Think different. Every kiss begins with Kay. You’re in good hands with Allstate. The fabric of our lives. The quicker picker-upper. Inspiration comes standard. Play. Laugh. Grow. Good to the last drop. They’re g-r-r-r-eat! Must see TV. Eat fresh. The champagne of bottled beer. Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.
These are taglines for some of America’s most well known companies. A tagline (as defined by Wikipedia) is a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product, or to reinforce the audience’s memory of a product. As you look back over that list, which ones ring true? Some, sure. But not all. Why? Because today’s taglines often don’t do a very good job of “summing up the premise of a brand.” I mean, “The champagne of bottled beer”? Really?
So what’s yours? Maybe it’s something you directly promote to customers and clients, or maybe it’s not. It might just be a commitment to exceed expectations or create value.
What’s the most important idea you want to reinforce in your audience’s memory? Do you mean it? And do you follow through?
It’s a big deal, because it speaks volumes about your mission, beliefs, and brand. And at its core, it’s a promise about what you deliver.
If you aren’t living up to your tagline, spoken or unspoken, do something about it. Make a change. Whether that means you need to change your actions, change your promise, change your audience, or change something entirely different, I don’t know. What I do know is that customers decide the success of your brand, and your company decides the honesty of the tagline. So make promises.
