When starting to write a tagline for the first time, companies and copywriters alike often start with the question: “What is a tagline”? But the key is not asking how to write a tagline, it is instead understanding how to easily and simply articulate the essence of your brand’s mantra; what you stand for, and what you offer your customers that no one else can own. It’s very easy to write company taglines, but the real test is making sure it’s a tagline that actually feels authentic to the brand.
Taglines, slogans, and brands that do it well.
When starting to ask “how to create a tagline?” another question often comes up, which is understanding the differences between a slogan vs tagline. Often these two things get confused, and when starting to write your catchy business taglines it’s important to make sure you’re not accidentally writing slogans instead. Slogans are fleeting, with a specific message related to a current campaign or marketing strategy. Brands can have more than one slogan in market at the same time, while the tagline remains singular and constant.
Some of the best product taglines that might come to mind may actually be slogans, as the tagline is always about the brand itself while the slogan can be about a specific product or service. Consider the difference in messaging for Mitsubishi when advertising their Outlander versus Triton. For the Outlander, the campaign slogan is “Live Outlandish”, while for the Triton their slogan is “Nothing Can Frighten A Triton.” Where the tagline for branding comes in is when the Mitsubishi brand essence comes to be represented, with their company tagline “Drive your Ambition”.
When you think of famous advertising taglines like Nike’s “Just do it” or McDonald’s “I’m lovin’ it” what makes these memorable taglines is the fact they epitomise the brand’s essence. The feeling a runner with Nike shoes might experience when they take off for a jog, or a McDonald’s customer as they take their first bite of a Big Mac. The tagline meaning extends beyond a transaction or single product, and instead surmises the feeling that consumers experience when engaging with the brand.
These tagline examples identify the core job of the tagline: to exist at an aspirational, emotional benefit level. Here we find short motivational taglines to be most successful, while taglines that are too long or lofty are difficult to remember or feel disingenuous to the band. The most important thing to consider when thinking of good company tagline examples is to identify how easily you can recall them, and how true they feel to your experience engaging with the company itself.
The tagline writing process
As you start the journey of coming up with an authentic and memorable tagline for a company, one of the worst things you can do is simply search “marketing tagline tips” online. Often these sources just list other company’s successful catchy taglines or offer vague writing tips about what the tagline should do, which only comes into effect after you’ve written it. Whether it’s writing a tagline for small business or multinational corporations, the best place to start with your brand tagline ideas is the brand itself.
Research, research, research! Get to know the brand from the customer’s perspective, then the company’s perspective. Read reviews, engage with the product, talk to brand loyals. All of this information is critical in setting the foundation for formulating the brand tagline. In a world where there are so many different brands out there, the best way to be distinct and differentiated, is to do so through a means that feels authentic to the brand. You want to make sure the gap between brand promise and brand experience is achievable, otherwise the tagline won’t feel true. It doesn’t matter if the brand isn’t quite at the level it wants to be yet. Maybe it’s growing or rapidly expanding. All of that is fine, what matters is making sure the tagline concepts put forward fit with the brand’s trajectory. That way, while the brand might not be able to meet their promises just yet, that feeling and consumer experience is not too far away from being a reality and thus, is true.
By focussing on the company first, the tagline has the greatest chance of actually feeling authentic to the brand. It’s like trying to find a unique signature flavour to a new dish. You don’t find it by taking the signature spice from a laksa, or the sweetness of a chocolate cake. You find it through the harmony of the ingredients in your own recipe. The same can be said for taglines. You can’t take sole inspiration from the signature end results of other brands, otherwise your tagline will just taste like a watered down version of another brand’s. Instead, hands must be made dirty, and aprons affixed! The tagline creative process is a messy one, but by the end of it there should be a handful that feel true to the business. When coming up with ideas for your tagline, there never is a right number. Instead, the more ideas for the tagline the better. That way there is more likelihood of finding the ones that feel right for the brand in question. To make a great tagline you need to have plenty of bad ones first.
Testing is another way to ensure that the differentiation you are going for feels authentic to the brand in question. But don’t just test with the company itself! Expose the tagline concepts to brand loyals or those who are unfamiliar with the brand. Through these encounters you can gleam from the audience whether a) the tagline feels true to the brand, and b) whether the tagline sets the right expectation for new consumers of the brand.
While every company and creative wants to come up with an iconic and unforgettable tagline, it’s easy to get confused around where to begin. In the efforts to be different the tagline may feel inauthentic, or when trying to be iconic it may instead feel too close to another brand’s. The best way to start the process of brand differentiation through taglines is to understand what makes a tagline a tagline (not a slogan), and then finding that piece of authenticity that rings true for the brand you’re writing it for.
That’s where we come in. At Anomaly we see the full picture. From your customer’s journey, through to how you can differentiate from your competitors. With our full service in-house agency capabilities, we can bring your brand to life across video, digital marketing, and web. To find out more about what we can do for your brand, get in touch with us today!