As marketers, we use the power of our words every day to express creativity, communicate ideas, and spread our message.
We already know that words are important. But how can we better harness the power of words to stand out in the crowd?
I recently read Sam Horn’s book POP!: How to Create the Perfect Pitch, Title, and Tagline for Anything. Sam Horn is an award-winning business consultant, keynote speaker, and author of several other great books. In POP!, she outlines a process she designed to help marketing and communications professionals better use their words to get noticed, create buzz, and sell ideas.
POP! is a simple acronym standing for Purposeful, Original, and Pithy. As Horn explains, every successful slogan, advertisement, or message usually has these three components. Here’s how each of the elements of POP! come together:
Purposeful:
As Horn explains in her book, a message is meaningless unless there is a clear purpose behind it. When writing a pitch or slogan, it’s important to capture the “why” behind your message. Effective communication must impart the meaning of your message your offering as well as position you in a positive light with your target audience. If your communication lack purpose, she says, you’ve just wasted their time and your own.
Original:
What is it about you that sets you apart from your competition? According to Horn, “When you’re one of a kind, there is no competition.” By thinking outside of the box to find ideas that are fresh, uncommon, and distinctive, our products or services are no longer considered ordinary or boring. Within the book, you can find exercises and worksheets to help you create original messaging and slogans.
Pithy:
The word pithy means concise and precise. In the age of distraction, we must limit our communication to be as concise as possible while still imparting our message. Keeping your message short and sweet is the secret to standing out in the crowd.
There you have it, an introduction to the POP! process. I highly recommend checking out the book, as it’s filled with useful worksheets and exercises to help give your messaging a boost. And as always, if you need additional help with your marketing and communications strategy, don’t hesitate to give The Ohlmann Group a call!
