Elephant and Rider. How does our brain read an advertising slogan?

A good advertising slogan is a constant goal of the efforts of advertising specialists around the world. What should a good slogan stand out, how should it be structured, what should it talk about? These questions are asked by almost every advertising agency. Once the seemingly sound slogan has been created as a result of brainstorming, it is time for it to be verified by customers. How does our brain work when an advertising slogan reaches us?

What distinguishes a good advertising slogan?

In many publications devoted to advertising you can find a chapter devoted to the advertising slogan. Most often we read in it what conditions this short text must meet in order for it to be accepted by the recipients. We learn that it should be tailored to a specific brand, and only then should we judge whether it is good or bad. After analyzing the guides for creating advertising slogans, you can present the most general, universal principles that should be followed in creating catchy slogans.

1. Simplicity - in creating a slogan, words that are generally understandable and simple should be used. The ability to condense content is also important - a few words are supposed to say more about a brand or product than a long speech.

2. Memorability - the advertising slogan must be memorable, catchy. This is difficult to accomplish at the time of password creation. However, pay attention to the length - short slogans are easier to remember, but may lack a keyword that will remain in the minds of customers. Too long slogans will be difficult to remember and recreate in the right form.

3. The language of benefits - the slogan must answer the customer's question "what will I gain by choosing a given brand / product?". The recipient of the advertising slogan must be sure that the choice of a specific brand or product will bring him benefits. The customer becomes the hidden hero of the slogan.

4. Uniqueness - the slogan should present a unique feature of the brand or product - one that will distinguish it from thousands of similar ones. An advertising slogan should not be saturated with clichés, because then it is difficult to relate it to a specific brand.

5. Identification - the advertising slogan is to refer to the name of the brand or product in a specific way. This way is arbitrary, a slogan can be, for example, a complement to a name, clarifying it, or a word game with its use. However, it is important that the reference is understandable to everyone, not only to the creator of the advertisement.

Advertising slogan - what determines success?

Probably the best beer in the world, You are worth it, Every day low prices, Not for idiots, you will arrange it here. Would you have a problem with guessing which brands are advertising the slogans above?

You guessed! They are then Carlsberg, L'Oréal, Biedronka, Media Markt and Ikea. It wasn't difficult, was it?

And now - you praise others, you do not know yours, Strength from the mountains, It makes your day grow, Hero of the house, This taste is not a matter of coincidence. A little harder?

From the beginning: Hellena, Żywiec Zdrój, Nescafé, Leroy Merlin and Pudliszki (ketchup). For each recognized brand, save yourself a big plus.

What makes it easier for us to remember some slogans and we can easily associate them with specific brands, and others escape our memory, despite the fact that until recently we often saw them on the streets or on the Internet, or heard them on the radio or television? Our mind is responsible for this!

Elephant and Rider - how do we make decisions?

We make decisions based on two systems operating in our brain and competing with each other - named after Chip and Dan Heath - Elephant and Rider.

The elephant acts unconsciously. Responsible for the automatic reading of signals and learned skills. You hear the beginning of the saying "wise Pole ..." and the Elephant will let you finish its further content in your head.

The rider is there where there is no more automation, but mental effort. It is memory, intelligence, conscious action. Often times, the Rider also joins the Elephant's system by taking over information.

We usually try to use the Rider's system as little as possible, based on the unconscious, intuitive Elephant. We assume that the less effort the better, which is why we are happy to use all the things that are intuitive to use. What we process within the Elephant seems truer, easier and more familiar to us.

Advertising slogan - cognitive ease

Cognitive (cognitive) ease is information processed through the agency of the Elephant. In order for the information to get there, it must be easy and familiar, and this implies that it will also become true for the recipient.

How to apply this process to an advertising slogan? Relatively simple. It may be difficult to create an easy slogan, and here it is undoubtedly useful to know the general principles that we wrote about earlier. The easy tagline needs to be repeated frequently to your audience later to make them known. The customer will verify an easy and well-known formula as true. He will know and believe that Carlsberg is "probably the best beer in the world" and that shopping at Media Marks is not for idiots.

Try to create a slogan that customers will remember and will be easily associated with your company, brand or product. It may not be the easiest task, but it is definitely worth the effort.