Battlecry

Winning the Battle for the Mind with a Slogan That Kills

By: Laura Ries

Narrated by: Chris Roman

Why are most slogans and taglines ineffective? Because they're just words and a mind cannot understand words. A mind can only understand sounds.

Why do most Americans remember the battlecry of the French Revolution ("Liberté, égalité, fraternité") when they cannot remember the battlecry of the American Revolution?

Because the sounds of the words "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" rhyme and that's one of the powerful techniques for creating a memorable slogan. In addition to "rhyme", there are four other techniques outlined in my new book, Battlecry.

1. Rhyme: "Roto-Rooter, that's the name. And away go troubles down the drain."

2. Alliteration: "M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hands."

3. Repetition: "The few. The proud. The Marines."

4. Reversals: "Two great tastes that taste great together. Reese's peanut butter cups."

5. Double-entendre: "A diamond is forever."

You might think companies and their ad agencies would be wise to these techniques.

But few slogans actually use any of these memory-building tactics. In a recent survey of 266 advertising slogans, only 19 used any one of them.

©2015 Ries' Pieces Publishing (P)2017 Spoken Word Inc

Worth it

Encourages a new conceptional view on things. Absolutely enjoyed it and do recommend it. Most read, for leaders.

Does what it says on the tin

I like how there were many examples for each of the concepts taught in the book. It's like taking all the strategies that you find in the "learning how to learn" books and applying them to teaching your customers how to remember your offer.