I’ve received some interesting feedback from last week’s column on the National Pork Board’s modification of its brilliant brand “The Other White Meat” with an additional line: “don’t be blah.” Thanks to everyone who took time to comment and provide more detail.

Apparently, the numbers drove the change. Though recall and awareness were high for The Other White Meat, sales still weren’t where the board wanted them. So the new line was added.

I get that the board wanted a stronger call to action. But that’s an ad campaign, not a brand layering. Your brand is not just a sales line. It is a synthesized description of what you’re all about. What’s your big promise? Pork’s big promise is that it’s a healthful, viable alternative to chicken. Not that it can jazz up dinner.

Too many companies make this same mistake. They confuse their tagline or brand promise with a campaign theme. So what happens? Every few months or years, they change it. With every sale comes a new tagline. Or with the change in seasons comes a change in positioning statement. Which means the marketplace gets confused, and a strong brand position is never established.

Was “don’t be blah” a bad change? No and yes. No, it is a much better call to action, and apparently it is moving the needle. But yes, it should have been treated like a campaign theme or headline, not an addition to a brand line that didn’t need one.

Your brand and the tagline you use to express it should be evergreen. Fortunately for the National Pork Board, they lucked out and got a good one. So there’s no reason to rock that boat.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan  Marketing Group and blogs at  www.drewsmarketingminute.com.  He can be reached at <a href="mailto:Drew@MclellanMarketing.  com”>Drew@MclellanMarketing.  com.  © 2007 Drew McLellan