What’s in a Slogan
The emotional impact of a good slogan is undeniable…it can make or break your image. But what goes into coming up with a great slogan that represents your product or service?
The City of Calgary has recently come under fire for already spending over $10,000 of tax payers money to come up with a new and improved slogan. Now, Calgary’s present slogan is “Heart of the New West”, which still conjures up images of cows and cowboys; probably a little narrow for a city vying for a bigger share of the cosmopolitan pie. Do they need a new slogan? Well that’s certainly up for debate. Is $10,000 a lot of money for a large organization to spend on part its branding? Probably not.
Large organizations have large infrastructure, everything from pens to letterhead to buses need to be rebranded and redesigned. The expense in altering all that equipment, and all those images is huge. When cities brand themselves a lot of people are affected and a lot of people need to be informed. Ensuring that people receive the intended message is important. Ensuring there are no unintentional gaffs is critical. To ensure that all of this goes smoothly armies of consultants, focus groups, statisticians, psychologists, and designers will be employed. Getting it right the first time is absolutely necessary.
The Province of Alberta has just gone through the rebranding process. The old slogan “Alberta Advantage” has been replaced by “Freedom to Create. Spirit to Achieve.”, at a cost to Alberta tax payers of $25,000,000. No that is not a typo. The new slogan, while giving you the warm fuzzies, is difficult to recall. I like the slogan, I hear it on the radio almost every day, but I still had to look it up before writing this. Hopefully, the $10,000 that the city of Calgary has invested so far will produce a memorable slogan, boost Calgary’s self esteem and be money well spent for the future of the province.
Having said all that, dropping a couple of million on marketing is far out of reach of the average business, but it does demonstrate the importance of putting proper thought into your image… your brand.
Think outside the Flock... The Plaid Sheep