How impactful is your messaging?

How much impact can three words make? (Ok…”I love you,” is a big one, but beyond that!) Can you give a good sense for what your brand is in, say, three words?

Yes you can—if your messaging is dialed in.

Let’s take two examples and show how you can express a lot in just three words. Now, there’s a lot more to brand messaging than taglines, but for simplicity’s sake, we’ll use those to make our point. And, we’ll choose two mega brands that are famous for their effective branding: McDonald’s and Nike.

McDonald’s tagline, “i’m lovin’ it,” is folksy and down-to-earth. Unpretentious. The adjustment from “loving” to “lovin’” plays a huge part. The design of making it all lower case—neglecting what should be a capital “i”—gives it a carefree vibe, too. Imagine what a difference it would make if the tagline were a much more proper “I’m loving it.” And that’s the Golden Arches brand: casual food that is accessible to and enjoyed by everyone.

Nike’s long-standing tagline is “Just do it.” Unlike McD’s, they use the capital letter and the period, and it’s definitely intentional. The whole idea of Nike’s tagline is that it’s a command. The phrase evokes authority and purpose. The brand is all about motivating yourself, and “Just do it.” speaks as the mantra for that. In whatever way a customer wants to become a better athlete, Nike is telling them they can succeed—if they simply take the first step.

What makes McDonald’s and Nike’s messaging succeed is that it extends way beyond their taglines. All their messaging—internal, external, campaigns, ads, social, etc., etc.—aligns with the brand and their overall strategy at all times. Just check out their websites’ homepages to see how true that is.

So can you evoke the real feel for your brand in three words, or does your messaging need some work? Give us a call and we can help. Just do it. We promise, you’ll soon be saying, “i’m lovin’ it.”