SITUATION
I was asked to write a global brand tagline for Fire TV.
TASK
This line needed to celebrate the personality of the brand and also serve as an umbrella for the entire product assortment.
Before I even started writing, I had to translate this marketing statement into a benefit. Magically Simple felt right. Emotional. Aspirational. It came out of the workshops naturally. But "entertainment experience" felt vague.
So, I created a sentence diagram to clarify key terms and added context.
Magically is: futuristic, delightful, and always-on. Experience stands for: togetherness, relaxation, and fun.
I was asked to write a global brand tagline for Fire TV.
TASK
This line needed to celebrate the personality of the brand and also serve as an umbrella for the entire product assortment.
Before I even started writing, I had to translate this marketing statement into a benefit. Magically Simple felt right. Emotional. Aspirational. It came out of the workshops naturally. But "entertainment experience" felt vague.
So, I created a sentence diagram to clarify key terms and added context.
Magically is: futuristic, delightful, and always-on. Experience stands for: togetherness, relaxation, and fun.
Then I worked on a mission statement. It got us closer. More approachable with emotional language like fun, relax, and family and friends. But that still wasn’t enough.
And I wrote this brand story to make the strategy sing.
And I wrote this brand story to make the strategy sing.
You’ll see all the keywords dropped in here like magical, delight, and smile.
Now that the brand story was approved, it was time to work on the lines. The product line Vice President asked me to lean into the emotional and avoid being too functional or techy. Instead, the lines needed to be smart, simple, and conversational.
Territories like Unwind, Escape, and Relief here check those boxes.
After several rounds, I narrowed to 5 lines. The first is Fast-forward to unwind.
Now that the brand story was approved, it was time to work on the lines. The product line Vice President asked me to lean into the emotional and avoid being too functional or techy. Instead, the lines needed to be smart, simple, and conversational.
Territories like Unwind, Escape, and Relief here check those boxes.
After several rounds, I narrowed to 5 lines. The first is Fast-forward to unwind.
To show the customer journey, we mocked up digital advertising, print, and brick&mortar signage.
Then I created a few pros and cons to help sell through the idea.
I also liked the subtle connection between rewind and unwind. One con is that the icons might read like clickable buttons online.
Next up is Watch happy.
Next up is Watch happy.
The pithy-ness and short character count work really well in situation.
A pro here is it hits the emotional ask, which was the main goal. It's quite on-brief all around. But a con is that not all television is happy—think drama, news, etc.
Next up is Good to be home.
This line nails the “hero of your living room” strategy we saw in the brand work. It’s about more than just passively watching TV.
It feels nice here. Like a welcome mat.
Good is a humble word, which aligned with our Amazon parent voice. The line is familiar but fresh, which is always a strength in messaging. One con is it might not work hard enough.
Does it pass the So What? test. Could any brand say this?
Good is a humble word, which aligned with our Amazon parent voice. The line is familiar but fresh, which is always a strength in messaging. One con is it might not work hard enough.
Does it pass the So What? test. Could any brand say this?
Next is Say it. Play it.
This is a headline I had previously used to talk about voice control. I thought we’d explore it for the umbrella tag to see if it worked.
I love the parallelism and staccato syntax, paired with the tight typography.
A pro is that it's catchy and magically simple. One con is that a competitior had just started using a similar line.
Next up Can your TV do that?
Next up Can your TV do that?
This is one of my favorites. It speaks to voice control and the future. It's bold, with direct address.
However, it is a little long in layout. But that can actually help cut through the clutter of typical advertising.
The main pro is it works well locked-up with Alexa utterances like, "Alexa, turn down the lights."
A watchout, though, is that it might not work well standalone. “Can my TV do what?”
Here’s the shortlist of top contenders. Hundreds more were left in the parking lot.
Lines like: Be kind. Unwind. | For the love of television | Made for we time | Change the way you TV
A watchout, though, is that it might not work well standalone. “Can my TV do what?”
Here’s the shortlist of top contenders. Hundreds more were left in the parking lot.
Lines like: Be kind. Unwind. | For the love of television | Made for we time | Change the way you TV
Here's where we ended up.
The VP approved Change the Way You TV. Everyone loved the active voice, and "you" is always a good word in marketing because of that direct address.
RESULTS
The approved line ran for over 2 years and drove an 11% increase in category page traffic.
The approved line ran for over 2 years and drove an 11% increase in category page traffic.
