Just do it… and I’m not talking about the Shia LeBouf video. Although iconic, the real identity behind that brand is Nike; which you already knew, and why? Because it is memorable, a tagline you won’t forget and a mission you understand.
Taglines are the essence of a brand, using either a collection of simple words and sometimes phrases. They are utilised so they are unforgettable and make clear sense of what the brand is about and what their mission is. What do you think of when you hear “the happiest place on earth”? Disney utilised key words but also made a statement, even if you only heard “happiest place” Disney will come across in thought more consistently than something or someone else, and because of that, they have accomplished their goal of a gold standard tagline.
Taglines can unfortunately fall short due to loss of brand focus. Sometimes focusing too hard on one thing can make you forget about everything else and that is often a common mistake made by other businesses. It’s no easy feat but that’s ok, we have 8 awesome tips to help you create your terrific tagline. Chem them out here:
1 – Be crystal clear
Who are you as a brand? What do you have to offer?
The cleverness in taglines will come later, but for now you need to be able to know what your brand focus is before others can start focusing on it. Once you’ve pinpointed that focus, then you have a start. Clarity is key in this moment!
2 – Jott ‘em down
Write it all down, every word you can think of, even if it seems silly or unrelated, you can cull them from the list later on. Once you have your list of words, sit down with the thesaurus and see if any of the words have an alternate meaning or something that resonates more strongly with your brand. Please remember to not overcomplicate it, this isn’t poetry here. The best taglines are the simple and clear kind.
3 – Tell your story
Ever hear a really good story and you get the warm and fuzzy feels? This is important to unpack and discover. When you tell someone about your brand, what do you feel? How do you feel? Once you’ve discovered that feeling, it should resonate through your branding and then ensure your tagline also reflects that emotion. It can be hard to put feelings into words but just remember that this is all part of the process and there are no wrong answers here.
4 – Be the real you
It doesn’t take much for customers to sniff out the fake and phony, so instead, be authentic all the way through and really stay grounded on what your brand feels and emotes. It can be easy to try make and things cuter, grander or more funny, but it doesn’t necessarily work well when that’s not what your brand focus is.
5 – Flex your strengths
Every business has its benefits, so what are yours? What makes you different and unique from the rest? Are you more agile? Bigger? Efficient? Transformational? And if so, in what way?
Locate and search for those descriptive words that describes your strengths and keep jotting them down – this way you will get to hone in on your strengths!
6 – Rough word play
Now that you have your list and hopefully it’s a decent sized one full of those opportunistic phrases, we can now begin and start putting the puzzle together. Start putting your words together into phrases so you have a starting point and can consistently build upon and improve on those phrases and key words.
Remember to try not to be too clever, if you look back at Disney’s and Nike’s taglines, they’re direct – more so a statement, and powerful ones at that.
7 – Cull, cull and cull some more
Yep that’s right, it’s time to get rid of some and then more. Those silly ones you started with? Get rid of them, it is time to narrow down all your worthy options and keep a handful of your standout taglines.
Make sure you ask yourself when culling, will this translate to customers? Does it make sense? Does it mean what our brand stands for?
8 – Time for bed
That’s right, sleep on it. There will most likely be a few standouts so of course it may be hard to choose. Sleep on it and check back everyday, which one comes to you first? Which ones do your team love? Your friends or family? Don’t rush this creative and inspirational process, while you are near the end, we want this to be perfect and honour your business and your brand! Once the line comes out and shows you its potential and rightful place, it’ll start to open up your brand to a whole new journey of advertising and marketing opportunities… and before you know it, people are repeating your tagline and can identify with you.
Now this list is all very well and good when you’ve got the time to get your creative juices flowing, but if you’re finding yourself stuck in a metaphorical tagline rut then feel free to get in touch with us either via our socials @wildandfreemedia or email us on hey@wildandfree.com.au and we can take care of all your tagline worries.
