What is a Tagline?

A tagline is a way to differentiate your brand from the competition by creating a memorable message in the consumer’s mind.

Tagline vs. Slogan

You may have heard the terms tagline and slogan used interchangeably, but there’s one big difference between the two. Taglines are a consistent part of your company’s branding while slogans are used for a specific campaign or product.

For example, Nike’s tagline is “Just Do It.” This is what you see across the entire company’s product lines, advertisements, and branding. However, they used the slogan “Find Your Greatness” for an advertising campaign.

We’ve talked about why branding is important, so how do we use a tagline to strengthen a brand’s image?

What Makes a Great Tagline?

First, let’s take a look at some of the most famous taglines:

Think Different. I’m lovin’ it You’re in good hands. Imagination at Work. The Happiest Place on Earth

For how many of these can you name the company?

If you can name a company from their tagline, it’s probably a great tagline. That means that it’s memorable and has become synonymous with their brand.

Aspirational vs. Descriptive Tagline

An aspirational tagline encourages consumers to take action and in return, they’ll be fulfilled. With the larger companies such as Nike, Apple, and McDonald’s, they’ve already established a brand name which provides them with the opportunity to use an aspirational tagline without confusion about what their product is.

For small and medium-sized businesses, the general consensus is to use a more descriptive tagline. Since the majority of people may not know the company’s name yet, a tagline is a good way to provide a glimpse of what your company can do for them.

Here are some examples of descriptive taglines:

Walmart

Save Money. Live Better.

Fred Meyer

What’s on your list today?

YouTube

Broadcast Yourself.

Subway

Eat Fresh.

Bounty

The Quicker Picker-Upper

From these taglines, you can get a feel for what each company has to offer.

Both of these aspirational and descriptive taglines share few similarities that make them great:

Short:

The longest of these taglines is only five words. While there isn’t a limit on how long your tagline can be, you want to make sure that it will easily fit on all of your marketing assets such as ads, business cards, and packaging.

Simple

All of these taglines are easy to understand. There isn’t any deciphering that needs to be done to understand what the tagline is trying to convey.

Positive

They highlight the benefits of their company. They don’t try to put other companies down, but rather uplift their company and/or the consumer.

Including these elements in your tagline can help you create a memorable and impactful message in your audience’s mind.

How to Create A Tagline

While there is no perfect formula to creating a great tagline, here are a few steps you can take to brainstorm:

Describe your business.

An easy way to start this process is to write down a description of what your company does. Don’t worry about trying to create a tagline at this point, just allow yourself to put down what you think is important to know about your business.

Focus on highlighting unique selling points.

Since the goal of a tagline is to differentiate your brand, think about what you have to offer compared to your competitors.

Trim it down and experiment.

Try taking out as many words as you can without losing the message. Make it a call to action. Compliment your business. Compliment your audience. Keep testing different ways you can create a memorable brand message.

While it may sound like a simple process, we know that it isn’t. It’s difficult to cut down the entire essence of your company into just a few words. We suggest creating a few possible taglines, give it some time, share it with others and get their opinions. A tagline can evolve as your company does, so don’t put too much pressure on creating the perfect one.