Inspired, or rather uninspired by the use of the world ‘solution’ in a brand name or tagline, the thought came around what other words should be given the big miss. Without too much trouble, superior, excellence, committed, unique.There’s two good reasons to steer well clear of such terms. They mean nothing – and, in actual … Continue reading ‘Solution’ is not the solution – even if it sounds like it should be
Category Archives: Persuasive message
If we’re being persuasive with our messages, we must make it easy for our readers. One of the keys to this is making your idea, or whatever it is that you’re selling, easy to picture. No matter how abstract your concept, unless someone can see it concretely in their mind’s eye, you’ll never get them … Continue reading A picture (in the mind) is worth much more than a thousand words
Show me someone who knows it all – and I’ll get them to run for god. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view) no one knows everything. No writer, no matter how intelligent, can know the ins and outs of a particular industry or sector. No business person, in spite of a depth … Continue reading Collaborative message making means you can make 1 + 1 = 3
Look at the following picture outside Trade Aid’s central Wellington shop. Then check its tagline (which indeed is the first thing you see) Hand made change Three words that combine to make a distinctive, different and desirable message. Not only does it reflect the change that Trade Aid is helping to bring to under-developed economies, … Continue reading A tagline…nailed
Or, why your tagline needs to nail your company’s promise If your company name doesn’t indicate what you do, then the tagline, sometimes known as a slogan, is especially important. It needs to be distinctive and different; and that’s what makes it valuable. That’s because it is the start of your conversation with your customer. … Continue reading Would you start a story by giving it a misleading headline?
What do you think the billboard pictured below in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, is ‘selling’? You certainly can’t tell from its tagline – defined at About.com as “a slogan or phrase that visually conveys the most important product attribute or benefit that the advertiser wishes to convey”. Well, if “Delivering exceptional customer experiences since … Continue reading So, what does CallActive actually do?
Many people are scared to use metaphors. Sometimes rightly. An over-used, too familiar metaphor is brushed aside and quickly ignored by a reader. But done correctly, a metaphor is like the first sip of a cold beer on a hot summer’s day…hitting the spot perfectly. And don’t think their use is a recent phenomenon necessitated … Continue reading Why you shouldn’t be afraid of metaphors
The problem with many messages, from taglines to web home pages, is they try to say too much. Instead of presenting one clear argument, a proof, of what’s on offer, you get mixed messages. For our relatively straight-forward minds, which are always attempting to sift and categorise information, this is really confusing. Indeed, such is … Continue reading Why your message can only have one central truth
As someone who, for a felted wool ball I tried to commercialise, came up with one name ‘Sheep Balls’, I’m only too well aware of the dangers of a poor brand name. A recent edition of The Economist has Johnson, a book reviewer, giving the once-over of Alexandra Watkins “infectious little book”. Watkins, the founder … Continue reading Getting your brand name right or wrong…it is where fools rush in
This is a blog, business and belief in better messaging. It is predicated on one main premise – we’re all selling something. Therefore, the messages, the stories, we tell about our products and services, matter. Why? In today’s instant and digital world, we have limited time to capture and hold people’s’ attention. We move on, … Continue reading Why your messages that matter, matter