The end of the brand pay-off as we know it

Belgian research agency Brandhome discovered in a recent research that slogan and pay-off recognition is close to zero. Only a few brands have a pay-off that cuts through the clutter. According to Erik Saelens from Brandhome, the problem is that most slogans are too complicated or too generic.

I think the problem lays elsewhere. I think the brand pay-off is ready for revision. We used to think that the role of a slogan was to be some sort of unifying signifier to easily recognize a brand. The problem with this is that in times of advertising overload slogans become interchangeable. The pay-off signifier become empty.

I think we should start looking at a pay-off from a different perspective. A slogan should be thought of as a common theme under which a brand acts. The pay-off is the unique brand stamp on communication, actions, events, stunts, guerilla actions, top-topicals, POI, customer interaction etc...

Every action should fit within the storyline of the slogan (e.g. The Axe effect is a great example in that perspective). We referred to this in the past as "transmedia storytelling", in which different elements that build up to the brand story are being told through different channels.

I don't think we should judge a pay-off through its intrinsic characteristics (such as complexity or generality) but through its ability to offspring unique brand storylines through different actions and channels.

Link: Standaard - Reclameslogans worden slecht herkend