Brand Messaging 101 for Beginners – Part One – Good, Ugly, and Great business taglines
As I said before in my Brand Messaging 101 for Beginners article, I collect business taglines and I finally organized them into three columns. I usually riff about a particular business tagline and share it on Facebook but this time, I’ll share it here first. Before you read my thoughts, I invite you to gather your own thoughts. Or, if you prefer, judge each tagline and then come back to compare them with my thoughts.
To keep it simple for you, I’ve rated them on three aspects:
- Sound byte – Does it rhyme and/or have cadence to it?
- Originality – Is it memorable and does it say something that’s specific?
- Brand voice – Does it ooze the brand’s personality?
Here we go!
THE GREAT
Apple
Think different speaks to Apple’s “cool” crowd. Originally, the brand was designed for designers, innovators and creative types who “think big”. This tagline, originally an advertising campaign, had Steve Jobs vision and input all over it. He insisted that he wanted “different” to be used as a noun, as in “think victory” or “think beauty”. He wanted to make it sound colloquial, like the phrase “think big”.
Campbell’s – Mm, Good!
This tagline is memorable because it sticks. It also speaks to the personality of the brand in the customer’s voice versus their own message, which is a very effective approach. They didn’t say something along the lines of we make the best soup, instead they mirrored their customer’s voice right back at them which further supports their customer’s brand loyalty.
Harley-Davidson
Their tagline speaks to their brand as a lifestyle, not just a product. Harley-Davidson people are often die-hard brand fans wearing other branded items. The brand has intentionally built on this brand lifestyle over the years which captures the emotions of their target customers.
Western Union.
The business name doesn’t say what this business does but the tagline perfectly captures in a specific and memorable way. What they do is “send money worldwide” and how they do it differently “fastest way”.
That was fun! Want to see more taglines? Here are 135 taglines and business names of successful B-corps, social enterprises, and do-gooders to draw inspiration from. Enjoy!
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