“More” as the new slogan for advertising campaigns

By Atim Nkese Nkpubre

  

Today’s world has become a global village where events happening in one continent are beamed “live” via the television and other media channels to different homes in other continents.

Expectedly, businesses have leveraged the pervasiveness of the media platforms to inform, educate, persuade, describe or to collaborate with their audiences, wherever they may be. We are in the information age and are being bombarded with so much information even in our living rooms, bedrooms and showers, car or buses and in our offices, so much so that cutting through the clutter to establish an emotional connection with customers can become a challenge for advertisers. 
Every day, we see hundreds, if not thousands of messages and slogans everywhere. Experts believe that the average Nigerian encounters between 200 – 2000 advertising impressions every day on radio, television, billboards, signages, recharge cards, the internet, telephones in newspapers, journals and magazines and even word of mouth.
Advertising, as we know, is a valuable tool for brand positioning. When done properly it is an effective way of “intruding” into the target’s consciousness to get them acquainted with the product or service.
Deciding the theme is the most critical part while devising as advertising campaign. If an ad campaign has a good theme to share, then the brand or services have possibilities of staying on top of customers’ mind for a longer period of time. From the dawn of the information age, advertisers have always crafted slogans to communicate their brand essence.
A communications expert, Gatburn, defines a slogan as “an advertising tag-line or phrase that advertisers create to visually express the importance and benefits of the product.” By and large, it is the theme to a campaign that usually has a genuine role in people’s lives to achieve successful brand
In an effort to craft a compelling proposition, advertisers usually would look for a credible campaign handle, such as would create powerful mental images that could help in making a favourable purchase decision. They also strive to create ad campaign based on time-tested best practices, whilst also infusing human warmth in order to get positive responses from their communication.
A look at a number of ad campaigns by some organisations reveals that advertisers have found a good anchorage in the word “more.” More is therefore becoming the central theme in a number of ad campaigns. I’ve listed a few examples below in no particular order to illustrate the current scenario. 
DSTV – So much more:  DSTV is Multichoice’s Digital Satellite Television service in Africa. The company’s tagline “So much more” aptly describes DSTV’s various bouquets offering, ranging from general entertainment, movies, lifestyle and culture, sports, documentaries, news, commerce etc.
First City Monument Bank (FCMB), a financial services company and flagship brand of the First City Group recently launched its  “Better for You” campaign with “More” as its hook. According to the Head of Marketing Communications for the bank, Ikechukwu Kalu, the more campaign is a loaded expression. “It means we are doing more to be better for our customers: more ATMs, better services, more options and a renewed commitment to service excellence.”
GTBank Mobile Money is another brand that is leveraging the more slogan to illustrate the benefits of its services. GTMobile is GTBank’s mobile banking platform. It enables the bank’s customers to conduct transactions electronically via their mobile phones. GTMobile slogan is “Touch More Lives.”
Several other brands, including Globacom and Nestle Milo, have used the more advertising campaign at one time or the other to remind consumers of the value they are getting from using their services and products.
 Even in the different product categories, the main idea that is being communicated in these promotional activities is that the brands offer more benefits to their customers. This could be stated directly or impliedly. It would appear that advertisers have correctly identified the sales moment in “More.” From banking to cable television services and fast food, Nigerians appear to be getting more than they bargained for.
And what’s more, the word hook (more) is short, simple and on point. It is memorable, “beneficial” and actually conveys the message in the consumer’s language. It also creates a positive feeling of getting more value for the consumer. It could also be the emotional transference of getting more that makes it such an attractive campaign hook.
Advertising as a marketing tool and a communication process is rooted in human psychology and how people intake and remember information. Pundits refer to it as building campaigns out of the sale moment. Developing a single brand positioning that tilts advertising in one’s favour taking into consideration a list of customer’s desire with your strategic advantages and the exploitable weaknesses of your competition whilst also conveying the brand’s attributes in order to increase the chance of marketing success.
In an attempt to project the right image for their brands or company, advertisers look for an appealing campaign theme which sums up why a particular audience should do or feel or take as suggested. Once they get is right, they usually are not in a hurry to drop the main idea.
Thus, Nike, an American multinational corporation and one of the largest suppliers of athletic shoes, apparel and sports equipment has run variations of the “Just Do it” campaign since 1982. MTN Nigeria has used “Everywhere you go” as its slogan for about eight years and still counting, even though, the company occasionally throws up sub-themes to spice up things . Union Bank, for as long as I can remember, has used “Big, Strong, Reliable” as it slogan.
More, as a catchphrase for advertising campaigns is a good theme to share and everybody wants more, really.