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Creating the Perfect Tagline
by Allison Nazarian
They're everywhere! We're literally inundated with them day and
night. No matter where we are, we can't escape them. Yes, we're talking
about the ubiquitous, omnipresent TAGLINE!
You can pretend to ignore them, that you're impervious to them, but
that's just not so, is it?
Take this little quiz and name the corporation, product or movie
(answers are at the end):
- See what brown can do for you
- Something special in the air
- A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
- Got milk?
- The breakfast of champions
- Drivers wanted
- Houston, we have a problem
- Let your fingers do the walking
- Love means never having to say you're sorry
- We bring good things to life
So you passed with flying colors, did you? Admit it. You're as "into"
taglines as the rest of us. Why? Because taglines capture a company's
spirit in one clever little phrase. They've become an invaluable tool
for briefly communicating critical business information and developing
brand and name recognition.
But how does one dream up these little ditties that stay with us so
long? The bigger question may be: how do you - as a business owner,
marketing professional, salesperson or anyone, for that matter - create
the perfect tagline for your company or client?
First, know your target audience.
- Understand various benefits your target audience is looking for
and rank them in order of importance to begin developing your
tagline.
Define your target response.
- What outcome do you want to create . what do you want your
audience to think or say?
Brainstorm. Brainstorm. Brainstorm.
- Write a list of words or phrases that communicate your idea and
that also tie to your logo or a visual you're using.
- Look up the words in a dictionary and write down different uses
of the word and cross-references to other words.
- Use that list to generate new ideas.
- Cut the list to your top few favorites.
- Then "play" with the words by using tools like rhyming or
alliteration.
Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.
- Simplicity adds power. People tend to remember the simplest
slogans. Communicate your message quickly, using active verbs.
Rewrite. Rewrite. Rewrite.
- Once you complete your initial drafts, set them aside. Come back
later and review them. You'll probably want to make changes. Keep
the process going. When you've got it, you'll know it!
Finally, few quick DOs and DON'Ts to keep in mind when creating a
winning tagline:
- DO collect other company's taglines and analyze what works and
what doesn't work. (Remember that test you just took? What made
those taglines so memorable?)
- DO start by developing a list of what's unique to what you do
and your way of doing it.
- DON'T use hip or esoteric taglines. (You want lots of people to
understand it, not just a few.)
- DON'T make your tagline too general.
- DO your own mini-market research. Ask strangers (and
acquaintances) if they understand your business after seeing and
hearing your tagline.
- DO use your specific target audience in your tagline, if
possible.
- DO keep it short.
- DO turn the phrase around. If you can't say it without skipping
a step, then rephrase it.
And, the answers to our tagline quiz (as if you didn't know) are:
- UPS
- American Airlines
- Star Wars
- Dairy Council
- Wheaties
- Volkswagen
- Apollo13
- Yellow Pages
- Love Story
- GE
Copyright 2006 Get It In Writing, Inc.
Allison Nazarian is president and chief copywriter of
Get It In Writing, a Florida-based company that helps businesses
nationwide harness the power of words to sell, inform and publicize.
Allison can be reached at 561.487.3917 or
anazarian@getitinwriting.biz.
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