Taglines. What’s the point?

Ali Guinn

January 17, 2012

Without a tagline there is no point.

A brand with a tagline helps guide the consumer, a good tagline will often evoke an emotional response from the consumer, speaking to something deeper that they may find value in. The tagline helps you shorten the decision making process by exclaiming why they should choose you. So, help us out and give us something to remember you by!

The tagline becomes a “slogan, mantra, company statement, or guiding principle that describes synopsizes [and] helps create an interest,” explains Debra Koonz Traverso. A good tagline is a powerful marketing tool in that within a few words, it has the power to capture a brand’s personality, essence, and sets them apart from competitors. The most effective taglines grow from an intense strategic process.

Taglines generally have a shorter lifespan than logos, and like marketing campaigns are subject to evolve with changes in the company and marketplace. For example, “The computer is personal again” was a tagline created to help Hewlet-Packard’s combat positioning against Apple computers.

Essential characteristics of a tagline:
Short, differentiated from competitors, unique, captures the brand essence and its positioning, easy to remember, no negative connotations, displayed in small font, can be protected and trademarked, evokes an emotional response, difficult to create.

Do you know where these taglines come from? All of the taglines listed below are from popular brands who have done an excellent job reinforcing their brand’s image and positioning with their tagline, and as as a result, are easily distinguished in the marketplace.

Just do it
Imagination at work
Think different
Let’s motor
Broadcast yourself
Drivers Wanted