by George Stranz

Created on: March 14, 2008

There is no doubt about it. Wal-Mart missed the mark with their new slogan, "Save Money. Live Better."

The main purpose of a marketing slogan is to make people need and want. The slogan meets this purpose. Everyone wants to save money and live better, but that is the problem. There are numerous other companies pitching products and services that promise to save people money and make their lives better.

A good slogan does not just make people need and want something. A good slogan also captures the unique essence of a product or service. A good slogan should also be identifiable. There is nothing unique or telling about "Save Money. Live Better." The phrase could be used for a number of different products or services.

A pharmacy chain could use the same phrase to tout their low-cost medications and their related health benefits.

A fitness club could use the slogan to sell their low fees and promises of a healthier, happier lifestyle.

A cosmetics company could use the phrase with the angle that a woman can save money and still look good and live better.

A bank could use this slogan to entice people to spend less and save more which will make them feel much better about themselves.

Worse yet, other discount retailers could also make claim that they help people save money and live better.

"Save Money. Live Better," lacks imagination and distinctiveness. There is nothing in those words that scream "Wal-Mart."

The company's old slogan, "Always Low Prices," perfectly captured Wal-Mart's unique business proposition: the lowest retail costs for consumers everyday. If someone wanted to get the lowest price on a gallon of juice, a great deal on a flat-screen TV, or some cheap jewelry, they knew that Wal-Mart would always come through. That was the philosophy that Sam Walton founded the company on: providing brand name items at the lowest possible cost.

Wal-Mart senior management should wake up and smell the coffee. The company needs to ditch the new slogan and go back to using their old one. They need to pound it into people's heads: Wal-Mart is the low-cost leader, ALWAYS.

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