Vyer Blog: Taglines and cant

When I followed the advice of several marketing gurus to create a tagline, I really crafted it carefully. It read:

Vyer, LLC helps its clients realize valuable business opportunities through innovative and pragmatic use of information technology.

The feedback is in, and here's what it amounts to:

Your tagline sucks.

Now, when I review taglines, pitches, or whatever, I ask the question: as opposed to what? So here are the answers as far as my soon-to-be-abandoned tagline is concerned: realized as opposed to "identified" or "imagined;" valuable as opposed to "marginal," or "incidental"; business as opposed to "technical" or "geek candy"; opportunities as opposed to "systems" (I don't build those); innovative as opposed to "obvious" and "conventional"; " pragmatic as opposed to "easy to imagine, hard to do."

Still, I agree: the tagline sucks.

This has two reasons:

First, every tagline is merely an assertion. I can assert that Vyer will increase the shareholder value of your company beyond your wildest dreams, but saying it isn't doing it. The more compelling the tagline is, the more improbable it becomes. I think the best taglines are aspirations rather than promises, but the distinction is lost on clients.

Second, every business term has become meaningless from overuse. I avoided the really bad ones, like "leverage," "strategy," "capital," "assets," etc., but I could easily see how an astute and critical reader (my favorite clients and colleagues) would feel his eyes glaze over - these have become "stop" words that you skip in order to get to the meat.

My most candid tagline would probably be:

We clean up IT messes

I like it because it uses words consultants avoid putting in writing, is plainly put, and is even a little humorous (I think). But I worry that many people will think it's just a bit too flip or too simple.

Or maybe I should avoid taglines altogether. That's my choice for now.

June 2004

Comments

First step: choose the audience
You gotta tell me who the audience is -- eg,
(a) The stressed out IT manager who is late and over-budget
(b) The frustrated line (business) manager who doesn't have a clue of what is going on but is increasingly convinced it's FUBAR

Second step: choose the message
What are you trying to do with the tag line?
> Tell'em what you do (a description)
> Grab your audience's attention to read more (a teaser)
> Give'em a sense of who you are (a metaphor)

Note that I'd strongly recommend the "mess" tagline if your audience is the IT guy since the last thing he can ever do is admit things are messed up.

But, the line mgr wil probably bite "mess" hook, line and sinker

* * *

My current tendency is to use metaphors. Who are you to the client?
> Like a surveyor before a building renovation
> Like a nanny for the clueless IT folks
> Like a wise old men who will share his limitless experience to help the young, fool at heart?

Posted by: Rodrigo | June 16, 2004 at 05:58 AM

VYER, LLC
Preventing fecal matter from hitting oscilating muli-blade device(s).

A nifty little tagline that cojures up the Dilbert-level debacles that everyone (management and line workers) wish to avoid.

Posted by: Bill Rattner | September 13, 2004 at 02:35 PM

If a man comes to your front door and says he is conducting a survey And asks you to show him your bum, do not show him your bum. This is a scam. He only wants to see your bum. I wish I had got this yesterday. I feel so stupid and cheap. -The Bum http://www.widgetmate.com

Posted by: Morris Young | July 18, 2007 at 05:16 AM

In choosing a tagline for your business or what some jobs that you must use a tagline. First think what you gonna use to on it that will be easily to read.

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