Can you trust a slogan?

Slogans get a bad rap.

There are a lot of marketing experts who look down their noses at the word.

Far better, it seems, to call it a brand line or a strapline or a positioning line.

"Slogan" is too jingoistic. Which is a whole other argument for a whole other time.

In the interest of customer-centricity, lets call it what Jo Public calls it.

A good slogan is a great thing.

The Spirit of Australia.

World Famous in New Zealand.

For a hard-earned thirst.

The happiest place on earth.

A great slogan is memorable. The best are so memorable even people who don’t what you’re selling you can’t get it out of their heads.

Build that wall!

It’s time.

Finger Lickin’ Good.

Great lines don’t just have to work for advertising.

Ritz-Carlton have a great internal line. “Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.” Which, while it may feel old-fashioned, sets up a great modern hotel service experience. Arguably the best hotel experience.

Which they bring to life in their advertising through slogans like, “Leave Better.” Something they can only promise if the experience is so good it helps you find your smile again.

Great lines are only recognised as great lines if they do three things:

They stick in the mind

They’re true to the experience

They live on.

Building a memorable line means building a memory.

Which, in the 1-second economy, means more than one exposure. So, you need to stay constant. Keep using the line. Make the line true. So, the line reflects the experience. And the experience is forced to live up to the line. Which builds a culture over time.

And, if you have a great culture, the experience is your marketing. And it’s easier to become so famous for something you don’t need to advertise.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast.

Build the culture and they will come.

Build the culture and you don't need slogans.

Which brings me to one of the best culture lines I've heard in an age.

Work culture is best measured by how people feel on Sunday evening about coming into work on Monday.