There are no hard and fast
rules to writing taglines, or should I say the process by
which you create one for your company. But you do want to
create a tagline that achieves the following:
a. The tagline should match
the tone or voice of your target customer.
b. The tagline should be memorable.
c. The tagline should allow your company "room to grow."
Let's talk about tone for a
moment. I know that a lot of you folks on the web are now
saying that audience segmentation is a big no-no. I beg to
differ: audience profiling is alive and well in the marketing
world. A quick example of a tagline that speaks to a SPECIFIC
audience of motivated, driven and intelligent consumers: "Citibank:
Let's Get it Done." If this were a different product
- say, something that would appeal to the population of American
truck drivers or NASCAR fans, a simple shift in language might
change this tag to: "Git 'er done." This is what
I'm referring to when I'm on my soapbox about using colloquial
language and the "voice" or tone in your copywriting.
Now let's discuss what is means
to be "memorable." Making your tagline memorable
has to do with length and rhythm as much as it's about clever
play on words. Or, perhaps memorable is achieved via a sentiment
that sticks because it makes people think, or feel.
Memorable taglines are about
things people can relate to. For example, Lori Davis of DavisVa.com
uses the tagline, "Offload. Outsource. Go Virtual."
I find this to be highly memorable because of the staccato
beat of the words. This is achieved by the series, separated
by periods. It's also great because it's an incentive to take
action. Can't you just envision yourself offloading, and becoming
much lighter (and more empowered) as a result? I give this
small business owner an A+ for her excellent tagline work.
Finally, there is the question
of whether your tagline leaves "room to grow." Let's
say you were in the business of selling waffles. Your company
name is "Mrs. Lee's" and you've named the phrase
"Waffles to go" as your tagline. Sure, those words
might sum up what you do in a nutshell, but what happens come
the day you add pancakes, eggs and bacon to the menu? A better
tagline might be something like "Satisfying Your Hunger
in a Hurry," "Homemade in a Hurry," or anything
that makes people's mouths water while expressing your company's
unique selling proposition.
For more tips, read "How
to Write a Tagline for Your Company".
