Clients often approach me wanting a tagline. I don’t assume that everyone means the same thing when they say this, so I usually dig for more information: “When you say you want a tagline, what do you really mean?”
Hope Grows
Most of the time, people who want a tagline are searching for a concise, effective way to talk about what they offer.
They want something catchy and memorable, easy for their prospects to remember as well as themselves.
Have you ever had to fumble around for an explanation of what you do, as if it were the first time you’d ever been asked? Many business owners find it so hard to put their value into words that they yearn for a quick easy answer.
But a tagline isn’t exactly it.
When prospective clients approach me wanting a tagline, what they really mean is they need to define their brand.
They need to articulate exactly whom they help and what they can offer them that no one else can.
When you know exactly what your brand’s value is, you can speak confidently about it, and concisely. And, from this clear defined brand, a tagline will often emerge.
I’m not opposed to taglines; it’s just that, without the foundation of a brand, they’re difficult to create and not very valuable.
However, WITH the foundation of a brand, a tagline can be a great mnemonic device, reminding our target audience quickly of our value.
Just as a logo is a visual prompt, the tagline is a short audio version.
Good taglines are short, punchy phrases that express the essence of a brand, as you’ve seen in famous taglines (also known as slogans) like “Just do it” or “Coke is it.” With Nike’s “no excuses” command or Coke’s self-confident declaration, you also get a quick feel of the personality of the product.
One of my current favorite taglines is from Secret deodorant for women: “Because you’re hot.” I love the double-meaning, which flatters its users (my secret: I’m one of them). It also reminds us of the essence of the brand: honoring women, femininity and offering a product “strong enough for a man, but made for a woman” (its tagline from the past).
Back in 2007, one of my clients created an exemplary tagline. April Ambrose, Executive Director and Board Chair of Arkansas Earth Day Foundation, spent hours with me working on the brand for the one-day special event, Arkansas Earth Day (AED). The essence of the event is delivering “fun activities and educational experiences in a hopeful, motivating spirit.”
Yes, it took hours to distill all that we wanted the event to be down into those ten words! (It always looks easier in retrospect. How many meetings do you think “Just do it” took?)
April had been immersed in the brand for five years, and in the clearly articulated brand definition for over a year. So, it wasn’t surprising that…
In a fit of boredom in a meeting one day, she gave birth to a new tagline for Arkansas Earth Day: Hope Grows.
[I, too, do some of my best work in boring meetings!]
What makes this one such a winner?
Here are the aspects of the AED tagline “Hope Grows” that make it successful:
- It expresses the spirit of the brand, which is “hopeful and motivating”
- It uses a nature-based metaphor – “grows” – which is another way of connecting it to what we’re about
- It’s fabulously short (so difficult!)
- It contains an internal rhyme (the “oh” sound repeated in both words)
- It describes progress and momentum which has been achieved in AED’s brief but effective history
In short, it quickly says what they’re about in a memorable and inspiring way. The tagline can be used in all communications next to the AED logo and brand name. They can add it to merchandise that will carry the logo. It can be the featured message of advertising and press releases.
If your business could benefit from a tagline, start first with a clearly defined brand, articulating the singular benefits that you offer. For assistance, contact me to learn how to speak your brand identity with confidence!
Photo: Simon Peckham
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Good post. It never ceases to amaze me how some businesses try to encapsulate what their brand is (i.e. the “Tagline”) without having put in the work to define what makes them distinctive against the rest of their market(s).
The tagline has to come out of knowing this. To be effective it can’t come before surely!
True words, Gareth. Thanks for stopping by!