Know-How Exchange : Taglines/Names

I think this goal is right up there with achieving world peace, resolving the conflict(s) in the Middle East, and curing all forms of cancer by year-end. It's not going to happen.

And I say that with some confidence because the universe of people who think "catchy" is the goal is huge -- millions and millions -- and they only show up in places where you can educate them infrequently. Further, the cost of a genuine campaign to educate this vast and diverse audience would be prohibitive.

Net, I think we're going to have to give our advice gently to each person who shows up requesting a catchy tagline or name. They don't mean any harm by their request, and most of them seem to respond positively when we explain that "catchy" shouldn't be the goal.

Like it or not, a lot of people think Marketing is all about coming up with cute/catchy slogans and jingles. We're not likely to change that in our lifetimes.

Now world peace and resolving the Middle East mess are actually possible by comparison, if we can only get the US Congress to authorize an increase in the debt ceiling before August 2.

I think that catchy for the sake of catchy is where the problem lies.

Find a word, tagline or phrase, that will catch the attention and imagination of the customer, to spur their interest and pre-purchase or post-purchase experience of the brand / business actually is a good thing.

This naturally implies conveying the underlying value of the brand / business, which might be hard with one word or a simple tagline, but isn't this the essence of the service we try to offer our customers ?

Mikael
B2B Marketing

To play devil's advocate, what's wrong with a catchy name? If the name attracts some attention, that's not a bad thing. It seems to me that the problem is that people think that a name (or a website, or a tagline, etc.) alone will magically make their business blossom. If they've done their "homework", then the name may be just the thing they need to stand out, get noticed, and have people see that underneath the catchiness, there's a great offering.

The "catchy" name works best when it's clever wordplay that's closely associated with a principal idea that authentically represents the topic ... but as mgoodman points out, those who are exposed to such names (or likely to ask for them) are usually not educated in such things or likely to spend time where they can be educated by a marketing pro ... thus they see only the "catchy" and not the relevance.

It's similar to copy. Most people think a writer just types it up. The planning, the strategy, the multiple rewrites, the flow, the polishing, the hours, the intellect, and even the results are usually invisible to most people. In that same way, part of the charm of the catchy name is -- click! -- with a snap of the fingers it's created. There's little awareness of the imagineering that goes into it. ("Imagineering" is a good example; an attention-getting word invented by those clever Disney folks ... and not overnight.)

Sometimes on this forum, managers who don't know the first thing about marketing are, let's face it, just putting up their homework for us to do, or brainstorm. Not complaining, just observing there are a lot of folks out there who are directed to, say, "start a newsletter and make sure to give it a catchy name." If this is item #39 on their to-do list, they're not going to invest themselves in it. Instead, for a few points on this forum, they give us the ball and we hit them a couple of grounders. Maybe they'll have what it takes to field one or two and throw it to first, so they can move on back to their "real" priorities. Or maybe what we provide is just fodder for their next meeting, where the search for a catchy name takes on a life we don't see.

I'm guilty of trying to satisfy these requests because I know they need a quick result (and then have to move on to the next thing on their list), and it doesn't offend me that understanding marketing can't always be the most important thing for the person who comes here with a problem. Sometimes they're in over their heads, sometimes they need a solution yesterday, and the "catchy name" is really their hope for a Hail Mary pass to get out of a jam.

If we're going to be honest, no one who shows up here with a weak request, no solid idea of the results they need to achieve, and few (if any) relevant details, can reasonably expect to get top-dollar brilliance in off-the-top-of-one's-head turnaround time.

Even in the weakest of cases, I think it's still a fair request, from their point of view, because at least they're asking for help. Possibly an ebook or blogpost along the lines of "10 Reasons to Avoid Catchy Names" would be a good promotional opportunity for those who are on this forum to build up their marketing clientele. Or perhaps that's a Marketing Profs article. Regardless, it's a good way to begin redirecting conventional thinking.

Those who come here and are serious about delivering good results on the job, could take such a piece back to their colleagues and use it to shift the "catchy name" dynamic and create a smarter start on their projects.

So, back to your question, I doubt we as marketers can get rid of the "catchy name." But what we could all do, in our separate working situations, is put a bit more effort into the problem mgoodman cites, by taking such opportunities to teach a little at the point of need; and specifically by changing the language we use in the "catchy name" scenario.

That way, client-types can better understand that the alliteration, double meaning, juxtaposition or amusing similarities they like so much in other company's catchy phrases is not the point; that the cleverness of any of those begins with relevance to the core message and its audience. It's as important as the title of a (non-fiction) book, and let's face it, some of the most powerful names in that arena anything but catchy.

If only we could come up with a catchy phrase for the catchy phrase ...

Sorry to be long-winded but you SAID you wanted a discussion.

Hi Gary,

I think the main reason is that many of the " I've discovered word press therefore I'm now an SEO expert and can cover all your aspects of marketing" group find it an easy route to market.

Now don't get me wrong, I've nothing against Word press, but have plenty against bad marketing policies and people who believe that they can do a job that they have no idea about.

I believe that the only way is to be brutally honest. If you have a successful marketing campaign, your brand awareness and sales will increase, if it's bad, they will either stagnate or decrease. You cannot offer guarantees, but you can create a risk factor element. Naturally, this depends on the focus of the campaign and all the other bits it contains.

Now comes the harsh part, what's catchy for one, isn't catchy for another, you can never please 100% of the market, you can only get a majority. That doesn't make it right or wrong, it just makes it part of the risk element.

People with little experience, often rebrand an existing strapline, because they don't have the creativity to do something different. In fact if we think about it, the word strapline was rebranded from "slogan", are either of those words "catchy"?

The bottom line is every campaign that we create we are responsible for, every new sale we create takes it away from another business, another mouth to feed, that’s why it's never ending and why so many people get on the bandwagon.

IF a client wants something quickly, it's either because he hasn't planned or he's been let down, I wonder how many of us actually bother to ask as opposed to just thinking of the contract value. If you deal with the client correctly, it educates the client and his referrals which is what benefits you.

So, what's right and what's wrong, can we take over the world and abolish bad practices, unfortunately not, but we can educate, and that should be part of any good practice policy.

Finally, and this might rub against the grain, but your own strapline "The Direct Response Marketing Guy". It tells me that you as a one man band, the word "guy" would not appeal to the majority of corporate businesses, however it may appeal to sole traders as your rate would be lower than your competitors.

Does that make it a "catchy name", well it simply depends on your own market demographic, some will like it, some won't, neither does it make it right or wrong, the bottom line is if it works for you or your client and more importantly, if you can justify it and you believe 100% that it's right, then use it.

Sometimes, we cut corners and forget what we started believing in the beginning, go back to basics, in fact read paragraph four on your own website in about us.

You're the only one that can make a change and educate your clients.

Cheers

Nev

Gary,

Interesting thread - and comments.

I rather like catchy names myself, but I do agree that they are over-rated as "magic branding bullets." I believe the over-rating reflects two kinds of bias (1) attribution error, (2) failure blindness.

1.1 - Attribution error, also known as the halo effect, means that cause and effect relationships have not been properly understood. Success is attributed to event A, when it really came about because of (fortuitous) circumstances B,C and D.

For instance, Apple is a catchy name for a computer. That must be the reason it was successful.

1.2 - Failure blindness, or the graveyard effect, is ignoring the data about mistakes, from ventures that no longer even exist. "How best do we throw someone into the water, from what height, into a quiet fresh water pond or a choppy, heavily salted sea, to teach him how to swim?" Ignoring the data about all the folk who drowned with the "throw" method does not lead to a good marketing strategy for the company offering swimming instruction.

People ignore all those disappeared products and services that had catchy names.

However the flip side of the coin should not be ignored either. The first personal computer was not Apple, but the MITS Altair 8800. That is not exactly a name that grabs you for a revolutionary new product.

Regards,
JH

“Catchy” as requested in the majority of name and tagline posts can be translated as “we haven’t done our homework, could you KHE guys perform a miracle and guess a perfect memorable solution”.

Catchy (catching a memory slot in the mind) that reflects a strategic position is highly desirable. Catchy for catchy sake can be desirable when combined with a full blown marketing budget, .e.g. “Screaming Yellow Zonkers” which created it’s own pop culture status.

Ultimately, catchy requests cannot be stopped. Mgoodman and others will continue to post requests for more information and provide suitable solutions.

Steve

Hey there,


First of all, I'd agree into catchy name and jingles.
it works :)

How i define catchy - it is a name that is easy to remember/pronounce and relates to my target audience.

I believe each name/title have to be localised to the market.

e.g.. Dynamo vs Kaboom
both sells the same thing, but the sales tend to side kaboom as it is a slang that used by the consumer.

another example in my country:
usually people will think of camera product when u say 'smile, 1, 2, 3' but there is another that works better here, 'chiakk' it symbolise the sound shutter sound when you take the picture. Consumer tend to relates themself more to the 'Chiaak' compare the other.

we often think very hard on USP, and name our product/campaign/headline based on it. But what really attracts people is ESP (emotional selling point).

Instead of naming certain thing based on the key features of your product, why not think of a feeling/emotional you want people to have.

For instant, instead naming your camera in a technology way and sell it's features (mp, underwater, etc.). Consumer is buying 16mp with background defocus.

NO!!

We want consumer to buy long lasting memories, enjoy every moments with your family and so on.

Moving backward, if the name alone doesn't attract the crowd, it'll waste even more budget and time.


Conclusion, i agree in having catchy line that have been localised to the market languages.


Hans =)

What Hans is describing is the difference between a benefit-oriented positioning and an end-benefit positioning, or even an end-end-benefit positioning.

And how you name a product or service, and the tagline you use, should be a reflection of the positioning. If the tagline is "catchy" (i.e., memorable) that's fine, but when "catchy" becomes the objective, you've walked away from the positioning and made the communications task much more difficult.

You're almost always better served communicating the positioning clearly and relying on that to make you memorable. When it's a pun, or joke, or other "catchy" device, you run the risk that people will remember the "catchy" and you won't be "positioned" in their heads with the real reason they should include you in their consideration set.

The only ones who seem to get away with "catchy" are companies with very deep pockets who can afford to make their positioning point without relying totally on "catchy." In those cases, "catchy" becomes an added bonus ... and perhaps allows them to move a step up on the positioning benefit scale ... to an end-benefit or an end-end-benefit.

What works here may not work there.

Oatmeal/porridge was an average (safe) breakfast when i was growing up....stayed with a family while we were moving and I couln't eat the stuff!!

You see they were from Scotland ... I'm Canadian (so?).
Regional preference and expectations had slyly invaded my simple world.

The Scots add salt to overcome bland.
I was used to sugar.
I couldn't add enough sugar to overcome my hosts inadvertant attempt to kill me!
I refused to eat it, embarrassed my family and host..

Adding spice really works when it covers everything in the brief.

Overcomming bland it tricky..... overcomming a bad taste experience is way more difficult.

Test, test, test.