The Cherry on Top of Your Brand Name
Well-crafted company taglines or catchy slogans can support your company name, increase brand awareness, and be a key ingredient in your advertising and marketing campaigns. And they are excellent for differentiating businesses that have similar services, like insurance companies.
Company taglines and slogans are the cherry on top of your name. They compliment it. Your brand’s tagline can be a call-to-action, reflect your brand positioning, or communicate a specific message to your brand’s target audience.
Tagline vs. Slogan: What’s the Difference?
Many people use the words tagline and slogan interchangeably, but there is a difference.
At Eat My Words, what we refer to as a tagline is the short line of copy that sits under the company name. Its purpose is to support or enhance the name or communicate your brand’s message.
Our slogans often appear on merchandise or to fuel a marketing campaign. In the advertising world, slogans are used for ad campaigns. What makes a slogan quickly recognizable is it is often cemented into the heads of consumers through television commercials, which is something we don’t do at Eat My Words. Fun fact: While Eat My Words is not an ad agency, before our founder went into the branding world, Alexandra Watkins was an award-winning advertising copywriter. That’s what makes her such a creative name and tagline generator.
Great Company Taglines Start with Great Legs
What makes for a great tagline at Eat My Words is that our taglines are inspired by names that have a theme that lends itself to wordplay. This is what we call Legs. (“Legs” is one of the qualities that make a name great in our signature SMILE & SCRATCH name evaluation test.)
When your name has a theme, you can generate terrific tagline ideas with related words. A tagline can also function as the motto for your company and encapsulate your brand’s message or key benefit in a nutshell. That’s exactly what we did for Oregon Hazelnuts. Their brand tagline: Indulgence in a nutshell.
A tagline should be a phrase that’s short enough to remember. For instance a tagline we created for one brand, Red Oak Realty, elicits positive feelings in just two words: Nice move. When crafting a new tagline, we focus on what your customers will experience when they choose your business.
Cool Slogans = Cool Cash
The best slogans can be printed on a t-shirt and people will pay you to wear it. For the frozen yogurt franchise we named Spoon Me, popular merchandise slogans were, If you love me, Spoon Me, and Shut up and Spoon Me!
These infectious slogans were also painted on the walls of their stores, which made for fun selfies.
Another example slogan that people pay to wear is for the ice cream stores we named Smitten. Their slogan is especially lovable when seen on the back of baby onesies. It simply says, I’m Smitten. Everyone loves it, especially the adoring parent holding the baby.
Tagline Quiz
A memorable tagline or slogan can sometimes become even more recognizable than your name. See if you can fill in the blanks on these famous slogans or match the tagline to the company:
- Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe ____
- Every kiss begins____
- America runs ____
- Like a good neighbor, ________
- ____ gives you wings.
- There are some things money can’t buy. For ___________
- Breakfast of Champions
- Betcha can’t eat just one.
- Don’t leave home without it.
- Diamonds are forever
Super memorable slogans, right? You can check your answers at the end of this page.
Categories of Company Taglines and Brand Slogans
While there are many kinds of taglines and catchy slogans, here are three of the most popular categories.
Call-to-Action
Call-to-action slogans and taglines revolve around a commanding verb and convey a bold, strong, and inspirational effect.
Nike’s iconic brand slogan, “Just do it” and Youtube’s “Broadcast Yourself” are great examples of a dynamic tone within their taglines.
If your brand is something completely new, you may want to wait on a call-to-action taglines until after your brand has been established. (Start with a tagline that is more of a descriptor of your company or product.)f
Explanatory Edge
When your name leaves a lot to the imagination, an “explanatory edge” or descriptive tagline or memorable slogan can be a great way to add more description to what you offer your customers. Good examples of concisely describing their company values and services are TOMS “One for One” tagline and Dollar Shave Club’s “Shave Time. Shave Money.” They both describe the key factor that differentiates them from the rest of their competitors.
Seal of Excellence
Using superlatives to describe your company and products does not come off as arrogant; it’s actually a great way to position your business as the best in its class. Like Disney’s “Happiest Place on Earth” and Budweiser’s “King of Beers,” when you describe the experience you will offer your customers as the best, they will be more inclined to see what the fuss is all about. Just be sure you can back up your claim.
Tag, you’re it!
Want your own catchy tagline or a list of company slogans?
Tagline Quiz Answers
- Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline
- Every kiss begins with Kay (Kay Jewelers)
- America runs on Dunkin‘. (Dunkin Donuts)
- Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
- Red Bull gives you wings.
- There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else there’s Mastercard.
- Breakfast of Champions (Wheaties)
- Betcha can’t eat just one. (Lay’s)
- Don’t leave home without it. (American Express)
- Diamonds are forever. (De Beers)