A company tagline is a memorable phrase that captures the essence of a brand. It serves as a guiding light that conveys the company’s mission, personality, and values. An effective tagline sticks in people’s minds and helps establish an emotional connection between the brand and its audience. As such, coming up with the right tagline is an important task for any business.
When crafting an impactful tagline, there are several key factors to consider:
Brevity
A tagline should be short, succinct, and easy to remember. The best taglines contain no more than 4-7 words. Being concise allows the phrase to make a bold impression without overcomplicating the brand message. For example, Nike’s famous “Just Do It” tagline gets across the core idea of action and motivation in just three words.
Clarity
An effective tagline clearly communicates what the company stands for. It should give people an immediate sense of the brand promise and values. The message should come through clearly without requiring explanation or elaboration. For instance, The North Face outdoor gear company uses the straightforward tagline “Never Stop Exploring” to emphasize their dedication to adventure and pushing boundaries.
Authenticity
The tagline should authentically represent the company’s identity and core strengths. It should not make claims that are exaggerated or unrealistic. When a tagline captures the true essence of what makes the brand special, it will resonate as honest and genuine. Outdoor retailer REI nails this with their tagline “Life Out Here”—a simple statement that conveys their passion for active lifestyles and the outdoors.
Distinctiveness
For maximum impact, the tagline should be unique and distinguish the brand from competitors. Avoid generic phrases that could apply to any company in the industry. Instead, identify a specific angle or positioning that sets your business apart. Software company HubSpot differentiates themselves well with the tagline “Inbound Marketing and Sales Platform”—a phrase tailored to their specialization in inbound marketing techniques.
Evocativeness
The wording of the tagline should spark emotion, imagination, and associations with the brand in people’s minds. Using vivid language can help paint a picture of the personality and spirit customers can expect. Adventure clothing company Patagonia does this excellently with their tagline “Love the outdoors, wear it out.”
Memorability
For the tagline to stick, it needs to be catchy, clever, and memorable. Rhymes, alliteration, repetition, puns, and other literary techniques can all help make a phrase more recallable. Snack brand Pringles capitalizes on rhyme and rhythm with their fun tagline “Once you pop, you can’t stop.”
Now that we have covered some key components of an impactful tagline, let’s look at some examples of great company taglines and what makes them so effective.
Examples of Great Company Taglines
Here are some shining examples of effective brand taglines across various industries:
Nike – “Just Do It”
Nike’s iconic three-word tagline perfectly encapsulates the brand’s attitude of determination, action, and perseverance through adversity. It aligns well with Nike’s sponsorship of inspirational athletes who “just do it” and push past their limits. The brevity, clarity, and evocativeness of this phrase have helped power Nike’s brand for decades.
Apple – “Think Different”
Apple founder Steve Jobs wanted a tagline to celebrate nonconformity and creative thinking. The grammatically incorrect phrase “Think Different” does exactly that, urging consumers to embrace ingenuity and “think different” from the status quo. Distinctive, authentic, and memorable, this tagline became an integral part of Apple’s brand story.
Subway – “Eat Fresh”
Fast food chain Subway differentiates itself from competitors by touting the freshness and customization of their sandwiches. The tagline “Eat Fresh” emphasizes this point clearly and succinctly to potential customers, positioning Subway as a healthier alternative with freshly made subs.
L’Oréal – “Because You’re Worth It”
L’Oréal’s enduring tagline makes customers feel valued and conveys their belief that women are worth pampering. By communicating an emotional benefit alongside their cosmetic products, L’Oréal strives to inspire self-worth and empowerment with just five memorable words.
De Beers – “A Diamond is Forever”
Coined in 1947, De Beers’ tagline is one of the oldest and most recognizable in marketing. By stating that a diamond is forever, De Beers markets diamonds as a lasting symbol of love. This evocative phrase transformed the public’s perception of diamonds into objects of emotional significance and commitment.
M&Ms – “Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand”
M&M’s used this catchy, rhyming tagline in 1954 and it remains synonymous with the brand today. It captures the candy’s unique characteristic of maintaining its exterior shell despite a melted interior. The clever wordplay makes this tagline fun and highly memorable for consumers.
Verizon – “Can You Hear Me Now?”
This tagline was wildly effective for Verizon in calling out their competitors’ poor coverage and emphasizing their stronger network reliability. The phrase “Can you hear me now?” echoes how people test phone calls and implies that Verizon customers will never have to repeat that phrase. Simple, direct, and distinct, it drove home the brand’s superiority.
Mastercard – “There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s Mastercard.”
Cleverly implying that experiences are priceless while purchases are where Mastercard comes in, this tagline is both evocative and functional. It reinforces that Mastercard enables customers to get what money can buy while recognizing that money is not everything. Impactful for its emotion and utility in summarizing Mastercard’s services.
Uber – “Tap a button, get a ride.”
Uber’s tagline instantly conveys the simplicity and convenience of their app-based taxi service. The clarity, brevity, and memorability of this phrase distills the brand promise into seven short words about how Uber makes rides readily available within seconds.
Key Factors for a Good Tagline
Based on the examples we have discussed, here are some key factors that contribute to an impactful, memorable tagline:
Brevity
Keep it as short and to-the-point as possible (aim for under 7 words). Being succinct and concise gives the phrase more power.
Clarity
Communicate the brand promise or key differentiator plainly and transparently. Avoid vague, cryptic, or confusing messaging.
Authenticity
Ensure the tagline embodies the true spirit of the brand. Don’t try to overstate or make false claims.
Distinctiveness
Make it unique to your brand. Find an angle competitors can’t easily replicate.
Evocativeness
Spark strong associations through emotional, imaginative, or vivid language.
Memorability
Incorporate rhetorical techniques like rhymes, alliteration, repetition, puns, and rhythm to aid recall.
Adaptability
Ideally the tagline should remain relevant and effective over the long-term as the brand evolves.
Brand Reinforcement
Reinforce the core associations, strengths, and values people identify with your brand.
Creating Your Own Tagline
Now that we’ve covered the hallmarks of memorable taglines, let’s discuss how you can go about creating one for your own brand or company:
Step 1: Define Your Brand Essence
First, get crystal clear on your brand mission, vision, identity, and distinguishing qualities. Know your competitive advantages inside and out. Be able to articulate your brand story and ethos. This will provide the foundational elements you want your tagline to express.
Step 2: Know Your Audience
Research your target demographics and buyer personas thoroughly. What motivates them? What matters to them? What words, emotions, and associations resonate most? Understand your audience’s priorities and psychographics.
Step 3: Brainstorm Key Messaging
Start brainstorming the key ideas, attributes, emotions, or impressions you want to get across. Focus on what makes your brand special and how to convey that uniquely. Come up with a wide range of options to work with.
Step 4: Explore Language Choices
Play around with rhetorical techniques like rhymes, alliteration, repetition, irony, puns, metaphors, and word associations. Determine what linguistic choices best help your tagline stick.
Step 5: Find Your Hook
Narrow down to a phrase with an intriguing hook, insight, angle, or turn of phrase that captures attention. This could be your main brand differentiator, an aspirational motif, or an evocative feeling.
Step 6: Rally Testing & Feedback
Share some top tagline contenders with your marketing team, leaders, and trusted advisors. Seek honest feedback and determine which option(s) people find most memorable and impactful.
Step 7: Finalize Your Tagline
Refine down to the single most effective tagline based on internal feedback and external market testing if possible. Make sure it communicates your brand essence clearly and compellingly.
Step 8: Integrate Your Tagline
Roll out your new tagline across platforms like websites, signage, advertising, packaging, promotions, campaigns, social media, and more. Consistent visibility will help drive brand awareness and recognition.
Step 9: Measure & Optimize
Gauge ongoing performance through metrics like surveys, traffic, sales, search volume, social mentions, and market studies. Be open to making refinements to maximize effectiveness.
Conclusion
A strategic, well-crafted tagline can become an invaluable marketing asset for a brand. Distilling your core identity into a pithy, memorable phrase is a challenging endeavor, but the payoff can be huge in terms of boosting brand awareness and affinity. The most effective taglines fuse brevity, clarity, authenticity, distinction, evocativeness and memorability to deliver maximum impact. With a compelling tagline woven throughout your messaging and campaigns, you have an opportunity to create phenomenal mindshare and connection with your audience.