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Help With Tag Line
Posted By: amie* on 8/2/2004 11:02 AM (CST) 250 Points
I'm starting an online business selling crochet patterns for shawls, ponchos, scarves, handbags etc... Eventually I'll break into housewares like pillows and blankets and such.

These patterns will create quality products for my clients; these aren't things my little old granny would make. These items are very popular today, selling in most small and large dept. stores. I'm gearing my sales to a younger, hipper audience, but I don't want to offend potentially older clients either.

I have already come up with a name and logo. For those who have a moment to see it, it's at: nexstitch.com. For those who don't, the logo is half of a crochet needle with the text "NexStitch" written inside the needle.

I started coming up with tag line ideas already. I had a couple ideas in mind in terms of the direction I was trying to go in.

At first, I tried to brainstorm ideas that would colorfully illustrate the range of users who might be buying my products:

Sassy Threads With a Cosmopolitan Flare

But I found it to be too verbose. So then I tried to describe how my "wares" would be a cut above the rest, almost trendy-setting if you will:

The Next Step in Fashionable Crochet

I like that it used "next" in it since it's in the name and does help communicate a part of what I intended, but I found it to be too stale sounding. And, I hated "fashionable" too since it conjures up opinions more than anything: "What makes these items 'fashionable' to you? Define it?!"

Then, after reading another post here I tried the 'three little words' approach:

Savvy. Sassy. Sophisticated.

So far, that's the one I like best. I'd really like some opinions from others that are a little more learned than I in this area. Any help you can give me would be appreciated. I've seen some excellent responses on this forum.

Thank you in advance,
*amie*

Posted by: KJMurray* Accepted Answer
8/2/2004 11:26 AM (CST)
Amie,

I think you've hit the nail on the head! My sister crochets quite a bit and I know this would interest her. Sounds like you've really given this a lot of thought and have a clear direction as to where you want this to go.

The only suggestion I would make is with the font you've used on your logo. If you go with that tag line, I would change the font to something that is also more savvy and sophisticated. Right now, the "NEX" appears kind of techno or futuristic. Overall it seems pretty bold. You might want to use something with an italic font or something that also conveys the savvy, sassy, and sophisticated. Good luck!
 
Posted by: Michele Member Response
8/2/2004 12:08 PM (CST)
I like the general idea - but I think that the positioning statement could be refined completely.

What about
nexstitch.com
Contemporary Croquet
 
Posted by: LittleWhacky Member Response
8/2/2004 1:23 PM (CST)
I love it Michele but my own personal recollection of croquet is it's best to play it when you've had a few drinks!

Seriously ... my two cents' worth:

nexstich.com
Now, crochet's cool

SUZE
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Accepted Answer
8/2/2004 2:34 PM (CST)
"Get hooked on style"
"String never looked this good"
"Creations that hook you."

I'm knot at peak form today... maybe some more ideas will come later... ;]

Shelley
 
Posted by: Frances* Member Response
8/2/2004 4:39 PM (CST)
Hi
I think you need the word 'crochet' in the tagline. My try:

Designer crochet
 
Posted by: cal* Accepted Answer
8/2/2004 10:51 PM (CST)
I wouldn't worry too much about offending some people, amie. If they can be easily offended then they may not be part of your target market. If fact, you might be able to use images that show 'hardcore' crocheting traditionalists looking on with 'horror' at some of the designs, and products resulting from the designs. To create an effective new position, it's nice to have an established 'enemy' to position against. Eg. Pepsi's 'new generation', positioning against Coke's 'old thing'.

Also, being a bit controversial might work for you. It's worked for many others. Among other things, it can attract PR, which is almost a necessity nowadays to build a well known brand.

To my way of thinking, it's nice to have a line that as much as possible:

- ‘tells it like it is' (not too cutesy)
- captures the imagination (or at least captures the interest)
- conveys/suggests a unique promise
- positions your differentiating new category concept
- positions your new brand that delivers the differentiating new category concept
- repositions the competition and their concept(s)


A couple historical lines that come to mind:

Eg. We're #2, so why go with us? We try harder.
Eg. When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight.


One tag line direction possibility:

NexStitch | Crocheting just got a (whole?) lot cooler
NexStitch.com | Crocheting just got a (whole?) lot cooler


You could also use mix and match tag line variations, but all along the same differentiating concept direction. Eg. - a double liner:

NexStitch(.com) | Savvy. Sassy. Sophisticated.
Crocheting just got a (whole?) lot cooler.

cal
 
Posted by: ASVP/ChrisB Member Response
8/3/2004 8:19 AM (CST)
How about...

Get knotted. Get hooked. www.nexstitch.com.
 
Posted by: LittleWhacky Member Response
8/3/2004 8:31 AM (CST)
I like the "get hooked" ... but beware using "get knotted" if you're planning to go for the UK market. (In the UK it means "go **** yourself...surprised it doesn't mean the same in Oz?)

SUZE
 
Posted by: cal* Accepted Answer
8/3/2004 9:25 AM (CST)
amie,

Adding to my last comment last night "You could also use mix and match tag line variations, but all along the same differentiating concept direction.":

NexStitch.com | Crocheting just got a whole lot sassier.

Then you could have 'The Sassy Collection, from NexStitch.com'

This is using a 'subconcept' approach to marketing. It continues on with the overall concept of 'cool', but offers subcategories of that concept.

One example of a past subconcept was Apple's 'desktop publishing'. (It allowed them to break into the business market.)

Another way to say 'sassier' is to use something that is already seen as being synonymous with 'sassy', and conveys imagery that you can use. Eg.:

NexStitch.com | Crocheting just got a whole lot more Madonna

The Madonna Collection | from NexStitch.com

(Might need Madonna's okay on this. Maybe not.)

Even the word 'cool' could be taken out of a line like my previous 'NexStitch.com | Crocheting just got a whole lot cooler', and replace it with something that conveys 'cool' to the target market.

(An 'out there' example: If you wanted to sell to macho men, you could say something like 'NexStitch.com | Crocheting just became a lot more Schwartzenegger') :)

Eg. for creating 'sexy' mind imagery in the consumers mind. Instead of saying 'NexStitch.com | Crocheting just became a lot more sexier':

NexStitch.com | Crocheting just became a lot more bedroom
NexStitch.com | Crocheting just became a lot more bedroom eyes
NexStitch.com | ...............

It can hit people's thinking in an 'unnormal' way that gets them interested in reading what you next want to say/sell.

Have fun!

cal
 
Posted by: amie* Member Response
8/4/2004 6:51 PM (CST)
I feel horrible that I haven't responded to this thread yet, but I'm having trouble with this website. This is the THIRD time I've registered for this service. For some reason, I can't keep my membership active. I emailed for help, but I haven't received any yet. It repeatedly says it doesn't recognize my email address. Not sure why, but I'm a little frustrated because I'd like to start handing out point for all of these INCREDIBLE responses everyone have given me.

Moving on...

Let me at least give some feedback here and then I can straighten out the rest later.

kmurray: I agree with you about the font situation. Before you posted, I had used the three "S's" tag line and made it with a cursive style font. It was too clashy. I don't think I anticipate changing the logo font, so I'm going to opt for a different style font for the tag line. Good Solid Advice. It steered me away from having clashing fonts.

Michele: I had a good chuckle over the croquet thing. I assumed you meant "crochet," and took the advice based on that. I like that it has the 2 C's, just like my three S's. It's simple and conveys the point. Thanks!

Suze: I can see where you're going with "Now crochet's cool." I'm just wondering if some hard core crocheters (I'm not one of them believe it or not) would ask themselves, "Crochet wasn't cool? What about the 70's?" LOL. But I can appreciate what you're saying with that tag line.

SRyan: I laughed so hard when I read, "String never looked this good." It oozed with personality, my personality. I also like, "Get hooked on style" because it uses "hook." I had racked my brain trying to think of how to use it in a tag line. It's a serious contender.

Frances: I'm not sure if I agree with your reasoning (it needs "crochet" in it), but I appreciate your effort nonetheless. I like the idea of saying "Designer..." because it implies the originality of the patterns.

Cal (responding to both posts):

About marketing around opposing side, I'm pretty sure I'm not going in that direction. I'm looking more towards the higher-end marketing styles like DKNY, Krizia, Dolce & Gabanna, Superga etc. I did like the "Crocheting Just Got a Whole Lot Cooler." Just like I said to Suze, I'd wonder if someone would read into that too much. (This is me trying to anticipate my customers).

"Crocheting just got a whole lot sassier." I like that! I think I can be a bit sassy myself, so I try to get that across in my designs too. I REALLY LIKE the idea of having "collections." It might help me market on various levels: the high-end and midlevel markets. I could see the Sassy Collection being the kind of "wares" for evening, and having a different line for day accessories. GREAT IDEA. LOVE IT. LOOOOVE IT. BIG POINTS! I love your overall thinking in the second post. I like the repeated theme idea. I do that in other things I do, but I never could think of an idea in that way of thinking. EXCELLENT IDEAS.

ASVP/Chris B: I like the "Get Hooked" part, yet I'm thinking it might not convey enough of what I'm trying to get across. I had a chuckle over finding out what "Get knotted" means in England. It reminds me of Esso gasoline, now Exxon. I heard that one meant devil in the Arabic language. LOL

So, OVERALL, these were some of the most creative, incredible ideas ever. THANK YOU ALL!

I'm going to send yet another email to the admin and see if I can get on with this point thing and close out this log. Hang in there...

*amie*
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Accepted Answer
8/5/2004 7:51 AM (CST)
Amie, the KHE moderator (Val) is in the midst of relocating her household, so you might need to exercise a bit of patience. Usually she's lightning-fast with her responses. Sorry you're experiencing problems here, by the way!

Don't wait for the "perfect" tagline. If one speaks to you, or as you say, OOZES your personality, then just try it on! Heck, your storefront is a website, so you can change it as often as you want. You can even have more than one tagline that cycles on schedule or at random. You can test what works well and what doesn't.... HOW to test it might be another question worth posting on this forum.

¤ Shelley ¤
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Accepted Answer
8/5/2004 7:59 AM (CST)
One last thought, maybe too trendy...

I have an inexplicable aversion to the words Sassy and Cool. What's more current?

"Make string your bling."
"Where string is bling."
"String becomes bling."

True, BLING is a term that will not last, but if you're cycling your tagline, it's worth consideration!!
 
Posted by: cal* Accepted Answer
8/5/2004 9:07 AM (CST)
Thanks, amie. Glad to see it's a help.

One key thing to keep in mind about all this - REALLY effective marketing today requires REALLY effective DIFFERENTIATION. If your marketing message(s) don't do a good job of expressing your differentness, then consumers won't be as responsive. My suggestion is if your marketing message(s) don't effectively differentiate you in a way that 'sells', then either don't use the message(s); or, if you have to, keep looking till you find something to replace them that does.
An article from a marketing strategist, who I believe warrants paying attention to:

http://troutandpartners.com/work/concepts.asp?language=

Just to clear things up a bit for you (or muddy them up :) ) about a couple of your comments, where you said "GREAT IDEAS" and "EXCELLENT IDEAS" - a quote: "Concepts are not ideas. They are the 'genes' of ideas."

My 'collections direction' is a CONCEPT, created for a certain level of the marketing process.
There's different levels of concepts. A subconcept to the 'collections direction' concept would be ones like my example 'the sassy collection'. My 'the Madonna collection' example is a subconcept of 'the sassy collection'. The actual crochet patterns you'll be selling are ideas. They 'deliver on'/'make concrete' the abstract concepts. A couple quotes about concepts in marketing:

• "A concept is better than a product (for marketing). Marketing today is a battle of concepts, not products."
• "Even if you adopt a ‘me-too' strategy and simply wait for others to develop a concept before following with the same concept, you will need some concepts of your own to follow successfully."
• "Benetton is a highly successful company in a very crowded and competitive field. The success of the company depended on some strong concepts."

EFFECTIVE new concepts aren't usually that easy to create (another concept quote: "Concepts are extremely important, but very difficult to create; in hindsight, of course,
almost all successful concepts seem easy and obvious. Current thinking methods do not handle to concept function properly.") , but look for them, use them when you find them, and find good ways of expressing them in your advertising.

Maybe just 'Crocheting is Cool(tm?)' could be a basic message you could use at the bottom of all your advertising, and make 'the collection direction' the main emphasis in your marketing messages. (In case you didn't know, you can 'common law' trademark mark something without having to pay/file for it):

http://www.google.ca/search?q=common+law+trademarks&ie=ISO-8859-1&hl=en&met...

You can also 'common law' trademark (and use a 'tm', but not an 'R') for a # of other things, like your NexStitch name, and/or other things, like your NexStitch/needle drawing combination.

I would suggest formally tradmarking anything that could be a winner, or is turning out to be so. Joel Barker, paraphrased: "Intellectual property is the key to wealth in the 1990s and on for most businesses."

One cheaper alternative for filing, if you don't do it yourself, are paralegals like these:

http://www.arvic.com/library/chapter3.asp

Best to you, amie.
cal
 
Posted by: Val (Moderator)* Moderator Response
8/8/2004 11:04 AM (CST)
Hi all. Thanks for your valuable contributions here! Aime asked me to close this question for her. We're experiencing a weird hang-up with her account - otherwise she would have closed it herself. Hoping to resolve the glitch shortly.

Best,

Val
 


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