Posted 03.23.2010

Here’s how to write a great tagline

It can be an energizing exercise

By David Heitman

 

At one time or another, nearly every business contemplates the creation and use of a tagline. This simple statement aims to distill a company's unique value proposition into a few memorable words. When successful, a tagline can be a powerful shorthand statement of a brand. But too often, it becomes a design-by-committee phrase intended to please everyone, but inspiring no one.

Writing a tagline is like writing haiku: it's easy to write a lot of bad ones, and far more challenging to write one good one. But if you apply the necessary discipline and creativity to the process, your tagline can be a powerful tool for gaining mindshare with your prospects and customers.

How NOT to Write a Tagline

Here's the secret recipe for a not-so-great tagline:

Gather a large number of people in the room...have everyone share as many ideas as possible...use one word from each person's idea...try to make the tagline as long as possible so that it includes everything your company offers...take the three top choices and have everyone in the company, their spouses and their kids vote on it...pick the winner based on the most votes...repeat the process next year to come up with a new tagline.

OK, that's a bit extreme, but it's not too far from the way some organizations approach the process. Fortunately, there's a better way.

Tagline 101

So how do you develop a truly compelling tagline? Here are a few principles for success:

1. Remember who your audience is. In most cases, your tagline is aimed at new prospects who don't yet know you. The secondary audience is your existing customer base. The important thing is to write the tagline from an external perspective. A tagline is not a company mission statement (more on that below).

2. Determine what kind of tagline you need. Is it merely a descriptive phrase to clarify what you do? Is it meant to position your organization against competitors? Or maybe the goal is to pose a provocative question that gets your audience thinking.

3. Let the tagline grow out of your unique value proposition. A tagline's goal is to differentiate you from your competition-to compel a prospect to put you on the short list of candidates. Too often taglines of competing companies are so similar that they are indistinguishable to potential customers looking for cues on which one to hire. Make sure your tagline distinguishes you from the competition based on your company's greatest virtue or most unique offering. Put some distance between your organization and the rest of the pack.

4. Don't confuse a mission statement with a tagline. A mission statement is, by its nature, focused inwardly. A tagline is addressed to outsiders. And here's a quick thought on mission statements: perhaps a company should never share its mission statement with customers and prospects. The mission should be so deeply cherished by company leaders, adhered to with such great passion by employees, and so thoroughly evidenced in day-to-day operations that you would never actually need to say it to outsiders. They should be able to tell you what your mission is.

5. Avoid the words of tagline death. These are words that everybody claims, and when added to one another, produce a bland, verbal gruel that no one remembers. These are the buzz-killers that prevent your brand from getting traction with future customers. The top four words to avoid are:

1. Quality
2. Service
3. Commitment
4. Excellence

Smart, busy people like you just gloss over words like that, right? You hear them too many times from too many companies in too many industries. No doubt, your organization does something better than anyone else on the planet. What exactly is it? Start there, and then find the most concrete, visceral, creative words to describe it. (Tip: Let nouns and verbs do the heavy lifting in your new tagline, and avoid too many adjectives.)

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