Stories work in multiple directions with multiple audiences, as shown in Figure 1-1. The internal story is directed toward the man- agement of the organization and the total workforce. The internal
story is developed and presented by the management teams for internal consistency of the organization’s operating procedures and direction. Management teams often tell fragmented stories, so the slogan helps consolidate the story within the team. The slogan pro- vides the rally point for those who are supposed to lead and man- age the system. Consider the slogan as an easily remembered theme used every day by management to keep focused on the job at hand.
Figure 1-1. Your story works in two directions.
The second purpose of the internal focus is for communica- tions with employees. Slogans provide an outward demonstration of the direction of the company. They give the employees a place to stand while getting work done each day. Slogans or themes have been used for centuries to rally people to perform. When a compa- ny is experiencing its darkest hour on Wall Street, a rally cry around a core theme may be necessary to pull morale back from the brink.
The outward direction of the slogan to the public is usually developed and presented by the marketing department as a staff responsibility. Marketing’s targets are public image and customer appeal. Although both audiences are important, the second is the most critical. This appealing to customers is called branding and is essential to selling products, goods, and services. Companies spend billions of dollars each year to achieve worldwide brand recogni- tion. The condensed message for this branding effort shows up as the slogan.
In this section I describe the outward manifestation of the story, but remember this is a planning book, not a marketing the- sis. Keep the internal orientation as it relates to planning in mind as we discuss slogans.
Major dollars are paid to marketing personnel for their expert- ise in representing the company in assorted media events. Their product is usually an ad campaign or program to catch public atten- tion. There is nothing wrong with that approach except that it is usually just that—an annual advertising campaign and not the actual story of the company. Smarter companies separate ad cam- paigns from the portrayal of their image. These companies are com- municating a more permanent or long-term message. It screams out for you to know who they are, their values, and their place in the world business pecking order. They want you to buy them and not just their product. These companies send messages in cleverly worded bits and pieces called slogans.
For years, slogans were viewed as those cute sayings that appeared in advertisements or commercials. They were intended to be anchors in the consumer’s mind. That thinking and usage needs revisiting because those slogans actually provide a window of understanding about the company. The slogan signals to us, the public and customers, what story the company wants to tell. I expe- rienced this firsthand while flipping quickly through the pages of a magazine in the Calgary Delta Crown Room. What became very clear was the theme or hidden message communicated in the slo- gans. Here are a few examples of companies, their slogans, and my
interpretation of what story the advertisement may have intended to communicate.
Company Slogan Message
Qwest Communications Ride the light Speed of communications International Paper We answer to International social
the world responsibility
Celestial Seasonings What you do for you We help you be good to yourself
Toyota People drive us People’s choice
Subaru The best of the Four-wheel drives
all-wheel drive can be classy
Chrysler Engineered to be Leading technological
great cars advancements
Timex The watch you A real-world watch
wear out there for everyday life
GMC Do one thing. Standards of excellence,
Do it well. quality of product
It is interesting to compare companies in the same business or industry for similarities or differences in their stories. Look at the automobile examples in the previous list. Subaru chooses to tell a story around a unique feature—its state-of-the-art four-wheel drive, while Toyota puts the people, machine, and environment together.
Chrysler and GMC tend to focus on the engineering appeal and the quality of product, respectively. The first appeals to those who are intrigued with mechanical perfection. The second appeals to buyers who feel comfortable driving a GMC because it is well built by a company that doesn’t waste any time on poor manufacturing processes. The message from these examples is that your story can be unique within the same industry. It can be used to make a pow- erful connection between you and your consumer. And finally, the story can be communicated by using a device called the slogan.
A strongly pushed slogan or image can backfire when the same message is communicated internally. If your story is consistent, then you have no problem. If you are putting up a good public front or false front that is inconsistent with how the company is managed, you have a problem. There must be alignment between the outward and inward stories.
I have a unique opportunity to get behind some of the public stories while working for well-known companies. Often I find con- flict with the image presented to the public. While no company is perfect and there will always be irritants, some company stories just don’t hold together, no matter how active their marketing efforts.
This book is your game plan to eliminate the problems of how you present yourself to employees, the public, and your customers. A theme of this model is consistency in what you say and do. If you follow the integrated model in all the elements, your consistency is ensured.