Slogans:
Your Fountain of Youth
Change your slogan to keep your brand fresh and relevant.
Look for a phrase that grabs you and doesn’t let go
The most effective slogans, straplines and taglines are typically 3-7 words. Anything longer becomes difficult to remember and use. Every word is an invaluable piece of real estate. It must earn its place through the value it adds to the message.
The best slogans focus on what your brand does for your customers rather than what features you offer. L’Oréal’s “Because You’re Worth It” sells self-worth, not hair products.
Slogans have historically been more temporal and campaign-centric while straplines or taglines typically refer to more enduring brand catchphrases.
4 More Reasons Your Strapline Matters
Your slogan or strapline mutliplies every branding dollar you spend
It is your hook if you have a boring name
Most names are yawners, especially when they are first launched. Who cares about a common word like apple or a weird one like Nike? However, when you see a name coupled with the right catchphrase, everything changes:
“Apple – Think Different” or “Nike – Just Do It”.
These combinations have stopping power.
It is your brand messenger conveying your positioning
Why should anyone care about a foreign sounding brand like “De Beers” or an agricultural sounding name like “State Farm” or a girl’s first name like “Wendy’s”? But with the right strapline, they come alive for their targets:
“De Beers – A Diamond is Forever” resonates emotionally and ties into the aspirations of that engagement ring you just received.
“Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm Is There” is what we want from an insurance carrier when it comes to absolute trust or help when making a claim.
“Wendy’s – Where is the beef?” points out what most want when buying a hamburger … more protein and less filler.
It is your secret weapon when developing a new name
Do you think the following 4 step naming process will turn out well?
- You develop hundreds of new name ideas
- You vet them with your team, your agency and your attorneys
- After countless hours you finally have your short list
- You then email this list of names to senior management
The answer is that step 4 in the above process is often a recipe for disaster.
Context is what brings the name alive … the story, the tagline and the visuals (logo, signage, colors). Presenting the names to senior management when you have their undivided attention and can do the full “unveiling” helps immensely.
And if you if you don’t have an opportunity for a face to face, a tagline next to each name is even more important to help the name resonate.
It is your verbal logo
Logos make a difference. They draw the eye and connect with a different part of the brain than the written name.
But if your brand is just being discussed in conversation, all the effort you have put into your logo and other visuals has no direct impact. So instead, think of your tagline as your “verbal logo”. It often creates the needed emotional resonance and deep connection you’re after.
BMW – “The Ultimate Driving Machine” certainly does this. For some, it connects the conversation back to some of the aspirational visuals and ads, even though you are only “seeing” them in your mind.
Revive your brand with a new tagline
Do you need help developing your slogan or strapline?
We helped write the first AI name generator and automated Headline / Tagline writer in 1986 have been trying new approaches ever since then.
How to Trademark a Name
Step by Step Guide
To safeguard your name, a registered trademark gives you the legal rights to fully own and grow your brand.
Glowing Reviews
NameStormers went above and beyond to help the business select a suitable name while taking into consideration the trademark risks.
They save you a lot of time by pre-vetting names with their own trademark issue elimination process.
They save you a lot of time by pre-vetting names with their own trademark issue elimination process and their expertise shined when it came to being creative with naming.
They were extremely helpful in testing the new names and gave solid recommendations on next steps from a trademark and legal perspective.
