Short Savings Slogans Boost Sales

September 23, 2011

A short and focused brand slogan is almost always better than a long, wordy, broad brand slogan. Short messages are easier to digest and remember.

Don’t believe me? Think of some of the slogans you can remember. How long are they? Check out some of the most iconic brand slogans of the past and present below to see what I mean:

Just Do It. – Nike
The Real Thing. – Coke
Save Money. Live Better. – Walmart
Have It Your Way. – Burger King
Think Different. – Apple

Each of the slogans listed above communicated the brand promise in a succinct and memorable way. For some brands, like Walmart, the slogan becomes part of the logo and is integrated into the corporate identity at every level. Is your slogan good enough to be part of your logo?

Just having a slogan isn’t enough though. Your slogan needs to tell part of your brand story and communicate a benefit to consumers. For brands that promise value for consumers’ money, including a savings message within the slogan can actually boost sales.

A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research in 2010 cites a series of consumer tasks conducted to gauge consumer perception and action based on learning how sales were impacted for brands associated with saving money. The results showed that consumers who were presented with just a brand name were likely to spend half the amount that consumers who were presented with the brand name and a money-saving slogan were likely to spend.

A separate study reported in the same paper in the Journal of Consumer Research found that consumers who saw a savings slogan were likely to spend more than when they saw a luxury slogan. So while money-savings slogans are typically used to attract new customers and increase foot traffic, they’re also very good at increasing single visit sales. That’s something to consider when you develop your own brand slogan.

Of course, the savings message needs to be appropriate for your brand, and the actual price-to-value ratio needs to consistently meet or exceed consumers’ expectations or they won’t believe your slogan for long.

What do you think about brand slogans? Leave a comment and share your thoughts about what works and what doesn’t.

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Susan Gunelius

President & CEO at KeySplash Creative, Inc.

Susan Gunelius is the author of multiple marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and blogging books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, a leading blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com, a featured writer for Forbes.com, and the Guide to Blogging for About.com. Additionally, her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, FoxBusiness.com, WashingtonPost.com, TheStreet.com, SmartMoney.com, TodayShow.com, BusinessWeek.com, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Small Business, and more. She has nearly 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Susan also appears at in-person and virtual events where she speaks about marketing, branding, social media, and more (visit www.SusanGunelius.com for more information). You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.