Building a Brand: The Right Tagline

Keep reading for a challenge! I will pick a winner when I return and announce it at the August 26th meeting!

Rhonda Abrams is a columnist with USA Today and wrote an article called "The Right Tagline Can Go A Long Way" back in 2006. I thought that it had just the right message, so I have exerpted some of that here.

Here's a quiz. Can you name the companies associated with the following taglines?
• "Just do it!"
• "The world on time."
• "Breakfast of champions."
• "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands."

Congratulations! You probably guessed all four. That's because an effective tagline or advertising slogan becomes so closely identified with a business, you typically don't need to mention the company's name. Of course, these companies — Nike, FedEx, Wheaties, M&M's — spent tens of millions of dollars advertising these slogans.

But it doesn't take a multimillion-dollar advertising budget for you to create an effective tagline. In fact, a good tagline is one of the least expensive forms of marketing you can develop and use.

If you don't have a tagline for your company or products — and most of us don't — it's time to sit down and come up with one. That's because a well-conceived tagline makes it easier for customers both to remember your company's name and to think positively about why they should use your products or services.

Of course, if you've got a big budget, you could hire an advertising agency to devise a tagline, but few of us have that kind of money. Instead, get some of your creative employees, friends or family members to help you devise a one.

The keys to an effective tagline are:

• It's short and easy to remember.
Keeping a tagline short seems like an obvious step, but trust me, it's not. A tagline must say something about your company but not everything. If it's too long, people can't remember it. It will be a challenge, but boil your tagline down to its essential core message.

• It conveys what's special about you.
This is perhaps the most important element of a good tagline — it helps customers know how to distinguish you from competitors. Avis' "We Try Harder" tagline was effective because it turned one of the company's disadvantages (the fact Avis was not the market leader) into an advantage. The Avis slogan made it seem as if competitors were slacking off on the job.
If you serve a specific or niche market, you can focus your tagline on that. "Legal services for the real estate industry" may seem boring, but it can be an effective tagline if you're an attorney specializing in real estate deals. Remember, a tagline doesn't have to be memorable to everyone to be effective — just those you want as customers.

• It conveys something you want potential customers to remember or feel.
Why is "Just Do It" such an effective tagline for Nike that it's lasted for nearly 20 years? Because it conveys an attitude that Nike wants associated with its products. It both empowers and encourages customers' athletic aspirations. When a tagline succeeds in conveying a feeling, it strengthens the emotional bond between you and your customers.

• You use it repeatedly and prominently.
Once you've chosen a tagline, use it all the time. Naturally, you should use your tagline on all your marketing materials, throughout your website, and in every bit of advertising you do. Don't forget to put it on your business cards and use it as a tagline at the bottom of every e-mail in your "signature."

A tagline is an easy and inexpensive tool to enhance the image and message of your company. Every company should have one. So today, instead of merely thinking about developing a tagline, go ahead, eat your Wheaties, try harder, and just do it.

Rhonda Abrams is author of The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies and president of The Planning Shop, publishers of books and other tools for business plans. Register for Rhonda's free business planning newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com. Copyright Rhonda Abrams 2006.

The Don'ts of Tagline Creation

• Don't brag or engage in chest-beating. Talk to the customer and not yourself.
• Don't participate in tagline fads. Avoid formulas and plays on words based on popular sayings
• Don't use one-word taglines.
  

The Do's of Tagline Creation

• Start with a creative brief: a one page document that identifies:- Your goal- Your target- Your most compelling attribute
• Translate your brand promise into a tagline filtered through your brand personality.
• Decide on a voice, face, personality, and attitude of your brand.
• Find a professional to help you develop a good tagline
• Once you get a tagline, commit to it and put it on everything you do.

And an easy way to think about it? Focus on your TARGET audience, your position. What is their PROBLEM? What is your SOLUTION? You only have 7 words or less to define both the PROBLEM and the SOLUTION. Go.

Working Words of Wisdom

"It is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises but only performance is reality." ~Harold Geneen

BNI POINT TO SUCCESS CHALLENGE!

Write a comment in response to one of the following:

1) What is your current tagline? What do you like or dislike about it?

or

2) If you could create a tagline for anyone in our group (you or someone else), what would it be?

Have fun with it!