You know your brand, you’ve identified the message you want to communicate and the feeling you want your audience to have. Now it’s time to create a memorable brand tagline that encapsulates that message and emotion in a clear, concise way. Crafting a great brand tagline isn’t easy, but it is essential for communicating your brand’s essence and positioning yourself against the competition. But how do you write one? In this blog post, we will discuss what taglines are, how to write an effective tagline, and provide some tips on creating one for your business.
What is a Brand Tagline?
A brand tagline is a brief phrase that captures the essence of a company’s brand personality and distinguishes it from its competitors. It’s often used interchangeably with “slogan” but there is a slight difference between the two. A slogan is more likely to be used as part of a marketing or advertising campaign whereas a tagline can be used in any medium.
The main purpose of a tagline is to make your brand memorable by clearly communicating its key message and benefits. It should also encapsulate the personality and positioning of your brand in order to set it apart from competitors.
How to Write an Effective Tagline
Creating an effective brand tagline requires thoughtfulness and time so make sure you give yourself enough time before starting the process. Before you jump into creating your tagline, take some time to get to know your Brand Heart — the core values that define who you are as a business — as it will be crucial when crafting your tagline.
Here are 7 tips on creating an effective brand tagline:
- Keep It Short – Aim for 8 words or less for maximum impact. Anything longer than that might be too long-winded or confusing for readers or viewers.
- Make It Memorable – Choose words that capture people’s attention and make them remember your brand easily whenever they see or hear it mentioned somewhere else. Consider using alliteration (repetition of initial sounds) or assonance (repetition of vowel sounds).
- Know Your Brand Heart – Communicate what makes your brand unique—your own “brand heart.” Ask yourself, who are we? What sets our product or service apart from others? What emotions do we want our customers to feel?
- Stay True To Your Brand Voice – Make sure the tone and style matches with other elements within your branding like colors, logos etc. Making sure all aspects fit together helps keep consistency throughout all areas related to your business which results in better recognition overall.
- Include Benefits – Your audience wants to know what they will get out of working with you so include specific benefits in your taglines if possible such as convenience or affordability etc.
- Test It Out – Have friends and family members read out loud what you have written so far and see if they can remember it after hearing it once or twice only without being prompted by visuals or context cues. This can help give you valuable feedback on whether the words flow naturally when spoken aloud which will help determine if the chosen ones have staying power or not.
- Have Fun & Be Creative – Finally, don’t be afraid to think outside the box when crafting ideas! Brainstorming sessions with colleagues can often yield some great results so don’t underestimate their potential value. Creating a great tagline takes time, so don’t rush through the process.
A brand tagline should be clear enough that someone can immediately understand its meaning without having to think too hard about it; creative enough that it stands out from competitors; and include some sort of benefit for potential customers (such as convenience or affordability).
Brands often aim to create taglines that are memorable, likable and connected to their brand. Conventional wisdom suggests certain characteristics, such as rhyming words, length or repeated media exposure, make an effective tagline. To find out what really resonates with people, researchers asked respondents to rate 150 slogans/taglines.
The most liked taglines included
- Think outside the bun (Taco Bell)
- Got milk? (California Milk Processor Board)
- The Happiest Place on Earth (Disneyland)
- Think Different (Apple)
- Taste the Feeling (Coca-Cola)
- Red Bull gives you wings (Red Bull)
- Diamond Is Forever (De Beers)
- Just Do It (Nike)
- Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands (M&M’s)
Meanwhile, the most recalled taglines were:
- Just Do It (Nike)
- Think Different (Apple)
- The Ultimate Driving Machine (BMW)
- Finger Lickin’ Good (KFC)
- Where’s the Beef? (Wendy’s)
- Got Milk? (California Milk Processor Board)
- Eat Fresh (Subway)
- Have it your way (Burger King)
- You’re in good hands with Allstate (Allstate)
- Mmmm-mmm good! (Campbell’s Soup)
- Think outside the bun (Taco Bell)
Interestingly enough, these results showed a difference between what is memorable and what people actually like. The three characteristics that had the biggest influence on likability were clarity of message, creativity of phrasing and inclusion of a benefit. This makes it possible for small brands to also own great taglines if they can communicate these three qualities well enough to connect with their target audience.
Choosing the Right Language for Your Brand Tagline
When crafting a brand tagline, it’s essential to choose language that captures the essence of what your business stands for. There are several aspects of language you must consider: tone, syntax, connotations and power words.
Tone
The tone of your language lies at the heart of communicating who you are as a business. Are you friendly and playful? Serious and professional? Creative and artistic? Make sure that all elements of your speech – from nouns to verbs to adjectives – reflect your desired tone accurately. This goes beyond merely selecting positive or negative words; different tones have different nuances. For example, if you say “ridiculous prices” versus “unbeatable prices” it will communicate two very different ideas to potential customers (even though both contain positive adjectives).
Syntax
Syntax refers to word order in phrases or sentences. It plays an essential role in making sure every word counts when you craft a brand tagline and can add powerful emphasis where necessary. For instance, syntax can be used to emphasize certain keywords by positioning them at the beginning or end of sentences; compare “Safety First!” with “First Safety!” Both employ almost identical words but two very contrasting meanings emerge from their respective phrase structures.
Connotations
Every word carries its own set of connotations associated with it so it is important that all components of your message align with one another when possible. An understanding of these connotations can help focus messaging on target audiences – especially those related to age, gender or ethnicity – as well as connecting with them on an emotional level through shared values for best marketing results.
Power Words
In addition to considering all aspects mentioned above, also take advantage of power words – single words or phrases capable conveying huge amounts of meaning in just few characters like feel-good slogans such as “Just Do It!” This type language can evoke strong emotions within customers which may prove vital while selling any product better than its competitors no matter how small they appear at first glance.
Summary: Thoughtfully Create Your Brand Tagline
Crafting the perfect brand tagline requires thoughtfulness, intentionality, and creativity. It may take some trial-and-error before landing on one that captures the essence of your brand while still being memorable—but when done right, it can make all the difference in helping build an identity for your business in an increasingly competitive landscape. Ultimately, having something that accurately reflects who you are as a business while remaining both memorable AND relevant makes all the difference between good branding versus great branding. If you need help creating your tagline, we can help. We have helped many small businesses with their taglines. We’d love to help you create your craveworthy tagline. Let’s talk.
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