Well-Spun Slogans Can Buoy a Business

When Joe Fennel drawls “Olé for Jose’s” and “Chimichanga, chimichanga, chimichanga,” many Northwest Arkansans can chant the words with him. Fennel used the tag lines to help his Mexican restaurant, Jose’s, become Fayetteville’s most popular locally-owned eatery.

During fiscal year 2000, Jose’s served $3.3 million of burritos and margaritas to its customers.

“Olé for Jose’s” came from a tough time in Fennel’s career. In 1980 he was struggling to keep the restaurant open when he took a marketing class at the University of Arkansas. The professor taught students about building slogans.

“Olé for Jose’s” soon rolled out of Fennel’s head during a brainstorming session. From that point, he never ran a radio spot without the phrase. Fennel said radio ads were cheap back then, and he flooded the midnight to 6 a.m. airwaves with his southern-accented “Olés.”

People woke in the morning to the sound of his voice, and Fennel said they often complained to him that the ads were annoying.

“I learned [in the UA class] that it really doesn’t matter what you’re selling as long as you can catch their attention,” Fennel said.

The ads worked.

“I’ll be walking down the street, and someone’ll drive by and yell ‘Olé!’ ” Fennel said. “It’s part of my identity now.”

Such lasting recognition is invaluable, said James Keltner, director of sales and creativity at On Display Marketing in Bentonville.

“People are bombarded with [slogans],” Keltner said. “It’s got to be something that really catches your attention.” He named Burger King’s “Your way, right away,” slogan as an example of an effective tag line.

He said a short, catchy and memorable slogan directly affects sales figures.

Springdale giant Tyson Foods Inc. relies on polls and consumer studies to evaluate the power of its slogans.

Bob Corscadden, Tyson’s senior vice president of marketing, said the few words in a slogan must convey a believable and focused brand identity that defines the direction of the entire company.

When Tyson used “We’re chicken” from 1995-1999, the slogan’s purpose was to raise the consumer’s awareness of Tyson as a poultry provider, he said. When the “We’re chicken” predecessor, “Feeding you like family,” ended, 28 percent of the consumers surveyed associated Tyson with poultry.

“We’re chicken” increased the awareness to 39 percent.

Now, “It’s what your family deserves” is the up-and-coming Tyson slogan. The company is in the process of relettering its fleet of trucks to feature the phrase.

Corscadden helped steer the process of selecting the new phrase, and he said it focuses more on the quality of Tyson’s products.

“It’s what your family deserves” takes “We’re chicken” one step further by implying that Tyson’s fare is of the highest quality.

“It says, ‘I wouldn’t serve anything but the best to my family,'” Corscadden said. “We want them to think Tyson equals the best chicken you can buy.”

After only one year on the market, the new slogan helped increase consumer awareness to 43 percent.

Historically, Corscadden said, Tyson changes its slogan every four years, but the newest phrase might stick around longer.

Choosing the perfect word combination is a lengthy process for Tyson. More than nine months of consumer trials went into picking “It’s what your family deserves.”

Corscadden said “Chicken worth choosing” and “Chicken people love” were other suggestions for the slogan.

“They just didn’t have the oomph and emotional connection that our consumers need,” Corscadden said.