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How can a business owner or a leader develop a catch phrase or short message that gets a target audience's attention, sets it apart from the crowd, and that is memorable?

Advertisers pay millions of dollars to advertising companies to develop these messages. Many of them work. Most of them fail.

"The Ultimate Driving Machine"
"Think Different." "Diamonds Are Forever."

What chance does a small business owner have?

POP! is an entertaining "cookbook" of ways to brainstorm your own attention-getting messages, and how to make a preliminary test of whether they work.

Author Sam Horn's process begins with a "W-9" form of nine key questions to clarify your purpose.

She gives dozens of ways to discover your message or catch phrase.

For example, you can try the "Alphabetizing Technique". General Mills and Yoplait wanted to name a new product, yogurt packaged in no-muss, no-fuss squeeze tubes. They ran the core word "yogurt" through the alphabet:

Ao-gurt, bo-gurt, co-gurt, do-gurt, eo-gurt, fo-gurt, go-gurt.

"Go-gurt" was a great name for the marketing message of a health food turned fast food to eat on the run.

Test-market catch phrases using the "Jerry McGuire" technique. In the movie, Jerry McGuire, Jerry professes his love for Dorothy, who interrupts him with, "Stop, just stop. You had me at hello."

Just watch the reaction of people to your catch phrase. If it "has them at hello," their eyes will light up and they'll have a visceral response, such as, "I want it," or, "Tell me more." If it doesn't, they might respond, "Oh," or simply look away. Then ask the individual to repeat what you said. If they can't repeat it, they don't get it.

Keeping an audience's interest is an ongoing challenge for leaders and business owners. Today's "hot" message will burn out. Millennials probably wouldn't recognize "The Pause That Refreshes" or "We Try Harder." (Do you?) Having a copy of POP! near your desk will help you continue to generate fresh, attention-getting ideas.

Buy it on Amazon: POP!: Create the Perfect Pitch, Title, and Tagline for Anything.

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