Taglines for products and brands are everywhere, but often they don’t get the attention they deserve. A variety of research shows that one phrase slogans can have a profound effect on how customers see the product. One key factor in crafting that phrase is matching its content to the customer’s mindset, and in particular to two important consumer motivations: prevention and promotion.
Promotion vs. Prevention
Not long ago we looked at the power of marketing using “loss” as a motivator in How “Loss” Can Be a Winning Strategy. Highlighting risks your customer faces isn’t the only way to market, of course, and an interesting blog post at the Harvard Business Review focuses on the question of promotion vs. prevention. While prevention-minded consumers are concerned about the possible loss of what they have, promotion-oriented consumers are more positively focused on opportunities to improve their life. The former are more pessimistic and risk averse, while the latter are optimistic and more likely to take a chance on something new.
