Shumsky Idea Box

By Evan Scott

QUICKQUIZ
Can you match the tagline with the company?

Company	Tagline
Where do you want to go today?	Weyerhaeuser
Be All You Can Be.	Volvo
Achieve anything.	Allstate
It’s how you know.	Apple
We bring good things to life.	O-Cedar
Think different	3M
Not just power. Possibility.	General Electric
Makes your life easier!	Microsoft
You’re in good hands.	Vectren
Innovation.	Key Bank
For life.	U.S. Army
The future is growing.	LexisNexis

When companies use taglines effectively they seem truly inspired – and it’s nearly impossible to think about these companies without remembering their taglines. Other times, taglines don’t seem to add much to your experience with the company’s products or services. What makes the difference between a good tagline and a ho-hum tagline?

I’ve divided my discussion into four parts. First, I’ll discuss the key points in developing a tagline. Then, I’ll discuss the three things effective taglines do.

Developing a tagline

When we develop taglines for our clients we sometimes go through a lot of work – what with focus groups and all of that – and sometimes we don’t do much else besides think up a cool phrase that makes sense for the product or service. A lot of what helps us decide what to do here depends upon factors such as what industry our client is in, whether the products and services (or company) are consumer or commercial based (consumer products and services, for instance, lend themselves better to an effective tagline than a commercial, or business-to-business, product or service), the demographics of the audience, and so on.

In all cases, here are some initial guidelines to developing an effective tagline.

Clearly, and honestly, define what you can deliver – We may all aspire to be the best A, B, or C company and provide the best X, Y, and Z product, but more than likely, most of us should temper those aspirations for the purpose of making an honest connection with our customer. Even Walmart, with its extraordinary buying power, doesn’t say, “The lowest prices ever, anywhere!” They say, “Always low prices. Always.”

Create objective criteria – there’s nothing as bad as developing anything creative when the criteria for success are completely subjective to you. If you base your decisions on whether you happen to like green or not, whether the tagline rhymes with the product, or some other personal preference, you’ve missed the whole point. Marketing is for your customers, not for you, and it’s important to set on paper what the tagline should communicate to the customer.

Ask your customer what they want, really – Speaking of Walmart, Sam Walton has been quoted as saying, “If you’re ever confused, go to the store. Your customers have all the answers. They also happen to have all the money.” There’s no use touting a tagline about Product X when the customer really wants Service Y.

Brainstorm as many ideas as you can – Initially, don’t edit yourself. The editing process will take care of itself later. Sometimes, you need to get the bad ideas out before the good ones come along. Here is where you’ll want to match up what the customer really wants with what you can actually deliver.

Make sure the tagline can work everywhere – Once you edit down your choices to the top three or so, run each one through some tests to make sure you can support the tagline in your other marketing initiatives. Can we create advertising that uses the tagline or theme of the tagline? How does it look with our logo? Can we support our tagline in our public relations efforts?

And now, here are the three qualities that effective taglines possess.

Experience

Taglines ought to help the customer know more about the product or service. It ought to tell them what benefit they can expect or what they’ll experience when they use it. This is, perhaps, one of the most important aspects of a successful tagline because it explains the most recognizable aspect of a product or service – and most quickly connects the brand name to something tangible. Consider –

The U.S. Army	Be All You Can Be.
Walmart	Always low prices. Always.

In these instances, you can see a clear and distinct benefit to the tagline. Considering the U.S. Army without the tagline leaves a lot up to the viewer/reader to attach whatever experience they bring with them from past knowledge of the Army. Once you attach the tagline – and incorporate it’s theme into subsequent campaigns – it very effectively positions the Army as a place where you can do just about anything you want – and do it as well as you possibly can.

With the Walmart name, the tagline works harder than just describing a product or a service. It combines it all into one. Here, the customer understands that, regardless of which product, Walmart is committed to low prices. It doubles as a service commitment as well.

When thinking about your company and your desired customer experience, two things make the biggest difference: research into what your customers actually want and a clear understanding of what your company can actually deliver.

Emotion

The next thing effective taglines do is stir our emotions. We want our customers to get more from our products and services than just the products and services – we want them to feel good about it, too – or satisfied, or safe, or whatever emotion is at the core of our brand identity. Consider, again –

O-Cedar	Makes your life easier!
The U.S. Army	Be All You Can Be.
Allstate	You’re in good hands.

O-Cedar Brands manufactures a full line of cleaning products from their mainstay mops and brooms to a host of cleaning accessories. And while their tagline also does a great job of giving customers a taste of what they will experience, I want to point out how well this tagline speaks to our emotions. Who loves housework? Only strange or bored people do. This tagline communicates a sense of comfort and relief, “Hey! We’ll get you through this housework thing faster and easier.”

In addition to telling you what you can expect from an Army experience, we’re encouraged to feel proud of ourselves – to feel inspired. The tagline says, “Don’t settle for second best. You’re worth it and capable! Let us help bring out the best in you!”

Allstate’s tagline focuses more on the emotional aspect of their brand than on explaining their services. This is a good thing in their case because, at least in my opinion, it would be much harder to explain insurance services in a tagline than to simply say, “No matter which products you buy, when you buy them, or what your circumstances are, you’re in good hands with us.” This aspect of their brand is supported throughout their entire marketing strategy, from their focus on local (and caring) agents to images of these agents saving the day in a variety of settings.

Energy

Finally, an effective tagline possesses – and communicates – energy. Sometimes the energy is Potential energy – something will happen – and sometimes the energy is Kinetic – something is happening. In all cases, the tagline gives customers a sense of movement or a call to action. Consider –

The U.S. Army	Be All You Can Be.
3M	Innovation
Microsoft	Where do you want to go today?

I’m holding up the Army’s tagline, Be All You Can Be, as the perfect tagline in this discussion – showing how it embraces all three aspects of a successful tagline. And it’s true. This last characteristic is apparent in this tagline because it is filled with potential energy – think of what you will become! Go ahead, dream – and then call one of our recruiters.

3M’s tagline is just plain cool. It’s hard to pull off a one word tagline but, here, I think they do a great job of it. What’s going to happen? Innovation, that’s what. Now and in the future, we know what’s on 3M’s mind and we’re asked to connect with how that will benefit us.

Finally, and definitely my favorite Energy tagline is Microsoft’s, “Where do you want to go today?” The Army may have the perfect textbook tagline but this one is pure joy in my view. Its thrust is all about action. Here we are, you and me together, and I’m asking you where you want to go. It’s saying, no matter what you’re interested in, what you want to accomplish, I’m here for you. Let’s go!

Even though the Experience aspect of taglines is the most recognizable – here’s what we do and what you can expect from our product or service – I think, in the end, it’s Energy that carries the day for the most effective taglines. That’s not to say that I think an Energy-based tagline is always the best choice; just that when it’s working, it’s working double time because it taps into the intoxicating aspect of our customers’ (and our) psyche: hopes and dreams. Living in the world of hopes and dreams may not be practical but who of us isn’t easily sucked into it when properly motivated or enticed? Conclusion Companies succeed and fail with and without taglines. And while having a tagline isn’t a prerequisite to growing your business, we do know that, when created and implemented effectively, they do a great job of contributing to the overall management of a company’s brand identity. Indeed, what we’re covering here is one aspect of branding. In that bigger process, we know that creating shared experience, shared emotion and shared energy is essential to making that all important connection with our customers. More and more, with the ever increasing noise that our customers (and we!) face, companies need to focus more on deeper, more permanent relationships than on quick promotions and louder noise.

Answer key A 8 B 11 C 10 D 12 E 7 F 4 G 9 H 5 I 3 J 6 K 2 L 1

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