Crafting a Tagline That Connects

Crafting a Tagline That Connects

“Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand”

“I’m Lovin’ It”

“Just Do It”

If you’re not isolated somewhere on a desert island, I’m willing to bet that you instantly knew the products associated with the above taglines. In fact, whether it’s M&Ms, McDonald’s cheeseburgers or Nike sneakers, it’s the tagline – that short, memorable phrase –rather than the product name that really sticks in the head of consumers and stands the test of time.

I love taglines. A really good one can deftly capture the gist of your business in a way that reinforces the uniquely good things about the product or service you provide. Although I’m drawn to catchphrases that use inventive wordplay (yes, I’m an unapologetic cornball), your tagline doesn’t necessarily have to be overly clever or even particularly catchy, as long as it does the job of succinctly summing up the one-of-a-kind benefits of working with you and your business.

And that’s one of the reasons why creating the right tagline can be a fun-and-fruitful exercise for you and your team. It opens a conversation about how best to distill the benefits you provide. It may take a while, but it’s a worthwhile effort. Ideally, this process will enlighten and energize the whole team as you get closer and closer to succinctly expressing your “why.”

At Cronin Creative, we struggled to pin down the perfect tagline, and after a few hits and misses, we landed on “Clarity by Design,” a phrase that perfectly captures the essence of what we do for our clients. But we didn’t do it alone. In exploratory interviews we conducted with some of our key clients, the “clarity” word came up repeatedly. We took the hint and reinforced our clarity message across the board. The lesson? Speak to your customers. They just might craft a tagline for you!

One way we help our clients is in the development of their authentic brand personality, and that’s where your tagline can do a lot of the heavy lifting. Connecting on the level of emotion and feeling is the strongest bond you can create with your clients, and the right tagline can be the glue that helps make that happen.

Take a look at your company name. Observe it from all angles and carefully consider the prime mission of your business and exactly who you serve and why. There you go. You’ve officially taken the first step to crafting that killer tagline!