In 1982, when tech-giant Sony’s founder Akio Morita was shown the new logo design, he was confused. He wasn’t certain that the newly designed “S” would go well with the public and boost brand association. Morita came up with a tagline for the logo that he thought would affirm the brand’s image.
The simple phrase “It’s a Sony!” went on to become one of the most powerful brand slogans of all time. As Morita intended, the tagline epitomised all that Sony stood for - one of the leading, trusted, superior technology names in the global market. Also, quite amusingly, it literally assured the company’s loyal customers that the new “S” is indeed their favourite brand!
Have you tried to come up with an equally memorable and impressive tagline for better business efficiency? And, well, found out that it isn’t as easy as Akio Morita did!
Flaunting a catchy tagline for your business is one thing, but creating one is an entirely different story!
Most often we put a tagline because others do.
And we would try to come up with something that sounds good (like the others’ do). We may not think too deep about aligning the tagline with our core business values, mission or brand identity.
But if you understand why you need to incorporate a tagline, you will know how to create a smart one for your business and impact your branding.
Let’s see what precisely a tagline means and does for your business or your brand.
WHAT IS A TAGLINE?
A tagline is a short phrase that reflects a brand’s identity and purpose with clarity and brevity.
Like the coupler that connects the engine with the bogies, a tagline is that small yet significant link between your business and your consumers.
An effective tagline becomes a synonym for the brand, its mission or culture. It encapsulates the essence so well that people would instinctively associate the virtues it conveys, with your brand.
To give a few examples, what comes to your mind when you “think small” or “think different”?
Two giants from two different industries flash across your mind. Volkswagen and Apple do succeed in making you think of them with such simple and understated taglines!
And so does India's very own Amul that became ‘the taste’ of an entire nation, and an Idea (Network Pvt.Ltd) that proved it can change your life!
That is the power of a well-crafted business tagline.
Now, many confuse a tagline with a slogan.
Often they both sound the same: brief, cheerful phrases with a positive attitude and promoting your brand!
What makes them different?
While we go deeper into the thin borders between a tagline and a slogan in another of our blogs, here’s a peep:
The difference between a tagline & a slogan
A slogan, like its twin-sibling, is a branding tool and holds many similarities as well. It is not entirely wrong to address both as one and the same. In fact, for many companies, the tagline and slogans often remain the same. But if you narrow down to a clearer business strategy, you will realise the differences.
A slogan is action-oriented. It is more like a brief and catchy mission statement – something your advertisement department can coin for your marketing campaigns. It inspires people to take notice of you and spur them into action to favour you.
A business tagline, on the other hand, is emotion-oriented. It establishes a certain virtue of your company, brand or business. It is intended to convey or evoke a certain emotion that is associated with your brand.
It can be about quality, optimism, happiness, achievements, well-being or world peace!
THE PURPOSE OF A BUSINESS TAGLINE
The purpose of a tagline is to influence your customers’ through a catchy, memorable phrase that evokes a positive emotion about your brand.
A good business tagline works as an effective conversion tool. It applies the psychological phenomenon called the ‘mere-exposure effect’ which is based on the principle that increased exposure leads to familiarity. Familiarity in turn develops comfort that soon becomes your preference.
The consistent and calculated use of a catchy business tagline thus works in people’s subconscious minds and influences their decision making. When they have to choose a brand, they will go for what is familiar – even when it is new.
The Advantages of a Tagline as an Effective Marketing Strategy:
Serves as the most memorable brand identity
The easiest tool to boost brand awareness
Conveys your brand message in the simplest form
Distinguishes your brand from your competitions
Influences subconscious decision-making
Reflects and enriches your business value
Creates and sustains a positive brand image
Acts as a great conversion tool at no extra cost or effort
HOW TO CREATE EFFECTIVE TAGLINES FOR YOUR BUSINESS
If you are an SME figuring it out how to create an interesting tagline for your new start-up or revising an existing one, here are a few tips.
To create catchy business taglines that would work wonders for your brand image, you must take a few seconds and think over the fundamentals:
What keyword/words represent your business?
What keyword/words represent the benefits of your customers?
What brand image would you like to develop?
What emotion would you like to evoke in your customers?
As you pick up the thread for these basic business principles and values, and find the right, positive emotions and words that befit it, your tagline will emerge out of the fog.
Get into Your Box: Seven Ways to Unearth an Amazing Tagline
A tagline is your stable mouthpiece to convey your brand’s message to your customers or target audience. You need to ensure that the message conveyed is clear and effective and not a lifeless, copied version of your competitor’s.
To come up with a highly effective business tagline for your brand, you must get into your niche. Where do you excel? Where does your brand potential lie? Once you get that straight, you need to know how that could be ingrained into your tagline.
For that, we will take you through the 7 main focal points of a business tagline.
1. Me-centric - “The Ultimate Driving Machine”.
In a ‘me-centric’ tagline your business or brand is the hero. You keep the focus on your company or brand, building the image and establishing your name with your target audience.
In their tagline “There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else there’s MasterCard”, the industry giant in financial services turns the spotlight directly upon themselves. The tagline exudes confidence and reinstates the brand’s positioning in the market.
So did BMW’s previous tagline “The Ultimate Driving Machine”. The powerful tagline was promoted to an advertisement slogan by the automaker in its 2012 marketing campaigns.
The me-centered taglines tend to create a larger-than-life image of your brand and trigger a sense of awe in the customers, especially when you are a global player or industry-lead.
P.S.
Here’s the question: What feature or value of your business/brand would you like to highlight?
2. You-centric: “Because you are worth it”
These are taglines that focus on customers: their benefits, emotions, well-being, etc.
In you-centred taglines, your customer is the king and the queen. The company or brand doesn’t evidently share the spotlight.
L’Oreal’s taglines “Because you are worth it”/“Because I’m worth it” is all about its customer. The international cosmetic brand leverages its women-customers’ feelings of self-worth to validate the elite positioning and pricing of their products.
India’s very own automobile manufacturing company Bajaj coined a simple, two-word tagline for its scooter back in the ‘80s. The tagline-cum-slogan “Hamara Bajaj” soon became a sort of a national anthem for the hugely middle-class population.
The tagline was entirely customer-centric, denoting proud ownership of the ‘new budget-friendly two-wheeler’ for the family.
Raymond’s “The Complete Man” and Will’s “Made for each other” taglines also assert the customer’s value and personality.
P.S.
So, how would you do it? How would you turn the lights on your valued customers?
3. The Quality Parameter – “Quality never goes out of style”
Another easy way of creating a good tagline is to highlight the quality of your product/service.
When CEAT came up with the tagline “Born Tough”, it puts the spotlight on quality. Interestingly the phrase equally magnifies the brand as well as soothes the customer’s male-ego.
MRF’s “Tyres With Muscle” also showcases the strength of its product, while “Thanda Matlab Coco-Cola” promotes its product and the brand name as ‘the coolest’. Levis hits the bull in the eye with its tagline “Quality never goes out of style”.
It is easier to create your tagline based on the quality of your service or product rather than on vague emotions or general philosophies.
P.S.
If so, which quality would you like to bring in and impress your target audience?
4. The Benefit Pack:“The Best a Man Can Get”
Now, with a twist to the quality-factor, you may also turn your attention to how your customers are benefitted by your brand?
The tagline “The Best a Man Can Get” from Gillette nails it right.
Though rooted in quality, the tagline leans to the benefit of the customer: he gets the best! Subway’s “Eat Fresh” is also coined with ‘benefit’ in mind. Airbnb’s tagline too assures its customers the benefit of belonging anywhere.
Hutch’s highly popular tagline “Wherever you go, our network follows” was a hugely successful advertisement slogan as well. The slogan along with the ad that featured a pug and a little boy made the brand very likeable and favoured by the common man.
The tagline showcased the benefit of having a hutch – follows you faithfully wherever you go!
P.S.
How do you think your customers are benefited from your brand/product/services?
5. The Goodwill Factor: “All for Freedom. Freedom for All”
You may also put the weight on general well-being and build a brand image of goodwill.
Amul’s Taste of India emphasises the quality, but is broader, pulling on the patriotic strings of an entire nation. Tata salt’s “Desh ka Namak” also spreads wider similarly with a sense of nativity.
ICICI’s “Hum hai na” also emphasises goodwill while throwing subtle hints on its assured customer services and privileges.
Harley Davidson’s tagline, “All for Freedom. Freedom for All” sounds like a generic philosophy but wisely echoes the inimitable spirit of the brand.
P.S.
If you are to create your business tagline with a goodwill motto, how would you frame it?
6. Emotion-alistic: “The Happiest Place on Earth”
Perhaps emotion is one of the easiest elements you can play upon.
Disneyland knew it when they promoted their fairytale world with the taglines “The Happiest Place on Earth” and “where dreams come true”.
And so did Onida when it came up with one of the most famous taglines in Indian advertisement history. The television with the tagline “Neighbour’s Envy, Owner’s Pride” cleverly teased the pride of possession of the then upper middle class Indian in the ‘80s and ‘90s. But the tagline appealed to him and changed the brand’s destiny forever.
Pepsi’s “Yeh Dil Maange More”, McDonald’s “I’m lovig it”, or Sheraton’s “Welcome to your residence”, all play to the tunes of the customer-happiness and comfort.
P.S.
Which emotion would you leverage to get your customers happy?
7. Motivational: "Just Do It."
If none of the above appeals to you, you may try something different by motivating your customers.
Motivational taglines are more in the line of ‘what goes around comes around’. You inspire your customers and they stay with you. When Nike says “Just Do It”, the customers love it!
Amazon’s tagline "Work hard. Have fun. Make history" not only reflects the brand’s principle but inspires its millions of loyal customers, taking them along up its success ladder.
P.S.
Now, if you go motivational, how would you inspire your target audience and get them hooked to your brand?
To get a better grip on your tagline copy, hire a copywriter at ThePendits:+91 8448040030
CONCLUSION
By now, you must be enlightened on how to get the basics right in creating a highly effective and impressive tagline to improve your business.
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