A little bit late, I’ve run across a post from Johnnie Moore that makes the most excellent point that organizations think the path to success is to emulate thewildly successful “branding campaigns” of other organizations. So, they think about the tagline, jingle or cutesy character that has worked beyond anyone’s dreams, and then they try to come up with their own. But, as Johnnie says, why think you’re going to be the one in ten thousand who comes up with something as zippy and memorable? This strategy leads to 9,999 failures for every success.

Johnnie cites the highly successful tagline for Las Vegas — “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” — and the highly forgettable attempts by cities to come up with their own. “God forbid that we let the people who live here, and those who visit, tell the story in a million more modest, less consistent but much more credible ways?”

BTW, here’s my suggestion for a tagline for Boston: “And what did you get on your SAT’s?” [Tags: johnnie_moore marketing branding boston]

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