Three different approaches to taglines

Posted on 14/12/2012 by Karen
 

One of the things I get asked about most, when I’m at networking functions, is taglines. Do you have to have one? How important are they? How much would it cost for you to write one for us? Is our tagline any good? etc.

I find taglines very interesting creatures. Personally, I don’t think you have to have one. (I don’t.) However, a tagline is a wonderful way to get a message across fast — if it’s a good one — which I think the one on the right is.

I was walking down Rundle Street a few months ago and this sign in the Steve Madden Shoes store window caught my eye and made me laugh. I thought it was very clever. It’s always very easy for me to know when I really like some copy because my first thought is ‘gee, that’s good’, quickly followed by ‘wish I’d written that…’
 

Humour is a really good way to cut through the advertising clutter and make an impact on your customer. Because we all love to have a laugh. Not only will a funny tagline (or headline) make people feel good in that moment, it will also help make people feel good about your brand. Which, of course, is what you want.

If humour doesn’t suit your business, then you can try another approach. Which is what Bushmans Tanks did. Their tagline is ‘Saving Australia’s Water’. Relevant, environmental, and extremely topical. Also very patriotic. It strikes a cord with the customer. The subtext is… ‘if you care about saving our country’s water, then you should buy our tanks.’ Or you could do what Sprint has done, which is just state some facts, very simply. Short sharp and shiny always works well. The KISS principle in action. Nice  repetition, creates a good rhythm. They even got ‘Every Day’ right as 2 words which is a rarity these days.