A slogan, also called a tagline or strapline, is a short line that accompanies a brand and sums up its promise or character. It helps to separate two levels: a brand tagline stays next to the logo for years (‘Just Do It’, for example), while a campaign slogan runs for a season and bows out with the campaign. Confuse the two and you end up with a ‘permanent’ slogan about a promotion.
What makes a good slogan?
It’s short (a few words), easy to repeat and specific: it talks about what the customer gains or about the brand’s character. Calling the company ‘a leader in innovative solutions’ does neither. Here’s a test we use in our brand work: cover the logo and ask whether the line could belong to any of your competitors. If it could, what you have is filler. A good slogan also fits the brand’s tone of voice: a law firm sounds different from a streetwear label.
Common pitfalls
Lines translated word for word from another language that sound stilted; catch-all phrases (‘quality and experience’); forced rhymes; and a slogan written before the strategy, which gives you a nice sentence with nothing behind it. The right order is the reverse: brand positioning first (who it’s for, what it promises, how it differs), then the words that carry it. A slogan comes at the end of the strategy work.
Related terms: logotype, visual identity.
