Winston-Salem, North Carolina is appealing to its citizens to help them come up with a new tagline, a key message that will carry their city further into the 21st century.  (http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/o-winston-salem-needs-a-slogan/article_6202db24-e22a-5cce-8dcb-61515dca2112.html )

Early on, Winston-Salem was known as Camel City (hard to imagine, eh?).  Later, it was The World’s Tobacco Metropolis (1932).  Other attempts that didn’t focus on the business of its famous namesake have included The City of Historic Charm and Thriving Industry and The City of Culture, History and Industry.  More recently, Winston-Salem was City of the Arts (later expanded to City of the Arts & Innovation) and O! Winston-Salem, Now That’s Living.  The only good thing about O! Winston-Salem, which reportedly cost city fathers $65,000, was that it quickly faded away after some well-deserved snickering.   The City of Arts and Innovation is appealing but too narrowly focused.*

So now Winston-Salem has thrown up its hands and asked the folks who live there to come up with something.  Good idea!  And since my family and I have lived in the city twice over the years and reside today in its western suburbs, here’s my 2-cents worth on developing a tagline for Winston-Salem -- or any city or region, for that matter:

Most critically, an effective -- and enduring -- tagline must answer a strategic question.  And strategic questions about a city must be asked from the perspective of its many constituents, which include people looking on the city both from the outside and the inside: natives, newcomers, those considering a move to town, recent graduates, young families, singles of all ages, retired folks, etc.  Your average citizen, the business community, businesses looking to start up or relocate, the local CVB and Chamber of Commerce, other non-profits and people interested in the arts, dining and entertainment, education, sports and religion all must fit comfortably under the new tagline.  

Here are key questions to ask of a city and its people during tagline deliberations:

·      Why should I want to live here – or raise my family here?
·      How is “my” city different from other cities of similar or different size?
·      Why should I want to locate my business here?
·      How does this city answer these questions today?
·      How will it answer them in the future; what is its vision (dream with a goal)?

AThese qualities help create an effective tagline – in rough order of priority:

·      declares clear strategic space (as exclusive as possible)
·      is authentic (grounded in Marketable Truth©)
·      is meaningful  (speaks directly to people’s needs and wants)
·      is compelling (engages mind and heart)
·      is simple  (uses as few words as possible)
·      is visual  (attracts eye and ear)
·      is memorable (sometimes even in a bold or controversial way
·      is not distractingly clever or cute

I believe that taglines should make clear, unambiguous benefits statements.   Unfortunately, most of them don’t.  Even some clever, memorable ones.

“Virginia is for Lovers” sounds great but actually says little.  At heart,  it’s a great campaign theme but not effective strategic positioning for the long run (despite its continuing appeal for something like 50 years).  Same for the “Big Apple” – although after spending gazillions on promotion, now even the dimmest bulb in the world is aware of The Big Apple.  However, does the tagline make you think about wanting to live there?  Or move your business to New York City?   There’s a big difference between awareness and preference.

So, what is so unique and compelling about Winston-Salem, North Carolina that people who hear about it will want to check it out?  Here are some tagline building blocks, Winston-Salem superlatives, as I see them:

·      not too big, not too small  (5th largest city in N.C.)
·      pleasant topography  (rolling hills with lots of trees – very green)
·      easy to get around (short commutes, minimal traffic hassles)
·      well-established, walkable neighborhoods – plus new developments in and out of town
·      four balanced seasons (moderate winters, good rain, fabulous autumn colors)
·      a great place for home and family
·      a value-priced, stable real estate market
·      a rich sense of history and place, since 1766 (Old Salem historic district, Moravian heritage)
·      a healthy mix of natives and newcomers
·      a somewhat conservative political base with a forward looking, can-do business approach
·      a strong work ethic in a right-to-work state, from traditional manufacturing to high tech
·      a leading teaching hospital and research center affiliated with Wake Forest University
·      a second well-regarded hospital (Forsyth Medical Center) and associated Novant practices
·      a reputation for innovation and business incubation (Winston-Salem Research Park)
·      headquarters for the nation’s 12th largest bank (BB&T)
·      headquarters for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, HanesBrands and Sara Lee Hosiery
·      the mini-Empire State Building (old RJR headquarters used as a model for the NYC skyscraper)
·      in-town Smith Reynolds airport (INT) for convenient executive travel
·      nearby Triad International Airport (GSO), with its growing aviation hub (Timco, HondaJet)
·      intersection of two interstate highways, I-74 and I-40 (two others close by)
·      less than two hours to Raleigh and Charlotte, six to Atlanta and D.C.
·      around four hours to NC and SC beaches, including North Carolina’s Outer Banks
·      less than one hour to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, about 2 hours to Asheville
·      other High Country attractions close by, including golf, skiing, arts & crafts
·      many Yadkin Valley wineries a half hour or so west
·      a variety of educational choices (among them, Wake Forest University, Salem College, WSSU)
·      other universities close by (Appalachian State, UNCG, NCCU, High Point University)
·      Forsyth Technical Community College and community colleges in nearby Guilford County
·      a well-supported arts community  (fine arts, performing arts, traditional arts; the nation's first Arts Council)
·      a well-established (and expanding) downtown arts district with inviting restaurants, bars, galleries and shops
·      Winston-Salem Symphony (stirring performances since 1946)
·      University of North Carolina School of the Arts – known for performance excellence worldwide
·      River Run International Film Festival at UNCSA (its 16th season at UNCSA’s Film School)
·      the enormously successful National Black Theater Festival, every two years
·      a thriving music scene (all genres)
·      a strong statewide Public Television network  (UNC-TV)
·      the Winston-Salem Open Tennis Tournament and Winston-Salem Cycling Classic
·      Winston-Salem Dash Class A Carolina League baseball (Chicago White Sox) and its new ballpark
·      a large variety of shopping, hotels, dining options
·      many houses of worship, from small country churches to large congregations
·      Moravian cookies, Texas Pete hot sauce and KrispyKreme donuts!

Others may quarrel with my choices or descriptions (and perhaps toss in some negatives), but the task is clear: to assess Winston-Salem strengths and develop a tagline unique to the city.  The process is part strategic discipline, part creative spark.  And the tagline that emerges will not be expected to attract everybody, only those for whom Winston-Salem is “just right.”   

Here’s one that rings my bell (among five personal options I'd winnowed it down to):

Winston-Salem: America’s Almost Perfect Small City.                  
Good Living.  Great for Business.  Come See For Yourself.

Winston-Salem can’t claim to be America's perfect small city; that would be entirely too brash and not in keeping with the deeply embedded character of this town.  And besides, if it did, hundreds of other cities of similar (or smaller) size surely would leap to make the same claim!  However, Winston-Salem can claim to be America’s almost perfect small city with considerable confidence, as it totes up its many strengths and works toward balancing the needs of all its citizens.  

Of course, you also can argue that that Winston-Salem is not a small city.  But “medium sized” doesn’t sound right.  People (or businesses) who move here likely will be attracted to the ease and comfort of a smaller city, one with clear metro cues and a sane, livable setting.  Seen in that light, Winston-Salem delivers. 

And that’s the bold tagline truth.  Now imagine what could be done with it!

  * UPDATE:  The city appears to have re-adopted The City of Arts and Innovation after a majority of citizens who
     submitted tagline suggestions favored it (many thought it had been Winston-Salem's tagline all along).

TakeAway:  Assess your strengths carefully, whether selling a product, city or state.   Then create a tagline that’s set apart, grounded in reality, attracts attention and makes people want what you’ve got.     
 
Tags:  tagline, taglines, effective taglines, tagline development, create a tagline, key message, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, City of the Arts, vision

Text and images © Brian E. Faulkner except where noted.

Brian Faulkner is a business content and strategic communication writer.  He helps clients come up with words to set their businesses, brands and products apart and attract the customers they want most.  His strategic insights, and the words that go with them, have made a significant, often immediate difference for client companies.  He thrives on strategic communication problem solving, complex subjects, new ideas, concepts-as-products, challenging marketing situations and demanding deadlines.  His "sweet spot" is smaller to moderate sized consumer products, retail, service and manufacturing companies that may have struggled to find just the right words to position their business, brands or products to competitive advantage.

Brian also is a five-time Emmy award winning Public Television writer and narrator of UNC-TV’s popular Our State magazine series, on the air since 2003. 

I’m impressed with Starbucks’ attention-grabbing ad that popped up on my screen yesterday.  It said something like, “Some People Don’t Like Our Dark Roast Coffee.”   

Hey, that’s me!

My friend Richard loves Starbucks coffee.  From time to time, we end up at his favorite Starbucks to talk business and drink brew.  He likes his coffee strong.  Mine looks like coffee but is so cut with water and Half and Half that it ends up -- at best -- only a pale imitation of coffee.    

The Blonde Roast ad caught my eye because it told a truth that I’ve never chosen to reveal to Richard:  I don't LIKE Starbucks coffee, although I DO like the immersive conviviality of Starbucks’ shops, where there’s enough buzz swirling about the place that we can speak normally without being overheard by people outside the diameter of our small table.

Blonde Roast has been around for a while now and is said to have generated as much as 70% incremental sales in Starbucks cafes and more than that in the grocery aisle.   But the pop-up campaign is the first I’d heard of it.   And it really hit my hot button.

Why?  

First, because I have felt cheated out of the complete Starbucks experience.  At long last, I will be able to enjoy a “real” Starbucks with my conversation now that the 54% of us who prefer the lighter fare finally are getting our due.  Ya-huh!

And second, because I admire the company’s gutsy admission that not all people like their products – plus their willingness to field an alternative. 

Am I likely to show up more often at my local Starbucks?   Probably not, since what little coffee drinking I do most often happens at home.   But next time Richard calls about a conversation and some brew, I will have a new treat to look forward to.  Fact is, now that I've been suitably teased, I can’t wait to try that smooth, mellow, flavorful Blonde Roast, the one that claims to “awaken the senses gently.” 

Now who wouldn’t want that!?  

TakeAway:   Have the courage to stretch beyond your normal business vision.  You may be surprised at the new customers you find there.  

Text and images © Brian E. Faulkner except where noted.   All rights reserved.
Tags:  Starbucks, coffee, Blonde Roast, new product, grocery, experience, business vision

Brian Faulkner is a Key Message expert.  He helps clients come up with words to set their businesses, brands and products apart and attract the customers they want most.  His strategic insights, and the words that go with them, have made a significant, often immediate difference for client companies.  He thrives on strategic communication problem solving, complex subjects, new ideas, concepts-as-products, challenging marketing situations and demanding deadlines.  His "sweet spot" is smaller to moderate sized consumer products, retail, service and manufacturing companies that may have struggled to find just the right words to position their business, brands or products to competitive advantage.

Brian also is a three-time Emmy award winning Public Television writer and narrator of UNC-TV’s popular Our State magazine series, on the air since 2003.  

A guy from GoDaddy called me today.  That’s never happened before.   At first, I was suspicious.  What is he trying to sell?   Nothing, as it turned out, other than to offer help in renewing (or not renewing) three Web domains I have registered with them.  A helpful and altogether thoughtful gesture, I must admit – especially for a small change customer like me.

Heretofore, I’d not been all that impressed with GoDaddy.  

As an occasional user over the years, whether to add, renew or cancel a domain name, I have found their site uninviting, difficult to navigate and tricked out with product offers I didn’t need – and often didn’t even understand.  They assumed I had a degree of technical knowledge, which I do not.  To me a computer is an appliance, a tool:  turn the thing on, start working on my thing and that’s as far as I care to go.  Which is pretty much what I told Adam when he called.

We had a positive discussion.  As if Adam had any power to change things, I suggested that GoDaddy needed to reboot their marketing after having cranked up their visibility with the famously controversial GoDaddy Girls.  It’s time to position themselves more effectively to the vast, largely unaddressed portion of their potential market:  people like me, who would almost rather undergo a root canal than struggle with a tech-belabored Web site.  He said they were working on that, thanks to their relatively new CEO, Blake Irving.  

What actually IS GoDaddy? I wondered.   And what is Blake Irving up to?

A little wandering around on GoDaddy’s pleasantly refreshed, more accessible site revealed Web site building options, email services and online bookkeeping products in addition to domain registration.  There’s a new service called GetFound, which helps spread clients’ basic information across the Web and makes it easier for people to find them.  And now, WordPress blog hosting and management, which especially caught my eye as a blogger thinking about a hosting change. 

Comments posted to Blake’s Blog lauded GoDaddy's customer service (Adam is a terrific example, and they’re said to have 3,500 people just like him engaged in “customer care”).  And Wikipedia reveals the company to be staffed by true-believers with shared values, which makes them rightfully particular about who they host. 

So what would you do if given the opportunity to help elevate Go Daddy’s marketing?  

My first task would be to develop and launch a more strategically differentiated message.  I would answer the question, “What does GoDaddy do and how does it benefit me?” while maintaining their enviable 80% aided, 50% unaided brand awareness with ad buys during the Super Bowl, NASCAR races and other high visibility events.    I’d present some grounded-in-reality customer success stories that present tangible benefits to the great bulk of prospective customers who have yet to “tune in” to GoDaddy's wavelength or who have been put off by the tone of their advertising.  

After writing the previous paragraph, a modicum of online sleuthing showed me that GoDaddy already has shifted in that direction.  See their Super Bowl spot about the woman who quit her day job to start a puppet making business here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf0vzLgF-OI .      

And according to the blogged transcript of a GeekWire Summit discussion he participated in last year in Seattle, ( http://blakesblog.com/?p=223 ) Blake Irving is a man with a plan that rings my bell and clearly should ring the bell of tomorrow’s GoDaddy customers.

The basis of GoDaddy’s move into the future is a 32-page strategic document that includes a “bigger than life” vision of “radically shifting the global economy toward small business.”  He described their target market as “1-5 people trying to turn themselves into a real business” and talked about changing the world for them.   In a more recent online article, the GoDaddy leader noted that 75% of U.S. businesses are sole proprietorships.  So the opportunity to add more paying customers to the 12-million-plus they already have is huge.

“Changing the world for small business” is a great example of a compelling Key Message that's extracted from a larger strategic document and used to communicate to the prospect base about -- and rally company culture around -- what now is possible. 

“We’re in a deep transformation of the company,” the GoDaddy CEO said.  “Who we serve, how we serve them, how we position ourselves, how our employees feel about themselves, about serving those little guys, is really different.  Our mission in the company is we help small business kick ass.

“It’s a quest, not a company.  Everybody’s leaning into this thing …”

Irving finished his GeekWire conversation by challenging the audience (and me) to check out the company’s Kick Ass Manifesto video online.  I did.  You should, too (see it below).  The only thing missing is that daring but powerful potential tagline:  We Help Small Business Kick Ass.

I deeply abhor edginess for edginess sake because so much of it is in-your-face tasteless, smug and self-serving, so I would pause when considering whether to include “Kick Ass” in my tagline -- and who knows how it will translate internationally.   But those six words are true.   “Kick Ass” will require some elaboration, but so do oft-used positioning words like “leader” and “world class.”   A less dramatic way of saying the same thing might be:

       GoDaddy Helps Small Businesses Build Their Dreams (incorporating their recent ad theme). 

I like taglines that make a bold statement and communicate Marketable Truth© -- in any language.  So, either way, I say go for it GoDaddy! 

TakeAway:  Develop a meaningful strategic vision that points your business toward the future.  Then extract a compelling Key Message from it that charges your team with purpose and makes the customers or clients you want most want to do business with you.    

Content and images © by Brian E. Faulkner unless otherwise noted.  All rights reserved.  

Tags:  Go Daddy, GoDaddy marketing, Blake Irving, WordPress, customer service, brand awareness, GeekWire, small business, vision, strategic vision, powerful tagline, taglines, Kick Ass Manifesto, Manifesto of Kick Ass

Brian Faulkner is a Key Message expert.  He helps clients come up with words to set their businesses, brands and products apart and attract the customers they want most.  His strategic insights, and the words that go with them, have made a significant, often immediate difference for client companies.  He thrives on strategic communication problem solving, complex subjects, new ideas, concepts-as-products, challenging marketing situations and demanding deadlines.  His "sweet spot" is smaller to moderate sized consumer products, retail, service and manufacturing companies that may have
struggled to find just the right words to position their business, brands or products to competitive advantage.

Brian also is a three-time Emmy award winning Public Television writer and narrator of UNC-TV’s popular Our State magazine series, on the air since 2003.  

The state motto of North Carolina, Esse Quam Videri, reminds me of Time Warner Cable.  It translates “To be rather than to seem.”   The Cicero passage from which it was derived, "Fewer possess virtue than those who wish us to believe that they possess it," suggests that such a claim not only sets a very high bar but also provides fertile ground for incredulity.

The same is true in business, whether you promise great cable TV service or the best pizza in town.   No business, large or small, can long afford to claim one thing and deliver another -- have their words ring hollow to their customers.   Except, apparently, for cable TV providers, who consistently rank high in customer dissatisfaction.

Discussion of late about the proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable reminds me of the “consumer jihad” blogger Bob Garfield called for against Comcast back in 2007.  It grew into a vociferous online revolt by people exasperated with poor customer service.  (Update here: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/219632/comcast-merger-must-die.html )

That sort of thing lingers.  I recalled Garfield's rant right away on hearing of the proposed merger between the two cable giants.  The news didn’t fill me with hope that joining these two companies would do much to allay the annoyance I’ve experienced in contacting TWC about service issues, although the techs they’ve sent around to work on my cable connection over the years largely have been both pleasant and competent – as have been the people in the Philippines, Bangladesh or wherever in Asia they hire cheap ears to listen to their customers’ cable sorrows.   

At this very moment, there’s a long black cable snaking across my front yard from the box at the street to the box on my house, and I so despise the Time Warner contact experience that I hesitate dialing up the frustrageous* woman with the soothing mechanical voice on their automated phone system to complain.  TWC promised to have buried the cable going on six months ago after another contractor dug it up by mistake.  Now they’re probably waiting ‘til spring so I can shred the thing with my mower and then blame the entire debacle on me!   I can already hear them laughing.

    * Frus-tra'-geous: adj. – Outrageously discouraging, baffling.  Started out as a typo, but I liked the
      word so much I left it there.  Applies particularly well to cable TV providers.

The disconnect between a brand’s promise and the reality of indifferent customer service can live for a very long time in a customer’s mind.   “We” will remember, and “we” will not return -- unless it's a monopoly like the cable company, of course.  You’d think they’d get the message, because a negative reputation clearly can work against their merger now that people’s voices can be heard so readily online, as Bob Garfield’s success with Comcast Must Die (dot) com has proved.

Garfield admits that Comcast is listening better these days.  Even so, he’s predicting “more righteous rage” about the proposed merger, which he says “would be a disaster” for the firms’ customers -- and society, for share of market and net neutrality reasons in addition to the customer service ones.

My Time Warner snake and I can’t wait to see what happens!  

TakeAway:  Be real.  Make sure your brand's claims and performance match. 

Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, Bob Garfield, Comcast-must-die, brand promise, customer service, customer dissatisfaction

What if you could spend $15 on a merchandising aid for your retail store and see that investment produce more than $1,200 in additional revenue – in less than a day?   That’s the kind of financial performance reported by a Nebraska grocery store in 2013 after they decided to conduct an in-store test of produce merchandising bags made by Package Containers, Inc., a 66-year-old Canby, Oregon manufacturer of “high performance” bags and wire ties for the produce industry.   (www.packagecontainers.com )

The high performance touted on the company’s web site refers to the bags’ financial performance as much as it does to physical features like size, strength, affordability, green qualities, etc. 

“Selling produce packaging based on superior financial performance in the produce department is not only innovative, but also rather bold,” says Scott Koppang, PCI’s director of marketing and sales in an exhibitor news release published as part of the Produce Marketing Association’s 2013 Fresh Summit trade show.  “But the truth of our claim is that when PCI’s Home-Toters® are made a consistent part of a store’s fresh produce display, produce sales go up,” which may be one reason, as the company states, that nine of the top 10 Progressive Grocer Super 50 chain stores use PCI’s high performance products in their produce departments.

The Home-Toters® branded bags Koppang mentioned are known more widely as apple or banana bags, although they also can be used to merchandise -- and, it seems, quickly boost sales of -- most any roundish fruit or produce.  The Nebraska store sold peaches in them, at a slight discount, and claims to have generated the amazing sales results noted above in only six hours. 

“To be sure,” Koppang admits in the company's PMA show news release, “the manager who ran the test was a believer.  He fully anticipated great results, merchandised his display accordingly and overshot even his high performance objective,” adding later in a phone conversation that the store might had done even better had they used Home-Toters® branded with their logo."

Koppang also said that the company conducted in-store sales tests with the National Onion Association and the United States Potato Board during 2013 and achieved less stellar results – a category sales increase of “only” $166 per week in each of 79 test stores on less than a $20 investment in PCI’s product.  Do the math on that!

Bags of various sorts have been sold practically forever on their ability to communicate branded messages in all kinds of retail settings; PCI began business by selling to farm stand customers in 1947.  Bags are a “marketing investment for your image,” writes Jaimey Alumbaugh-Wilman in her Bag Talk! blog.   (http://actionbag.blogspot.com/ )  She’s right, of course, as anybody who has ever shopped for groceries, or even high-end specialty merchandise, can attest.  But it’s the rare bird of a bag that flies so far from the commodity nest as Package Containers’ Home-Toters® – and consistently produces such astonishing sales results.    

TakeAway:  Don’t overlook the small things.  They may have the potential to produce a powerful increase in revenue.         © by Brian E. Faulkner

Package Containers, Inc., PCI, produce packaging, produce sales, produce revenue, produce industry, grocery store, Produce Marketing Association, PMA, Progressive Grocer Super 50, Home-Toters, Scott Koppang, National Onion Association, United States Potato Board, Jaimey Alumbaugh-Wilman, Bag Talk! blog

There’s a lesson for small business marketers in the process Netflix used in deciding whether to produce “House of Cards.”   According to an article in the New York Times, it was clear that Netflix had a hit on their hands before shooting the first frame.  A more traditional media company would have invested in a pilot and tested it with focus groups before committing to a series.   Instead, tapping data from their 33-million worldwide subscribers, Netflix gauged audience preferences for director David Fincher, name-brand star Kevin Spacey and the British version of “House of Cards”, pointing toward the series’ success in advance.  (see: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/business/media/for-house-of-cards-using-big-data-to-guarantee-its-popularity.html?_r=2& )

The potential takeaway here for small businesses is Think first, do later, a discipline readily applied to any communication project.  Think first means asking strategic questions before moving forward with “creative”. 


·      Who will be reading or viewing your ad, brochure, video, etc. – and why?

·      What headline will most attract the eye and make people want to read more?

·      What information will pique their interest and engage their mind early in the first paragraph?

·      How will your product or service be positioned to their advantage?

·      What is unique or revolutionary about it?

·      How does it differ from prospect expectations – or competitors’ offerings?

·      How will your Key Message change people’s thinking about your product or service?

·      What action do you want readers or viewers to take – now or later?

Years ago, I collaborated with the president of an international consumer products company on a speech he was to give before a large group.  I don’t even recall the subject (assignments for this client typically were concerned with strategic visioning or the future).  What I DO recall, however, is finally realizing that out of that huge audience, he only wanted to influence a small handful of key people – inspire them to think a certain way and do certain things.  Armed with that information, I was able to not only hit help him the mark, but harvest tons of extra goodwill from the rest of his audience, many of whom took the time to ask for copies of my client’s speech.   

I have used the think first, do later concept a lot since then, primarily to slow down and focus clients who said they wanted this or that kind of communication project done but really hadn’t thought much about how they wanted people to feel, think or act when they viewed their ad, read their brochure or listened to their sales presentation.  It's like saying “We need a web site,” without having thought much beyond the notion that “We need a web site.”    You see the results all over the Internet: creatively attractive but strategically impotent web sites whose creators clearly have failed to ask the important questions up front.   You see the same thing in politics, where strategic questions with myriad long-term implications don’t seem to have been asked (or are ignored to serve ideological ends).    

But that’s a whole other story …

TakeAway:   Ask strategic, customer-centric questions before working on “creative.”  Build the answers into your content.      © Brian E. Faulkner

For related perspective, see http://www.brianefaulkner.com/key-message.html