I bought a t-shirt today with this phrase on it. I couldn’t help myself. Three roughly drawn skulls with elaborate scrolls underneath and the words Veni Vidi Vici. With my new shirt just begging to have its tags removed, I thought I’d research the phrase to get the full story. About a dozen websites later, I realize it’s not the words or their meaning (I came, I saw, I conquered) that interests me, but rather the motivational power behind the phrase.

The ability to persuade people and motivate action is essential to anyone trying to market their business. And in these difficult financial times (September 2008), honing our skills in this area is simply prudent.

Let’s look at an example that got me launched into several other websites looking for more. This is a logo used by Philip Morris. Smokers can tell you better than anyone what line of business PM is in. Notice the catch phrase Veni Vidi Vici. More specifically it is a motto, a short phrase intended to motivate. But how does it persuade? Here’s my short list of what I can identify:

1. The meaning of the phrase itself is I came, I saw, I conquered. It simultaneously confers the totality of victory and serves as a reminder of power or prowess. Who doesn’t like to feel powerful and think of themselves as confident? The phrase suggests a way of behaving appealing to what’s called an instrumental value. These behaviors ensure we get what we want and what we want can be defined as our End-of-State values. These are things such as happiness, security, or salvation. So the message I’m getting from this logo is If you smoke our cigarettes, you’ll be the kind of person who gets what they want.
2. The use of repetition is a common method of persuasion. We see a combination of three words with the same initial first letter. This is termed Alliteration. The specific use of three words only to form the alliteration is called The Triple  with these words naming two actions and a solution. It’s the combination here that is so influential.
3. The persuasion is enforced by the way in which the words rhyme forming a rhythmic pattern. One can admire the balance in the way all words are four letters in length, beginning with a “V” followed by a vowel, a consonant, and an ending vowel. There’s a feeling of great stability in such balanced, tonal patterns.
4. The motto in all its beauty is given visual form by the metallic gold scroll and horses of fine quality all topped with a crown. Like a golden regal sundae. Tasty. We even get a red cherry in the center drawing focus to the strong, and stable capitals of the company name. Looking to heraldry to decipher the meaning of the horses, one sees that it is possibly a combination of the Lion (fierce courage) due to their upright stance and the Horse (readiness for duty). This seems an obvious reinforcement of instrumental and end-of-state values discussed in Point 1.
5. The horse to the left wears a crown, a small repetition of the large, top and center crown. The crown may be not only a symbol for royalty, but more importantly, authority. PM is topped by a crown, therefore in a position of authority. If the consumer were to identify with the crowned horse, it could create a feeling that you’ve been given permission by a higher authority.
6. The colors gold and red certainly have a variety of meanings given their context. I propose that in this logo, the gold refers to generosity, wealth, and when coupled with permission (see Point 5), self-indulgence. Continuing with a look to heraldry, red was used to convey the warrior or martyr which I find ironic considering the PM product. Red was also used to define magnanimity, the virtue of being great of mind and heart. Now the message appears to be “We know you’re smart and you’re the type who gets what they want. And we’re just the guys to give it to you. Go ahead. We give you permission.”

Wow. Maybe I’m reading too much into this….or maybe not.

What I’ve learned from this PM logo and in looking to others such as IBM’s with its “Think” motto, or HP’s with “Invent”, is that the primary function of a company logo is not to describe or encapsulate a company’s philosophy or practice into some neat and tidy slogan with a graphic. The main priority of a successful logo is to produce within the consumer or target audience the motivation to use their product or services. These logos persuade using a multitude of techniques designed to work in a psychological manner and as a call to action on the mark. Do you feel manipulated yet?