The advertising slogan is frequently unappreciated and commonly misunderstood. What doesn’t help is the fact that people from all over the world confusingly use different terms to essentially describe the same thing. Thus the term “advertising slogan” suffers from slogan nomenclature.

In the UK, the advertising slogan is commonly referred to as the “strapline” or the “endline”. In the USA, it is the “tagline” whereas in France the “signature”. Generically, they are known as “slogans” and some call them “slogos” given that a slogan always accompanies a company logo. Lawyers might refer to them as Trade Marks T or Registered Trade Marks R.

I obviously could go on but won’t. At the end of the day, they all refer to the same thing, which in layman’s terms is a memorable phrase used by marketers and advertisers. If you want to expand the working definition: The purpose of the advertising slogan is to implant the key brand message in the mind of the target audience. It is also the sign-off that accompanies the logo.

I think local businesses in general tend to underestimate the importance of a short, memorable and powerful strapline accompanying a company logo within the context of their branding strategy. Quite a few companies don’t have one and the ones that do have a slogan don’t always use it. Others have one but it is so poorly crafted that the meaning is not clear and the message not memorable. There certainly is room for improvement.

Volkswagen’s slogan “Das Auto.” says it all. In just two words and a full-stop, Volkswagen eloquently communicates to its audience what it is all about. To me the message is: you are dealing with a German engineering company where quality is taken very seriously. We don’t just mass produce cars but we engineer the definitive car, the German way. That is why the slogan is in German.

Now, I am aware that the literal translation is “The Car” but when the advertising agency DDB came up with the slogan in 2007 the intention was to convey much more than that and I think they succeeded. My own company’s slogan, on the other hand, is “We Think Business”. Again the intention here is that in just three words people understand what we do. We don’t just consult; we actually think business. Think business, think Fenci.

A third example, which again highlights the importance and benefit of having a well thought out but simple and neat slogan is Apple’s “We think Different” (used during1997-2002) and which in my opinion really hit the sweet spot. Again this three word slogan allowed the company to position itself and its products into uncontested market space. True, Apple, with its Ipod and Iphone has now become a market leader setting industry standards but at the time, when they launched the slogan “We Think Different”, it set the tone, explained the strategy and everyone knew what they meant and why. The slogan summed up the business, the products and its people perfectly. The advertising slogan is not limited to the world of business. It is also used by political parties. One of the most successful re-branding exercises in recent history, at least to my mind, was the re-positioning in voters’ minds of the UK’s Labour Party, which had until then consecutively lost four elections, with the launch of the slogan “New Labour”. To be precise the original strapline was “New Labour, New Britain” but in truth and with time, it was shortened to “New Labour”. Again, the slogan explained in a few words the internal revolution that was occurring, pre-1997, and the brand promise being made to the British voter about a future Labour government in the UK.

A good advertising slogan should therefore and with time become a catch-phrase. I am sure that we all remember, “Don’t just book it, Thomas Cook It.” or “A mars a day helps you work, rest and play”. My favourite one is Nike’s “Just do It”.

Branding Strategy is crucial in today’s highly competitive business world and the slogan plus logo, which I see as different sides to the same coin, are very important branding tools that are typically underestimated by Maltese businesses. Naturally, I am not suggesting that this creative task simply be given to the graphic designer or to the marketing people at the marketing department. No. This is a key strategic decision under which the entire business (top management, employees, suppliers, customers alike) must unite.

In my mind, you first have to understand the mindset of your customers and how to appeal to them which means you must know what makes you different. Align business process, product and people with the brand promise. Lastly, build the brand over the long-term. I say all this because these decisions affect the very DNA of a business and should be considered very carefully by business leaders: as they literally have the potential to define [or undermine] a business for a generation.

A customer once told me: “Our business strategy and our brand strategy are inseparable and almost one of the same, since one defines the other”. What an astute observation. This is why the slogan and logo are a strategic decision, not to be decided upon lightly or frivolously. To emphasise my point by quoting examples of bad slogans, do you remember (and I’ll intentionally not use Maltese examples here British Rail’s “We’re getting there”, BT’s “It’s you we answer to”, Exxon’s “We’re Exxon” or Bassett’s (Liquorice Allsorts) “One too many and you might turn Bertie”?

All businesses in Malta need to take stock of their advertising slogan and ask themselves if it is up to scratch in today’s competitive world. You should ask yourself: What message are we conveying? Is it easily understood? Is it memorable? Does it highlight a key benefit? Does it differentiate our brand? Does it impart positive feelings? Does it reflect the brand’s personality? Is it Strategic? Is it original? Is it simple? Is it believable?

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Mr Fenech is managing director of Fenci Consulting Ltd.