Writing Successful Slogans

Hello again everybody, hasn’t time flown, middle of June already!  What do you use to keep track of what prizes you have won, and from where?  Spreadsheet, a notebook, a sticky note stuck on your diary?   Whatever method you use now seems like a good time of the year to take stock, flip back through and see what kind of competitions you have won so far this year.  Are you winning lots, or are you having a bit of a dry spell?  Sometimes when prizes seem to dry up for us, it can be a good excuse to try a different type of comp, maybe one we don’t usually focus on.  Maybe this month would be a good time for you to have a go at slogan and tie breaker competitions. 

Back in the 1980s and 1990s these were the mainstay staple of competitions around the country – lots of big name brands wanting you to come up with their next slogan or tag line for their company or product.  There don’t seem to be anywhere near as many slogan comps around these days, but they are still there if you know where to look.  They often take a slightly different form these days – maybe writing a social media status, captioning a photo or writing a little bit about your dream something or other, but they all still require broadly the same skills.  Slogan and tie breaker comps, because of their skill-based nature and that they are more difficult to find are often very low entry comps – much lower than simple prize draw or social media ones.  Therefore, if you do have a go at entering them, your chances of winning are lots better.  Bearing that in mind here are my top tips for entering slogan and tie breaker comps:

• Mind map the company or product – think about what the product is all about, all the words that come into your mind when you think about it.  Think of colour, taste, what it looks like, geographical references, celebrities associated with it, anything that could possibly be associated with the product or company
• Think outside the box – your first idea of what to write about is probably everyone else’s first idea too.  So discount the first few ideas you have, and then explore your others in more depth.
• Read the rules properly.  Make sure you read all the Ts and Cs of the comp – what is the maximum word count?  When does it have to be in by?  Do you have to mention any specific words, phrases or hashtags?
• Try rhyming.  Some people find it easier to write amusing or interesting slogans and tie breakers if they rhyme.  I know my husband is a demon for making things rhyme and it comes naturally to him - missed his vocation in greeting cards I think!
• Get the most of your slogans.  Similar competitions come round year after year – Fathers’ day, Valentines, Mothers’ Day, Easter, Christmas.  Keep a stock pile of some of the favourite slogans and tie breakers you have written and reuse them again if you would like to. 
• Don’t drive yourself mad!  It can be very easy to spend a lot of time trying to get a slogan or tie breaker just right – but more often than not if you spend a lot of time on it in one sitting you will lose your focus and get disheartened.  If you are finding it difficult to write, then take a break and chances are some inspiration will come to you when you are least expecting it.
• Use the Windex!  Compers News subscribers have access to a whole world of past winning slogans in the form of the Windex database.  Take some inspiration from other similar comps, and use it to help define and focus in on your own comp entries
• Keep it fun and amusing – most comp judges don’t want to be bogged down with 1,500 sob-stories and tear jerkers when it comes to giving away prizes.  Most of the time what they are really looking for is something witty, not too over-complicated and makes them smile.  You want to stand out for all the good reasons (funny, intelligent, current), not all the bad ones (depressing, maudlin, crude). 
• Practise on other people.  If you slogan makes your other half, your children or your friends smile, then it is probably will amuse the judges too!

To get you started here are some great current slogan and tie breaker coms for you to get stuck into

• Win your “Dream Status” up to £4,000 with Capital Radio and Bulmers Cider #LiveColourful.  Write your dream social media status – enjoying a gig with friends in Paris, shopping trip to NYC or living it up on the Strip in Las Vega, the choice is yours!  Write your dream status, in no more than 140 characters by 23:59 on Thursday 26^th June 2014 to be in with a chance of winning.  
• Do you fancy some sweet treats?  How about designing your own Love Heart slogan, and winning lots of goodies and a tour of the factory!  Keep it sweet, unique and within 2 lines of 8 characters.  Entries close on 31^st August 2014.
• Are you dreaming of a summer holiday?  Tell Hayes and Jarvis on Facebook what your dream holiday would be, and you would win £5,000 to make it happen.  Maximum of 500 words and entries need to be in by 23:59 on Monday 30^th June 2014.

Do let us know how you get on with your slogan and tie breakers – we love to hear from you!

Happy comping, and lots of Lucky Dust to you all!

Kirsty x