Yahoo and “You”

September 30, 2009 by Jerry 

yahoo_you

In two previous blogs you read how Barack Obama deployed the persuasive word, “you” to great rhetorical effect during his presidential campaign, in his historic Inaugural Address, and in his first formal address to a joint session of congress.

“You” is persuasive because it makes a direct connection between the speaker and the audience. Many corporations, in their desire to connect with their customers, deploy the word in their slogans:

  • Burger King’s “Have it your way”
  • The U.S. Army’s “Be all that you can be.” (See prior blog for fuller discussion)
  • Cisco Systems’ “Are you ready?”
  • Microsoft’s “Where do you want to go today?” and “Your potential, our passion”

Now Yahoo has jumped on the bandwagon. Last week, in its desire to connect more directly with its customers, the company announced a new global branding campaign with the tagline, “It’s You.”

Carol Bartz, Yahoo’s CEO, explained, “More and more we are going to focus on the ‘you’ side.” Elisa Steele, Yahoo’s new chief marketing officer, seconded the motion; she told the New York Times that, “Consumers need a refreshed, revitalized look at Yahoo.”

Budgeted at more than $100 million, Ms. Steele has retained Landor Associates and Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide to implement the campaign. They plan to express the “It’s You” slogan with related catchphrases, including “The Internet is under new management, yours,” and “The Internet has a new personality, yours.” They will even incorporate Yahoo’s famous logo exclamation point by inserting it in the middle of “It’s You,” between the capital “Y” and the “ou.” (See graphic)

You can leverage the power of “you” in your own presentations by periodically inserting “you” statements in your narrative:

  • “This is important to you because…”
  • “What this means to you is…”
  • “The reason I’m telling you this is…”

Each of these phrases will lead you to complete the statement with specific benefits to your target audience.

And it won’t cost you $100 million.

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