We need fewer slogans and more rallying cries
Artificial intelligence tools are getting lots of play. I read about tools that will write emails, sales collateral, and more. The latest is a slogan generator.
Up until now, I've been kind of amused by all the ai applications. In my experimenting, they've returned mostly average results. So I haven't said much. Until the slogan generator.
It hit a nerve.
I think it was a combination of things. First, it was another in a long list of ai applications (robots will take my job). And second, it had stepped into an area that I've been known to grumble about – slogans (also known as taglines).
Slogans are the bland middle ground of branding. For too many brands out there, they simply describe what the business does:
KnobCorp
We're the area's largest distributor of doorknobs!
Sometimes they attempt to tickle an emotion:
KnobCorp
We care about our customers!
By and large, slogans are lazy branding. They sit there below the logo, dragging down the brand.
We don't need a slogan generator to help automate more pap.
Sometimes I think slogans were created because brands can be ambiguous. There is nothing about the name or the logo or the combination that does anything to evoke any sort of feeling. And instead of doing the hard work to make the brand meaningful, we stick a slogan down there to try and make up for a forgettable brand.
Enter the rallying cry
It's time to give the slogan the boot and develop your rallying cry.
A rallying cry is the shorthand of the brand purpose. It alludes to the difference the brand hopes to make in a life, a community, or even the world (also known as your Big Audacious Meaning).
Why is this any different than a slogan? A slogan informs. A rallying cry inspires. It may motivate us (check out Chipotle's Being Real). It may challenge us. It may invite us to join in (check out Dove's Let's Change Beauty) But it will always connect back to that purpose that the brand hopes to serve.
A rallying cry helps support how a brand becomes meaningful. It's less about the brand. And more about those the brand hopes to serve. That's why it is so irresistible to customers and prospects. Because it is oriented toward a deep need they have – to feel like they can help make a difference for those around them. A rallying cry signals this orientation.
It isn't there to explain the brand. It's there to amplify it.