Just Do It. Got Milk? Where’s the beef? Melts in your mouth, not in your hands. These phrases are all taglines used by some major companies. Taglines reinforce your branding message with your brandmark. The question then becomes do you need a tagline?

I would say if you are a business just starting out then, yes you need a tagline. People don’t know who you are and you need to find a place in their minds and hearts so that they become loyal customers. A tagline can reinforce your position in the consumers minds. It must be short, catchy, and memorable, but not cheesy. The tagline is a phrase that captures your brand, your company’s personality, positioning and it separates you from everybody else. A tagline should also evoke an emotional response in people. That’s a lot for such a short phrase which is why taglines are difficult to come up with.

Other companies who may need to use taglines are those that are trying to reposition themselves in their industry. A lot of times these are the companies that have been in business for 10 years or more and are trying to attract new customers or their position and message is no longer valid. They need a pick me up or overhaul that usually includes a logo, updated website, and a new slogan/tag. Companies like this need to be aware of their current position so they don’t alienate their current customers. When Macy’s was buying out stores such as Foley’s and Robinsons-May, they began sending postcards describing the merger almost a year in advance so customers were not too surprised when the merger happened. They positioned themselves in the mind of their current customers and new customers to make them feel at ease.

When creating a tagline you need to think about a few things:

1. What’s my mission? You need a focus and your mission has a lot to do with that. Keep it simple and easy so people are not confused.
2. Who cares? Who cares about your product and why should they? So you’re an IT company, great. But what makes you any different from the IT company down the street. It’s not about your product, but about what your product does for the consumer. Consumers don’t care that you can network every server in the entire world. They only care about how you networking servers is going to help them. What about networking servers is going to evoke an emotional response? Focus on your benefits. Benefits to your consumer can help you formulate a great tag.
3. Last but not least is that “umphh” factor. This is where your image comes in. Are you a fun, crazy company or a serious company. The tag should reflect your company’s personality in it as well. If your using bold, strong colors, then your tag line should be bold in its statement. If you’re a mom and pop shop, it should be down to earth and approachable.

The point is that tags are good reinforcement for your brand. They help solidify your position and create an identity in the consumers head. And maybe one day you’ll end up becoming the Nike of your industry where you Just Do It.

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