshes the Word.” Keep those in mind just in case you run into Steve Cone. You can thank me for the $50 later.

My Cup Runneth Over

When I was a cub reporter, I learned one of my first lessons about brand management. I had written about a fire in the small southern Indiana town where I worked. I said the fire moved quickly after spreading to some “Styrofoam cups.”

Several weeks later I got a letter from the good folks at Styrofoam. (Those were the days before e-mail). They were more worried about damage to their brand than damage to the house. They informed me, ever so firmly, that Styrofoam doesn’t make cups. They recommended the alternative “plastic foam” in place of Styrofoam.

I didn’t print a retraction. However, more than 20 years later, I’m probably the only guy you know who calls those things “plastic foam” cups.

Styrofoam may not exist anymore for all I know. Or they may have branched out into cups by now. But I can’t take that chance. Even as I write “Styrofoam cup” in this post, I fear some Internet robot may find the phrase. A letter of admonishment won’t be far behind.

The point is this: You’ve got to be passionate for protecting your brand, even if it’s only with some cub reporter at some small newspaper in southern Indiana. After all, those cub reporters eventually become reporters at much larger papers. They may even become a PR guy.