In part one of this series on messaging, we shared how visuals attract, but verbals engage. Your advertising and marketing efforts will be infinitely more effective if you have a brand story to differentiate your brand and connect with customers.
In part two, we want to explore the value of the tagline or slogan in your brand toolbox. Far too often we see brands that don’t use a tagline, or they have one but don’t use it to its full extent. Let’s explore the value of a tagline, types of taglines and examples of taglines developed by the BIG team.
A tagline holds significant value for a brand by succinctly communicating its essence, values or the unique proposition it offers to customers. It serves as a memorable catchphrase that encapsulates the brand’s identity, distinguishing it from competitors and fostering an emotional connection with the audience.
A tagline is an expression of your brand’s most compelling differentiator. A good tagline is memorable. Most people only have to spend a second or two thinking about it. It is not meant to tell the whole story.
Most taglines fall into one of three buckets:
Descriptive: These taglines describe the product, service or brand straightforwardly. Often the brand name does not give a clue to what the company does, so a descriptive tagline helps to give context. The names of companies like Oracle, Intel and Cisco don’t offer any insight as to what they do. Therefore, a descriptive tagline may help.
Emotive: Aimed at creating an emotional response or connection with the audience. “Just do it” from Nike and “Think different” from Apple are examples of connecting emotionally with an audience.
Functional: These taglines include some emotive qualities while focusing on the brand’s most compelling differentiator. Walmart “Saves you time and money” and with Dollar Shave Club, you, “Shave Time. Shave Money.”
At BIG, we created a checklist of six different elements for an effective tagline:
1. It offers a clear brand promise.
2. It promotes the product or service.
3. It describes the mission.
4. It is open to future growth.
5. It engages employees, customers and prospects.
6. It is a verbal reference to a greater story.
As a final thought, use your tagline. It may seem obvious, but brands without a brand story struggle to use their tagline most effectively. Your tagline is not just something you place under your logo in your next ad, but rather it should be incorporated into your messaging to help tell your story and provide your customers with a shortcut reminder of what makes your brand different and special.
In part three of our messaging series, we will discuss the value of having great headlines to grab attention and tell your brand story in your advertising efforts and on your website.