Caney Design Marketing Communications 101
Names and Words Predict Success or Failure
Words rule company identity and product perceptions
Words create the filter through which all else is seen
Basic rules for best names, taglines, and headlines
For nearly all companies, business and product names begin the process of forming an identity and positioning in the mind of a prospect. An appropriate name, a qualifying tagline, or an intriguing headline tells your audience what to expect, whatever the media for communications – ads, websites, exhibits, releases, stationery, brochures, and more. The correct words (far more than images) stand a good chance of supporting your efforts, and the wrong message simply won’t work – and worse, it can cause significant damage to your perceived image.
Words form company and product perceptions
One grey-beard marketing guru states the situation quite bluntly saying, “When the words are right, things tend to get better. When the words are wrong, things tend to get worse.” Even a seasoned marketing pro can have trouble defining what will constitute the most effective message and then finding just the right words to convey it. Unlike a salesperson whose personality is frequently a factor in planting an impression, marketing communications activities depend mostly on words to stir emotions and trigger a response. Here’s an example of how subtle word changes rescued a new venture heading towards failure.
Hoping to attract new qualified prospects, a client in the data center engineering business decided to promote a regional seminar with the title “Minimize Data Center Downtime.” The methods and benefits promoted were pretty convincing, yet the response was dismal. It seems most prospective customers were convinced they had already tried or were at least aware of all practical ways to avoid downtime events. So we suggested using the title “How to Maximize Data Center Uptime,” with promotion copy that emphasized certain proprietary knowledge and methods. We had clearly found the right message. Not only was the response overwhelming, but that first successful seminar spawned a successful spin-off business that ultimately grew into a significant annual exhibition.
Crafting the right message
The first consideration in communications should be a clear understanding of what is the right message. What news, what claim, or what perception will motivate your audience to take a positive action? Or in other words, “What work does the message need to accomplish?” Even when you are certain of what your audience wants to hear, it takes a well-crafted headline and compelling copy to immediately position your offer and capture interest long enough to tell your story.
In the most elegant solutions, a company name alone might accomplish much of the task of defining the business (Solarpower Corporation). A short tagline can further define the company’s unique position (Breakthrough Efficiency). And the headline for an explanatory paragraph can qualify a prospect and encourage an action (New Solar Battery Stores the Sun’s Energy to Generate Electricity When Needed).
Naming a business or product
In response to a student’s inquiry about how to start a business, I once quite seriously responded, “Design a great business card.” Today I might substitute “website” for business card, but in either case, I suggest first creating a great company name and an effective tagline that reflect your perceived obvious advantage. (See Differentiate Your Obvious Advantage)
Coining a name that does the work you intend (or need) offers new ventures a better chance for success. And finding that name requires a disciplined development process – rather than a casual brainstorming of ideas until one is selected by consensus.
Begin with a good understanding of your obvious advantage, how it is meaningful to your audience, and the perceptions you want to project. Then create a list of key word associations for each topic – even to the point of deciding what color, what animal, or what other company best represents the “attitude” expected of your company or product. Before mentally manipulating the key words to create name inspirations, expand the list of related words by considering these other sources.
Looking for name clues and concepts
Unique attributes or applications (Engineous Turbine) are more effective than feature-based descriptive names (Triple Wheel Turbine) that are almost impossible to protect by trademark.
Image associations (Tiger Turbine) can convey a total attitude.
Application associations (ENERGX Turbine) attempt to relate to the target markets.
Initials and acronyms are rarely effective for new businesses. Grey-beard advice says don’t do it no matter how tempting or clever (NRG Turbine).
Status names and metaphors can help your company or product assume strongly associated attributes (Einstein Turbine). Strong metaphors can do the same (Titan Turbine).
New spellings of words (Genex Turbine) are most often just confusing, but worthy of consideration if obvious.
Criteria to help select the “best” name
The best name should:
position the company/product
project a positive association or perception
sound familiar like you may have heard it before
be memorable and easy to recall
be available for trademark registration
be available for a desirable URL address
The name should not:
be easily mispronounced
have another foreign meaning
become out-of-date
One of my favorite coined names is Parrot Digigraphics, an identity we created for a company serving digital fine-art printmakers. “Parrot” conjures up vibrant colors and used as a verb means “to copy.” “Digigraphics” is a made-up word with an understandable meaning – and permitted a dot.com URL.
Effective slogans and taglines
Short company slogans or taglines typically follow the company name and are intended to further position and differentiate a business or product. Unfortunately, most taglines state the obvious to the point of being interchangeable with competitors and do nothing to differentiate a unique advantage or position. So don’t waste your tagline!
The same insights gained in the process of developing name options can be used to create a slogan or tagline that best positions your business for current and future marketing requirements. In some cases, a tagline might need to be an effective positioning tool for “selling” an investment to Wall Street as well as selling goods or services to target markets.
When evaluating tagline concepts, also consider these questions:
Can you claim any position of leadership such as the “most,” “fastest,” or “favorite?”
Can a competitor claim the same advantage or market position?
Do the words suggest a reason to do business with you over competitors?
The correct headline trumps all
A well-written headline can accomplish a lot. Key familiar words will stand out to capture the reader’s attention. The complete message (usually a maximum of thirteen words) might contain both news value and offers a benefit (or creates the fear of not taking action). Most importantly, a headline creates the “filter” through which all the information that follows it will be interpreted. Headlines provide a unique opportunity to control reader perceptions and are one of the most powerful tools in the communications arsenal. And captions count too – they are typically read immediately after the headline.
But writing effective headlines and captions is an art that requires a thorough understanding of what will motivate a target audience and how to say it. For example, the label-like caption “Alarm clock rings using environmental sounds” would be significantly more effective if the copy read “New alarm clock wakes gently with sounds of nature,” maybe followed by a list of selections – Summer Rain, Ocean Surf, Evening Forest, Babbling Brook, and so on.
When writing headlines, consider these tips:
Be informative and believable
Present a problem and its solution
Propose an intriguing offer or comparison
Incorporate “new,” “free,” and other evergreen buzz words
Promise an advantage or benefit over competitors
State how your “obvious” advantage is critical to the solution
Arouse emotions by making a provocative statement
Be sure the message is easily read and understood
Don’t design logos at home
The topic of design will be covered in a future issue, but I’ll briefly review logos because they are typically an adjunct to company names. Indeed, a logo is literally a stand-in for the company name, yet surprisingly, very few logos are recognized without a name. Those that are took many years to establish, and the most successful typically embody the company name using a distinctive typeface or design treatment – with no separate “mark.”
The correct graphic presentation of the right name (for anything) can add the extra flavor that says you are worthy to do business with. But going from a good name to an effective design or logo takes an experienced pro with more than good computer graphic skills. And a poorly executed design wreaks of amateur status – not just for the design but also the business or product it represents.
A cursory review of our website (CaneyDesign.com) will provide many examples of successful identity campaigns and give evidence to the guidelines presented in this issue.