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When Your Small Business Has a Song to Sing, Sing It!

11/28/2014

Image © by Brian E. Faulkner

Thirteen years ago I was part of a small business that interviewed three marketing and public relations agencies about developing a new product launch campaign.   Each PR firm had its strengths, but one stood out.

The principal of that firm had traveled 750 miles to make her pitch – a second agency likewise. The third was local.   Each recognized the potential of our product, launch of which soon got snakebit by the dot com bust of 2001 and by the kind of internal struggles that all too often mark the beginning of the end for some small business start-ups.

Sorting through an old file box on this slow after-Thanksgiving day, I came upon my notes from discussions with the agency we selected and decided to see what I could learn from them. A quick review reaffirmed my 2001 choice of this firm over the others. Even so, something surprising jumped out at my 2014 eyes from the notes and the agency’s promotional materials:

They did not have a tagline that communicated their competitive advantage in a succinct, strategically compelling way. Which is unfortunate, because their strengths (as I noted them at the time) were considerable:

“The only reason to hire us is to build sales and create success.”
“We are dogged, ferocious, persistent and persuasive.”
“We are scrappy and move like a gazelle.”
“We are fiercely client loyal.”
“We are fabulous at PR.”

Adding to these pluses was the fact that their product-specific and media suggestions were right-on.   They were the single source option for everything we needed (except perhaps interpersonal counseling).   But the attractive brochure they left behind didn’t clearly communicate their competitive advantage.   Like many “creative” providers, it talked about the tools they used vs. how they make a difference with those tools.

I did a rough count today of the words used in their 2001 brochure text:

us words (we, our, company name):                                           27
you words: (you, your, client, customer)                                  10
power words (success, strengths, expectations)                      3
difference words (difference, competitive advantage)            0

There were more than twice as many us words as you words, words that focused more on the firm's capabilities than client needs. They didn't communicate their competitive advantage nearly as well on-paper as they did in-person. Why?   I don’t know, although you may recall the story about the cobbler’s children having no shoes.

Even so, their web site must have spoken of competency for us to have invited their pitch in the first place.   But their personal presentation made all the difference. The agency principal set her company apart from competitors with similar services (without knowing which other potential providers we were interviewing) – including the local firm, whom we personally liked very much, and the New York area one that had impressive, more narrowly focused capabilities.

So here’s my two-cents worth of tagline suggestions for this agency as it presented itself to us in 2001 (keeping in mind that they position themselves as a strategic marketing firm with PR capabilities rather than only a PR specialist):

AGENCY NAME:
“Persistent, persuasive and fiercely devoted to client marketing success.”

AGENCY NAME:
“The Great Results Marketing and PR Agency.”

AGENCY NAME:
“Fabulously successful small business marketing.”

Please note that these words are lifted directly from my conversation with the agency principal, not from experience using their services.   I just arranged them in strategically compelling ways -- perhaps you could use the same words to come up with an even better tagline around which the firm could have built an effective positioning / capabilities presentation.

What about today? The agency's current online pitch isn't as strong as the compelling competitive story presented to us by their leader in May of 2001.   And still ... no tagline.

TakeAway: Sing your song to the world with a powerful tagline that arises from your Marketable Truth©, creates belief and once and forever sets your business apart from competitors. Then get busy telling the world about it, using your tagline as the strategic foundation for marketing communication.

Tags: small business marketing, public relations agency, PR firm, competitive advantage, powerful tagline, Marketable Truth
Content © by Brian E. Faulkner       Marketable Truth © by Brian E. Faulkner

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If You Want a Great Job, Interview companies With Good VIBES.

11/17/2014

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Image © by Brian E. Faulkner

Have you ever noticed how some businesses just wrap themselves around you and make you feel welcome, whether you’re a customer or a new graduate looking for a job?

I have found after many years consulting to businesses of all sizes (about communicating their culture and competitive advantage) that you can walk onto a sale floor, into a company headquarters or manufacturing plant and know immediately which organizations “click” and which do not. The businesses that connect have good vibes. There’s positive energy. Their leadership is genuine, sometimes even inspired. The people are real. They’re not just plodding along toward quitting time. They’re into what they’re doing -- and believe in it. The organization shares a clear purpose and vision that are not just words on some poster hung in the break room.

My son-in-law works for REI, a national retailer of recreational equipment, clothing, footwear and other attractive, well-chosen merchandise targeted to the outdoorsy crowd. He is enthusiastic about the company, which is organized as a consumer cooperative in which members get a dividend check every year for around 10% of a generous array of eligible merchandise purchased during that year, after paying a one-time $20 membership fee (you don’t have to join to shop there). The more members buy at REI, the better the deal – it’s built-in. REI also offers its members occasional deals that seem unusually attractive, in addition to store-wide sales that really are sales and not just come-ons.

The point here is that REI has both a purpose (to make the outdoor life available to more people at a good price) and values (which seem to be that people matter and the environment matters). The company uses words like approachable, collaborative, casual and playful to describe the work experience. Everybody with more than 20 hours a week gets health care. My son-in-law (who’s in retail management in an Atlanta-area REI store) says that the people who ultimately “stick” with the company buy into the REI experience (not to mention their generous performance incentives and retirement plan). They may have come in just looking for a job but end up finding a passion for work that knits comfortably into the fabric of their lives and helps assure a secure future for them and their families.

The point here is not to suggest going to work at REI, although this perennial placeholder toward the top of Fortune magazine’s Top 100 Best Companies to Work For would be a great choice. You may find something just as rewarding in some other retail setting, in a small manufacturing plant or even a big company. I have seen what, just for this article, might be called the “REI Effect” in all kinds of workplaces where business leadership and employees are in-synch and often unusually productive. They know what their purpose is, how their customers benefit, where they are going, and “what’s-in-it-for-me”, which could be just as true for a non-profit -- such as a school – as for a commercial enterprise.

So, if your goal is to find a work experience like the one exemplified by REI, try “getting a job” using a more differentiated strategy. Check the place out if it’s a retail store. Watch how the “team” works. Ask challenging questions about the merchandise and see if they rise to the occasion – even if it’s almost closing time.   Ask people how they like working there.   If you want to work for ABC Corporation or XYZ Manufacturing but can’t get immediate access, vigorously research them online. Talk to people who already work there; figure out where they go for lunch or to chat after work. Then request an interview with a company manager you’ve targeted (by name) before you even apply for the job. If HR gives you the stiff-arm, try calling the person directly and leave a message that inspires them to call you back. Let them know that you're interviewing them (and others). Talk to that manager about opportunities at the company, get other inside introductions and take a tour. If you want a sales position, ferret out some of the company’s customers and talk to them. This approach should pay off, whether you’re just out of school looking for your first position or a work veteran who has been “right-sized” out of a job (maybe especially so if you’re that person because you can more readily perceive what you want to see and don’t want to see).

It’s also instructive to remember that the world does not owe you a job.   But you do owe yourself a good job. You are no mere commodity, and you’re not seeking commodity-like work. You have value, knowledge, experience and intelligence to add to the employer’s collective purpose -- and to their customers’ satisfaction. And you have every right to enjoy your work.

Look for that “REI Effect”, perhaps in one of the other 99 companies on Fortune’s Top 100 list.   And don’t be satisfied with less. Because you’re worth it.

TakeAway: A job infused with passion and purpose pays big dividends. Use a differentiated job search strategy to find one.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner

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Taglines & Brands.

11/14/2014

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Image © by Brian E. Faulkner

Here are some of my most popular recent posts about brands and taglines:

A Tagline for Tomorrow: How to Win Big in 2016

Subject: 10 characteristics of an effective tagline.

Despite its overwhelming success, the Republican 2014 midterm election campaign was a sorry example of strategic positioning. Yes, the Republicans improved their ground game and voter motivation differed markedly than in 2010 and 2012. And yes, there was considerable angst afoot about the president and his policies, his slide toward extra-Constitutional thinking and his enthusiasm for progressive social initiatives that cut deep into traditional American culture.

But absent the “Nobama” ax the Republicans swung with such gusto, there was a clear lack of strategic underpinning to their midterm messaging ...

Read more here: www.brianefaulkner.com/blog/how-to-win-big-in-2016-a-tagline-for-tomorrow

Image © by Brian E. Faulkner

New Whole Foods Tagline Nails It!

Subject: Your Tagline Should Tell The Truth!

Two words at the bottom of a Whole Foods sales receipt caught my eye recently: VALUES MATTER.

“What’s up with this?” we asked?

“You know, values – the things people believe. They matter. That’s what Whole Foods is all about.”

Of course. Whole Foods Market® has hung its mostly organic hat on that for years. A tilt toward unadulterated, unmanufactured foods has been their stock in trade ever since John Mackey and his wife started their first store in 1978. Company “values” still encompass trust and the greater good … and attract a refreshing variety of both staff and customers.

But these days, Whole Foods Market is far from alone in offering organic fare. Even the most mundane mainstream grocer now carries some organics, and the leaders among them have gone in heavy for it – even Walmart, for heaven’s sake! Not to mention a plethora of “natural foods” competitors out there who would like to eat WFM’s lunch.

So Whole Foods needs a way to stand out … again.

Read more here: www.brianefaulkner.com//blog/new-whole-foods-tagline-nails-it

Building a Fortress Brand: Ford Possessed, Chevy Obsessed.

Subject: Brands That Connect at the Heart.

Heard the other day about a WWII vet from New Jersey selling his automobile collection. Six cars, every one of them a Ford. Not a Chevy in the bunch. He was lifetime loyal to the Ford brand, so much so that “If you had a Chevy you didn’t come in my driveway. You parked out on the road.”

The choice used to be that simple for those of us who came of age in the automobile saturated culture of post-war America – especially the full-bore 1950s, the decade of classic cars and classic rock (neither of which were deemed classic at the time). Ford and Chevrolet were the butter-and-bread choices of Americans 50+ years ago, before the car market got choked up with so many different brands and models – not to mention the infinite variants of those brands and models ...

Read more here: www.brianefaulkner.com/blog/ford-possessed-chevy-obsessed-building-a-fortress-brand

Image © by Brian E. Faulkner

Godiva's Alluring Words & Enduring Promise.

Subject: Stick to your brand's promise.

When I traveled for business more than I do now, I’d occasionally come across a Godiva boutique and add a small purchase of their memorable chocolates to my personal expenses. It was a pleasant surprise to turn a corner in some upscale mall or market and spot the luxurious Godiva logo. No matter where my thoughts had been, they immediately shifted to “chocolate” and the stolen moment I was about to experience.

From way back in 1926, when chocolatier Joseph Draps first opened his Brussels shop, Godiva has been superb at crafting words to describe their “extraordinary richness and design, a collection of passion and purity” (the founder's words). Today’s wordsmiths describe Godiva as “a sought after name with the timeless quality of passion, style, sensuality and modern boldness.” Their corporate boilerplate proclaims GODIVA Chocolatier as a brand that “consumers universally associate with prestige, elegance and quality …”

Read More Here: www.brianefaulkner.com/blog/godivas-alluring-words-enduring-promise

Brand as Handshake: A New Twist on an Old Problem.

Subject: Be authentic.

How do you brand something as ordinary as fresh vegetables? If you’re a grower who sells veggies to grocery store produce departments, how do you make your product stand out over competitors' brands? Oddly enough, most fresh produce remains unbranded. But not vegetables and fruit grown by D’Arrigo Bros. Company, of California, pioneers in produce branding.

Back in 1920, two Sicilian immigrant brothers discovered the fertile land of central California and thought it would be perfect for growing broccoli ...

Read more here: www.brianefaulkner.com/blog/brand-as-handshake-a-new-twist-on-an-old-problem

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The Customer is Culture at this Successful Company.

11/10/2014

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Bob Tiffin gets up every morning a happy man. After early meetings with his management team, the genial founder and CEO of Tiffin Motorhomes takes to his office, phone to ear, eager to speak with his customers.

He knows he’ll get the calls, first because he invites them. And second, because motorhomes are complex products and they need service from time to time. An array of different systems must work as one to keep 30-48 thousand pounds of vehicle, 100-150 gallons of diesel fuel, 90 gallons of fresh water, 100+ gallons of waste water, plus cabinets, furniture and personal belongings (not to mention driver and passengers) rolling down the road.

“A motorhome, first of all, is a home,” Tiffin points out. “It has everything a home has, but on wheels. It also has hydraulics and a diesel engine – like a backhoe.” Not to mention the finest TV and electronics packages available. Plus a fine kitchen, an air conditioning system and two electrical systems, including a generator. And it all has to operate properly at sea level or at 11-thousand feet and accommodate a variety of climate and road conditions. From chassis to engine to handcrafted cabinetry to exceptional fit and finish, the company’s quality standard is high, whether an owner vacation travels or lives full time in their motorhome.

“Our customer sets the standard,” says Tiffin. “The customer is the culture of our company. We think about them when we design our products. We think of them every minute of every day and do everything we can to help them. We have 200 employees in our service department. Fourteen techs each take 30-40 calls a day. And CoachNet takes the calls after hours and on weekends.” (CoachNet is a leading provider of 24/7 technical and emergency roadside assistance for motorized and towable RVs with a network of more than 40,000 service providers throughout the U.S. and Canada.)

“My three sons work with me in the business, and we meet every day with our engineers to go over each problem we got a call about the day before,” notes Tiffin. Many of the fixes to those problems find their way into the company’s six Class A motorhome lines, which range from Allegro Breeze, the smallest rear engine diesel coach on the market, to the lavish Zephyr, “45 feet of sumptuous grandeur loaded with more features than we’ve ever put into a motorhome,” including a residential style fridge, two bathrooms and a stacked washer / dryer combo.

Image © by Brian E. Faulkner

http://tiffinmotorhomes.com/

Image © by Brian E. Faulkner

Bob Tiffin’s customer service passion is rooted in values instilled in him by his father, Alex Tiffin, whom Bob watched do business in the family lumberyard and general store in rural northwest Alabama from the time he was a little boy:

Build it well. Make it better. Back it with good service. Treat customers the way they would want to be treated. And always answer the phone.

These days, if Bob Tiffin isn’t in his office taking with a customer on the telephone, he’s more than likely talking to a customer in-person, at the Tiffin plant in Red Bay or on the road somewhere.

“If you can’t look your customers in the eye, you can’t do business with them,” Tiffin believes, a maxim that goes back to the Tiffin Supply Company days and has stuck with them since the family acquired and developed a motorhome manufacturing business after one of their customers went bust forty-odd years ago.

The product may be more sophisticated these days, but Tiffin’s attention to the basics remains the same – in fact, it’s at the nexus of quality and service that Tiffin Motorhomes really shines. The company is known not only for meticulous attention to design and manufacturing but also for Bob Tiffin and his legendary customer service, all of which combine to set Tiffin apart in a business where the competition isn’t shy about contending for market share.

“There used to be something like 100 motorhome manufacturers,” Tiffin says. We’ve survived four major economic meltdowns since we started in business, and now there are only 6-7 manufacturers left.” Which says a lot about his company’s products and the people who build and service them.

Just ask a Tiffin owner.

“Our customers talk about us around the campfire,” he points out. “We want them to say that we try our best to help if there’s a problem. We don’t sugarcoat the fact that motorhomes can be challenging. If there’s an issue, we ask our customers to call us, contact one of our 85 dealers, or drive to the factory. Ninety-nine percent of the time, we’ll fix whatever needs to be fixed. Because it’s our name that’s on their motorhomes.”

Bob Tiffin gets it. He gets it that the promise of quality begins on day one of the manufacturing process, continues through sale and delivery (by a limited number of carefully chosen Tiffin dealers) and extends through the entire ownership experience. His team gets it too, understands that integrity is the foundation stone on which their current and future business success rests. The promise Bob makes to Tiffin owners, the promises his sons make, and the promise that every associate in the Tiffin family makes is part of each motorhome that heads up the road from Red Bay.

“Customers invest from $100,000 to more than $500,000 in their motorhomes,” the founder says. “Sometimes that’s their whole life’s savings. And keeping them happy is our job” -- a Marketable Truth© deeply embedded in Tiffin’s long-time tagline:

“Where You Go, We Go!”

TakeAway: Live your integrity. A reputation for excellence will follow, and your customers will brag on you.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner Marketable Truth © by Brian E. Faulkner

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How To Win BIG in 2016: A Tagline For Tomorrow.

11/5/2014

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Despite its overwhelming success, the Republican 2014 campaign was a sorry example of strategic positioning. Yes, the Republicans improved their ground game and voter motivation differed markedly than in 2010 or 2012. And yes, there was considerable angst afoot about the president and his policies, his slide toward extra-Constitutional thinking and his enthusiasm for progressive social initiatives that cut deep into traditional American culture.

But absent the “Nobama” ax the Republicans swung with such gusto, there was a clear lack of strategic underpinning to their midterm messaging. Instead, they allowed the president to make their case for them. He saved the Republicans the trouble of building a brand -- a short-term plus but a long-term minus.

The Democrats had more substance to build on (they always seems to think further down the road than the Republicans), but their 2014 messaging wasn’t all that cohesive, either – at least overtly. However, it was clear to the electorate that the Democrats mostly stood for Obama and his ways, despite some candidates who fled toward the exits in fear of even mentioning the president’s name.   Love him or loathe him, the 2014 midterm was a referendum on Mr. Obama, including his carriage, his approach to a frightful list of geopolitical and geo-economic conundrums, his penchant for social reconstruction and his claim to “protect the middle class” – a phrase I would forever ban from all political discourse, not because it isn’t important, not because it isn’t needed or worthy or possible, but because it has been beaten into utter meaninglessness by overuse.

So, as the endless phalanx of political ads finally fades to black, leaving the talking heads to chew things over, this observer has a suggestion for both political parties as they slog toward 2016: come up with a magnetic, meaningful word picture of the years ahead. Recast The American Story in its many manifestations, from Main Street to Wall Street to the Arab Street. Create a message that people can get a grip on, hang their hats on -- or cast aside in favor of the other guy’s take on things.

Democrat or Republican, what’s needed is a hard-working tagline that acts as a stand-in for party "market positioning". Which should include the following characteristics:

  1. Simple – uses as few words as possible.
2. Direct – makes a strong, unambiguous declaration.
3. Compelling – connects to both head and heart.
4. Personal – speaks to people’s wants and needs.
5. Strategic – sets your message (or brand) apart.
6.  Authentic – grounded in Marketable Truth©.
7. Meaningful – presents tangible benefits.
8. Visual – attracts eye and ear.
9. Memorable – sticks in the mind.
10. Enduring – remains true, even in the face of change.

Readers of this blog know that my subject is communicating competitive advantage. I am no political commentator, but there clearly are parallels between positioning a business, product or brand to advantage and doing so for a political party or candidate. If you spread out the pieces and parts of your belief on a tabletop, you should be able to re-assemble them in a more strategically useful, more refreshing and attractive way, regardless of which political party plucks your heartstrings and moves your feet toward the voting booth.

Use the list of qualities above to guide you in creating a key message, a compact, well-crafted expression of competitive advantage that helps assure consistency in every communication you make – commonly expressed as a tagline. Then lay out a plan to tell your American Story. Start disseminating your message at least by November of 2015. And stick with it. Modify the accents, if needed, but not the core message as party and candidates move together toward November of 2016:

Short, Compelling & Strategic Tagline

- supporting initiative #1
- supporting initiative #2
- supporting initiative #3
- supporting initiative #4
- etc.

Can it be all that simple?   Seems so to me. And it just might save us from suffering through two more years of verbal mush, the kind we’ve become all too accustomed to as our national political campaigns unfold.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner.    Marketable Truth © by Brian E. Faulkner

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A Small Steinway With A Big Message.

11/4/2014

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Flipped through the November Music Trades magazine the other day and came upon a picture of a miniature art case piano based on an elaborate Steinway given to the people of United States during the first Roosevelt administration. Detailed marquetry on its side portrays the thirteen original American colonies, while nine lavishly painted muses adorn the underside of the lid.

From intricate carvings to ornate legs, the 1903 White House Steinway (now at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History) is a richly decorated example of turn-of-the-previous-century piano design and craftsmanship.

But this White House Steinway – the one in the magazine -- isn’t a real Steinway. Is it?

Steinway says it is – and has declared it so.   But this Steinway is only 15-inches long. You could probably hold it in your outstretched hands (if they let you). It’s priceless. And perfectly proportioned, down to the most obscure piano detail.   It’s not a model. It’s a “real” Steinway, according to the company.

As piano folks say, it’s actionable. It plays!

Each tiny key, wippen, hammer, damper, string and bridge pin works in perfect synchrony with all the other 12,115 grand piano parts to produce real musical notes. A Lilliputian pianist could sit her miniature self down on the instrument’s gilded stool, lift the fallboard and play a concert! And it probably would sound good (in a smallish sort of way), although the article doesn’t say that.

The 1:7 scale Steinway was created by Canadian artist Paul Gentile, who is famous for making other astonishingly accurate small scale musical instruments. In his quest for perfection, he even fashioned a small version of Steinway’s 19th century rim press to help create the piano’s case (it wouldn’t surprise me if he used precisely the number of hard rock maple laminates and the correct glue and procedure to assure authenticity). He even had Steinway’s foundry cast the instrument’s golden plate.

His particular genius and level of obsession clearly qualify Gentile to make a piano, one of the most exacting (and emotionally gratifying) undertakings in the world.

Of course, Steinway has created instrument after instrument for more than 160 years, ever since the company’s German immigrant founder, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, built the first one in his Manhattan kitchen. To this day, each Steinway has an individual allure that must be matched to the player, although all Steinways share the same exalted pedigree.

Gentile’s gilded miniature, apparently, is no exception.

But what’s so eminently instructive about the mere existence of this miniature art case piano is the gilded reputation Steinway & Sons has crafted for itself over the years. Through times of uncertainty and change, they have built their brand on a foundation of excellence, as described initially by the man who became known as Henry Engelhard Steinway.

“Build the best piano possible,” he instructed. Then “sell it at the lowest price consistent with quality.”

That price has continued to rise, to the point where a Steinway concert grand can set you back around $150,000 (closer to $200,000 with certain veneered cases). Steinway prices increase by a predictable chunk every year, but there’s no shortage of discerning buyers willing to invest in new Steinways or plunk down the cash for quality rebuilt ones, especially those restored in the company's own shop.

Quality is a difficult notion to put your finger on because it’s experienced in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. Even so, through a combination of old world craftsmanship and diligent brand building over the years, Steinway & Sons pianos have managed to become the quality standard to which others are most often compared – particularly at the concert performance level, whether the grand on stage is a New York Steinway or a Hamburg Steinway. Of course, other exquisitely-crafted pianos from low volume (mostly European) makers also are available to performers, each with its unique appeal and devotees. But there’s still only one Steinway.

It’s just that now one of them is very, very small.

TakeAway: Build your brand brick by authentic brick.   In time, perhaps you can become the standard by which your competitors are judged. And maybe then some famous artist will take the time to honor you by creating a working miniature of your product.

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New Whole Foods Tagline Nails It!

11/3/2014

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Two words at the bottom of our Whole Foods sales receipt caught my eye yesterday:

            VALUES MATTER.

“What’s up with this?” we asked the nearest WFM team member.

“You know, values – the things people believe. They matter. That’s what Whole Foods is all about.”

Of course. Whole Foods Market has hung its mostly organic hat on that for years. A tilt toward unadulterated, un-manufactured foods has been their stock in trade ever since John Mackey and his wife started their first store in 1978. Company “values” still encompass trust and the greater good … and attract a refreshing variety of both staff and customers.

But these days, Whole Foods Market® is far from alone in offering organic fare. Even the most mundane mainstream grocer now carries some organics, and the leaders among them have gone in heavy for it – even Walmart, for heaven’s sake!   Not to mention a plethora of “natural foods” competitors out there who would like to eat WFM’s lunch.

So Whole Foods needs a way to stand out … again.

That very evening, the first Whole Foods TV ad we’d ever seen popped into our living room (which either means we’ve missed ‘em when they’ve run before or they’ve just starting running in our area). The spot talked about how values matter, profiled a family-owned farm and touched on organics’ companion differentiator, local providers – another difference that’s becoming less different these days as mainstream grocery marketers climb on the “local” bandwagon.

“America’s Healthiest Grocery Store,” declared the tagline at the end of the spot, nailing down in only four words what America has been saying about Whole Foods for a long time. Witness this quote from Health Magazine in 2008, which asked a group of health experts to pick the Top 10 healthiest grocery stores (Whole Foods was #1):

“Whole Foods has the whole package -- from an extraordinary selection of fresh conventional and organic fruit and vegetables to delicious prepared foods with healthy ingredients and clear labeling. Whole Foods puts a premium on products that are grown or produced locally (read: super fresh).”

The Whole Foods tagline is a home-run. It includes all “10 qualities of an effective tagline”— at least as I’ve perceived them over the years.

  1. Simple – uses as few words as possible.
2. Direct – makes a strong, unambiguous declaration-
3. Compelling – connects to both head and heart.
4. Authentic – grounded in Marketable Truth©.
5. Strategic – sets your brand apart.
6. Personal – talks about customer wants and needs.
7. Meaningful – expresses tangible benefits.
8. Visual – attracts eye and ear.
9. Memorable – sticks in the mind.
10. Enduring – works as long as the truth lasts.

I’d like to think that the new Whole Foods “tagline” is a keeper. Could be a test. Or just an ad campaign theme.

But based on this short presentation on Whole Foods' web site (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/values-matter), I’d say America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” is a keeper. They simply may be sneaking it in under the “Values Matter” banner.

It should be a keeper, because it tells the truth … and tells it well.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner      Marketable Truth © by Brian E. Faulkner

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sample blog:

This is a sample blog for writer Brian E. Faulkner. It presents stories about brands that do (or don't) communicate competitive advantage effectively. Stories have been gleaned from the business press, personal experience and occasional interviews. New articles are added from time to time, and every so often there will be a post of general interest -- about things like success, passion, social trends, etc.

Author

Brian Faulkner is a writer and strategic communication consultant who helps business clients explain their competitive advantage in compelling and enduring ways.

He also is a five-time Emmy award winning Public Television writer & narrator for a highly-rated and well-loved magazine series.

When Your Small Business Has a Song to Sing, Sing It!

If You Want a Great Job, Interview companies With Good VIBES.

Taglines & Brands.

The Customer is Culture at this Successful Company.

How To Win BIG in 2016: A Tagline For Tomorrow.

A Small Steinway With A Big Message.

New Whole Foods Tagline Nails It!

sample blog:

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