We’ve all heard the cliche “Good thinks come to those who wait.” Congrats to AVON for “riffing” off this well-known saying to come up with a catchy slogan for their latest fund-raiser. . . “Good things come to those who walk.”
Just like a jazz pianist “riffs” of chords to create memorable music, you can create memorable taglines, slogans, and titles by re-arranging cliches instead of repeating them – just like AVON did.
Want more? Visit www.samhornpop.com
Want to schedule an interview with Sam? Contact Cheri Grimm, Sam’s Business Manager at info@samhorn.com
Yes, the year-end holidays are over, however there is still a marketing lesson to be learned from them. Two clever movie ads I saw riffed on traditional Christmas songs to come up with smile-inducing taglines.
The first trumpeted the release of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” DVD with WRECK THE HALLS. The second prominently featured a sheep along with the pig and spider from “Charlotte’s Web” with the caption FLEECE NAVIDAD.
Then there was the romance novel featured in the store window of a major bookstore. It featured a Fabio look-alike stretched out on a fur rug in front of a Yule log fire. The title? “The Knight Before Christmas.”
Valentine’s Day is only a month away. Could you tie in your blog post, article, or marketing slogan to a popular love song that is frequently mentioned along with that holiday? It could make your idea or offering more topical so it captures attention from the media and your customers.
Just comb your descriptive copy and pull out key words that explain what your program/product is or does. Those are your “core”words. Then, visit www.freelyrics.com and enter those words into the search engine. Up will come dozens of song titles with “your” phrases. Now, let the word play begin to see if you can come up with a catchy ad or promotion campaign that gets your priority project noticed and remembered.
They’re all been inducted into the 2006 POP! Hall of Fame – which honors individuals and entities that have captured the public’s interest because of their originality. Previous winners have included Freakonomics, Java Jacket, Daddle, and Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.
I believe the best way to corner a niche is to create a niche. And the best way to create a niche is to coin a one-of-a-kind approach.
These people and products are examples of how anyone and anything can break out if you pleasantly surprise people with something they haven’t seen and heard before.
1.Treadmill Dance. The band OK GO catapulted from obscurity into the spotlight with their innovative dance routine on, you guessed it – treadmills. After 56 takes and much bumping and bruising, the “Treadmill Dance” was born, creating a word-of-“mouse” phenomenon which, through the distribution power of YouTube has been viewed by over 100 million people.
2. Ted’s Takes. This Vice Chair of AOL has decided to pro-actively control his public image rather than passively leaving it to chance. By blogging daily, he’s posted snippets of his celebrity-filled life and strategically linked to other high-profile entrepreneurs such as Mark Cuban. The result? He now receives up to 15,000 visits a day and his “take” on life shows up first when he’s Googled. As a bonus, he says, “I have moral authority and credibility with employees and people in the industry that I’m not just talking about Web 2.0, I’m living it.”
3. Little MissMatched.Capitalizing instead of complaining about the “lost sock phenomenon” by selling funky mismatched socks, gloves and mittens in has catapulted this online retailer into a multimillion dollar company. Their slogan? “Nothing matches but anything goes.”
4. POPera. Pop + Opera = SALES! Combining popular tunes – ala Josh Groban and II Divo – to make a how that is sure to make it big. As soon as you create a never-before-seen word, you don’t just have a clever title, tagline or brand, you have the beginnings of a business empire.
5. MasterCard – “You’re on my fantasy team.” Why did Colts quarterback Peyton Manning earn $11.5 million in endorsement income this year? Partially because of his ad-libs for Master Card in which the commercial director simply asked him to repeat what he frequently hears from fans. Speak in your target market’s language and they’ll identify with you.
6. Heinz. Yes, even packaging can POP! How many times have you pounded a ketchup bottle against your palm trying to get that thick tomato paste out? In what has to be the “Duh!” moment of the decade, someone at Heinz had the bright idea to redesign the bottle and turn it upside down so it sits on its cap. Voila. Problem solved.
7. Metronatural®. This trademarked Half & Half Word captures and communicates the dual draw of Seattle – it’s a thriving metropolis surrounded by majestic natural beauty. Thanks to POP! fan David Zinger for alerting me to another catchy city slogan “Keep it Querque” for . . . what else but Albuquerque?
8. Spot the Tot. 500 children a year are run over in their own driveway by people who inadvertently back up over them. A movement launched to prevent these tragic deaths is called “Spot the Tot” — a classic example of how “Cliff-Noting” your campaign into a clear, concise message increases the likelihood people will remember and follow its important advice.
9. Crackberry. This clever “Alphabetized Word” alludes to the addictive qualities of Blackberry (just ask the hundreds of thousands suffering from “Blackberry Thumb“). You don’t have to be a creative genius to come up with a new word. Write down 10 words that describe your pet project. Now, run them through the ABC’s, changing the sound of the first syllable to match the corresponding letter. Want another example (and a close runner-up in this category?) What do you call a cubicle with a view . . .that’s right, viewbicle.
10. No Child Left Inside. Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, (a clever play on the words Attention-Deficit Disorder) pioneered a back-to-nature movement to reconnect children with the outdoors and developed the perfect name that “plays off” the No Child Left Behind legislation. Just as a jazz pianist riffs off common chords to create new music, POP! artists riff off common slogans to create new variations.
Want more? Visit www.samhorn.com
Want to schedule an interview with Sam? Contact Cheri Grimm in Sam’s California office at 800 SAM-3455 or email info@samhorn.com
My publisher Perigee (Penguin Group) has agreed to send a review copy of my new book, POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd to the first 25 bloggers who are interested in reviewing it. To request a review copy, please send an email with the URL of your blog and your mailing address to:
Katherine.”>Wasilewski@us.penguingroup.com
with the subject line “Review Copy of POP!”
You are also welcome to contact Cheri Grimm in my California office at 805 528-4351 to schedule an interview with me if you prefer to offer a Q & A format for your readers. We could focus on specific techniques, examples, and suggestions that are timely and relevant for your blog audience.
There are many joys of being on a media tour — one of which is the opportunity to meet fascinating people.
Such was the case last Wednesday at the annual National Press Club Book Fair.
I was there, along with 80 other invited authors, to sign copies of POP! It was a delightful enveing kibbitzing with familiar faces and fresh faces.
A familiar face was Eleanor Herman, author of Sex with Kings and Sex with Queens, who I met a couple years ago while speaking at Bella Stander’s Promotion 101 for Authors Workshop.
Eleanor definitely knows how to POP! She shows up for media interviews and book-signings wearing a lavish ballgown with an ermine cape and royal jewels. There is no way this woman is going to get lost in a crowd. She definitely stands out and her books’ visibility and sales have benefitted as a result.
I confess, I played hookie from my table for a few minutes to meet female icon and national treasure – Helen Thomas.
In case you’re not already familiar with this pioneering journalist, she became UPI’s White House Correspondent in 1960 and was the “lady in red” who Presidents often called upon first when opening up press conferences for Q & A. Reviews on Amazon.com of her newest book Watchdogs of Democracy refer to her as the “venerable grand dame of the White House press corps” and an “uncorruptable member of the fourth estate.” She is a walking-talking history book of the last five decades of our nation’s major events because she had a front row seat at many of them.
I had an opportunity to ask Helen how she developed the courage to go where no woman had gone before. She said, “I always wanted to be in the forefront and my parents never told me it was impossible.”
Are you at the forefront of your industry?
If you want to lead the pack instead of follow it (as Helen did), check out Chapter 9, Create the Next New Thing with the Half and Half Technique, in POP! It shares specific ways to forge a new path instead of following paths already taken by others.
Eliminate nervousness walk into a room and own it so people are favorably impressed and you’re the one they relate to, remember and want to refer or work with. This is what we can achieve for you. contact: info@samhorn.com
We’ve all heard the cliche “Good thinks come to those who wait.” Congrats to AVON for “riffing” off this well-known saying to come up with a catchy slogan for their latest fund-raiser. . . “Good things come to those who walk.”
Intriguing Insights on How to Create Compelling Communications That Pass The Eyebrow Test® 