Tag Archives: effortless

Three words – well chosen. Period

Marketing, messages that matter, million dollar message, one central truth, punchline, slogan, Tagline, ,
DHL's slogan or Million Dollar Message is deceptively simple, effortlessly good
DHL’s slogan or Million Dollar Message is deceptively simple, effortlessly good

It would be interesting to know how long it took DHL to come up with its slogan/tagline (first, most important story).

You can see it on their distinctive yellow courier vans – Excellence. Simply delivered.

According to DHL’s website, this its actually its mission; its vision being to be the Logistics Company for the World.

Usually I’m not that keen on using deliver in your Million Dollar Message – after all, everyone delivers something. But delivery’s DHL’s stock-in-trade so is a legitimate use in their case. (It’s similar to a chemical company have fair rights to the use of solution if they so wish).

However, all three words and their punctuation are superb in DHL’s case.

The use of a standalone ‘Excellence’ is excellent. The full stop after it gives it emphasis. There’s a delightful ambiguity around whether excellence is what DHL provides, or what their customer receives.

‘Simply delivered’ is a nice double play on words. An emphasis can be placed on either, and as a consequence provides slightly different meanings.

The overall effect of the slogan is effortless; which is ideally what you want when describing yourself.

But while it appears effortless, you can be certain a lot of time and thinking went into its creation.

Any business can and should express an essence of its own story as succinctly as possible.

Perhaps reducing it to three words is too big an ask for many – but such an objective should not be sneezed at.

After all, we all have access to the clever storytelling use of language. And it may be the trigger that helps people remember our what and why.

At the same time it should be recognised that finding that essential truth about yourself is no easy thing. If you need a hand, give Punchline a call – it’s our stock-in-trade.

A good story is obvious…once you see or hear it

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A good story is effortless for the listener or reader. Getting there is difficult. Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

A good story is obvious…once you see it

The best stories appear effortless.

Whether it is someone spinning a yarn, telling you in less than 10 seconds why you should be interested in what they’re selling, or the first thing read on a website, a good story captivates us.

As Lisa Cron outlines in her book ‘Wired for Story’, our brains crave a narrative from every story we encounter.

We are curious creatures, and a good story ignites our brain’s hardwired desire to learn what happens next.

What seems obvious when someone tells a good business story – is evidence after the fact.

Getting to a clear, desirable and distinctive story about yourself however, is a real challenge.

You have to know, really know, what problem it is you’re solving, and how your product or service is the answer.

To find that story you have to question yourself, and question again. This deep questioning unearths one central truth about what you offer.

Constructing a what and why statement about yourself is then immensely easier – you understand what it is you’re trying to reflect through story, about your business.

And then, the story seems obvious – which in itself is a measure of success.