{"id":63415,"date":"2019-08-21T08:16:01","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T15:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandsfortheheart.com\/?p=63415"},"modified":"2020-12-14T22:51:56","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T06:51:56","slug":"brand-messaging-101-three-simple-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandsfortheheart.com\/articles\/brand-messaging-101-three-simple-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Brand Messaging 101 for Beginners – Part One – Three Simple Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Brand Messaging 101 for Beginners – Part One – Three Simple Rules<\/span><\/h1>\n

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I have a hobby: I collect business taglines. Whenever I\u2019m out and about shopping (or window shopping), I\u2019ll snap pictures of taglines. When I\u2019m surfing the internet or when a pesky ad pops up, I might click it just so that I can check out their branded message. In fact, I have a long Excel sheet crammed with taglines I\u2019ve rated, good, okay, and ugly. Before I let you take a peek, I\u2019m going to share three simple rules to get you started on creating your own brand messaging.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brand Messaging 101 – Rule #1 – Don\u2019t be vague!<\/span><\/h2>\n

An example of a vague tagline is \u201cLive your best life!\u201d Think about it: a life coach and a financial advisor can have this same tagline. Instead, I invite you to describe the <\/span>how, why or what you do differently<\/b>\u2013as a life coach or a financial advisor\u2013you help people live their best lives. Write out your thoughts! Materialize your thoughts and fill out the whole paper. Be as descriptive and clear as you possibly can. Don\u2019t worry if it\u2019s a bit long, you\u2019ll work on sound byte and conciseness later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another hint: If your brand\u2019s message <\/span>feels<\/b> general or vague it probably is.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a couple of vague taglines from businesses you may have heard of:<\/span><\/p>\n

Burger King
\n<\/b>Be Your Way<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why it\u2019s vague
\n<\/b>In an effort to connect to Millenials, Burger King changed its tagline from <\/span>Have It Your Way<\/span><\/i> to BE Your Way. The former tagline was clear; remember the commercial where someone ordered a Whopper without mayo? Did Burger King make that a thing? The only reason I know that they\u2019re trying to appeal to young Millenials is because I looked it up. Aren\u2019t Millennials more health-conscious these days? How is a burger going to help you be your way. I\u2019m not a fan of the new tagline, because the strategy behind it doesn\u2019t seem to make a whole lot of sense for its intended audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately for Burger King, they already have thousands of chains across the world so they can afford to change their brand messaging and create buzz around it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Here are 8 other businesses that changed their brand messaging. Let me know in the comments if you agree with their business move: Then and Now: Businesses That Changed Their Taglines<\/a><\/span><\/h5>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Adidas
\n<\/b>Impossible is nothing<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why it\u2019s vague
\n<\/b>What is clear about this tagline is that <\/span>Just Do It<\/span><\/i> is already and that this tagline is a me-too vaguer version. A poor attempt to sound original.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rule #2 – Avoid Non-differentiated statements such as “The Best Quality” + “The Best Customer Service”<\/span><\/h2>\n

This includes words such as efficient and effective. Instead, describe how your product or service <\/span>is<\/b> efficient and effective. Get specific!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost every client I have worked with has thought that what made them different from their competitors was their customer service or quality. The truth is, having great quality and amazing customer service are both must-have\u2019s to exist in almost any industry these days. So avoid taglines like, \u201cWe\u2019re the best x\u201d, \u201cWe\u2019re the only x out there!\u201d because you\u2019ll end up fading into the crowd instead of standing out. Your company may absolutely have the best quality and have the best service, but these branded taglines are just too common.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stay away from taglines that sound like this:<\/span><\/p>\n