What Is a Tagline?
First of all, here's
what a tagline is not: It's not a proverb, motto, maxim or
saying. It's also not a mission statement or a generic description
of what your company is and does. A tagline is a succinct
phrase or slogan (typically seven words or less), usually
situated under or alongside your logo, that communicates a
single but powerful brand message that resonates strongly
with an intended audience. 
An organization can
have more than one tagline. Taglines can be used to accompany
and modify a corporate name, a subsidiary, a product line
or even an individual product. They can be used to drive a
marketing campaign or used internally to motivate employees,
partners or distributors.
A tagline should be
uniquely yours. By ordering an exhaustive legal search to
ensure no one else is already using your tagline, you'll also
put the world on notice that no one but your company has the
right to use it.
Tagline Objectives
As an extension of
your company's brand, a tagline should say something essential
about who you are, how you're different, and why the world
should care. It should express an enduring idea that reveals
the crux of your brand message and illustrates the value of
doing business with your organization. Ultimately, think of
your tagline as a final point that wraps up your 30-second
elevator pitch.
Taglines can be applied
in a variety of ways. If your brand positioning has changed,
develop a tagline to reflect that change. If your product
has a new benefit, create a tagline to highlight that benefit.
Or, if your current tagline suddenly becomes obsolete, simply
replace it. Here's an example: Faced with a fragmenting brand
in the wake of the dot-com bust in late 2000, Sun Microsystems
rethought its brand positioning and changed its tagline from
"We're the dot in dot-com" to "We make the
net work." Three years later, it sought the ultimate
alignment by adopting yet another tagline: "The network
is the computer."
Whether a tagline is
concrete or abstract, amusing or serious, it can serve your
brand equally well. To evaluate the suitability of a tagline,
ask yourself the following: What is the most effective way
to amplify my central message, reach out and grab my audience
and fulfill my branding objectives?
Varieties
of Taglines
There are four different
kinds of taglines: those that are descriptive of function,
descriptive of character, aligned with a particular category,
or descriptive of a need or wish.
Descriptive
of function
These taglines focus
on the aims and concerns that describe your company's mission,
purpose or overriding benefit. Examples: AIG ("We know
money"); CNET ("The source for computing and technology");
Ford ("Built for the road ahead").
Descriptive
of character
These taglines focus
on the distinguishing attributes that reveal your company's
character and core values-the consistent qualities expected
from your brand.  Examples: Bank of America ("Higher standards");
Chevy Trucks ("Like a rock"); Verizon Wireless ("We
never stop working for you").
Aligned
with a category
These taglines focus
on the alignment of your company with a recognized category
or class that lends it prestige and credibility, and gives
it new meaning or added value. Examples: BOSE ("Better
sound through research"); Cisco Systems ("Empowering
the Internet generation"); CNN ("The most trusted
name in news"); DuPont ("The miracles of science").
Descriptive
of a need or wish
These taglines focus
on those cherished needs, wishes and aspirations that suggest
the successful attainment of an abstract goal or desired outcome.
Examples: Audi ("Never follow"); Citi ("Live
richly"); Fisher-Price ("Play. Laugh. Grow.");
Kaiser Permanente ("Thrive").
Creating
Your Own Tagline
Before you start
brainstorming taglines, carve out some time to clarify your
company's vision, values, benefits, positioning, business
solution and contract with your customers. Better yet, enlist
the support of a few key players in your organization to do
the same, and then compare notes. Once you've achieved a comfortable
level of consensus, you'll have a strong foundation for conducting
tagline development.
Begin the process by
asking yourself the following fundamental questions:
- What does your company do? (in 10 words or less)
- Why does your company exist?
- What is your company striving to become?
- What core values guide your company's behavior?
- How is your company unique? What separates it from the
rest of the pack?
- What solution does your company sell? What does it promise
and deliver?
- What is your company's key strength/advantage over your
competitors?
- Who is your target audience? Describe what is special/unique
about it.
- What compels people to buy and use your company's product/service?
Hiring an
Agency To Create a Tagline
If tagline development
doesn't come easily to you, there are agencies with skilled
copywriters and wordsmiths who specialize in this sort of
thing. An agency will use a questionnaire similar to the one
above. They may call it a "creative brief" or a
"tagline brief" and ask you questions relating to
your brand attributes, personality and tone so they can select
an appropriate form and style for your tagline.
Tagline development
involves the creation of approximately 50 to 75 choices on
the first pass. Then, based on your preferences, the agency
will boil down the list to 15 to 25 variant expressions; and
the final three to five taglines are run through federal,
state, and Internet trademark searches. A final report and
analysis from a qualified intellectual property attorney is
the last stop on the journey. At this point, you can select
the best tagline that meets all of your branding, marketing,
aesthetic and legal criteria.
In Summary
Taglines can extend
the communicative power of your old brand and give it renewed
vigor.even a new life. Remember, taglines aren't just for
big business-they're for everyone. And they won't break your
piggy bank.
If you have a succinct,
clever and spot-on tagline, your prospects and customers are
more likely to recall you when they're faced with a choice,
and call you when they're ready to buy.
Use your tagline everywhere:
in conjunction with your logo, on your business card, on your
web site, ads and collateral, and even as part of your e-mail
signature.
Some final advice:
It's a battle of perceptions out there, so make sure the tagline
you use is creating the right brand perception of your company.
Eric Swartz
is president and founder of The Byline Group, a full-service
brand communication agency specializing in message creation,
alignment, integration and packaging. He can be reached at
eric@thebylinegroup.com
or +1 650.573.9009.
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