How to Create a Slogan for Your Business

Have a favorite slogan? I bet you do, and you probably link it to a brand you know. 

World-famous slogans like Nike’s “Just Do It” and McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” might be the first ones that pop into your head. You probably recognize the tagline even if you don’t buy the brand’s product.

Instant recognition is one of the most obvious benefits of a motto. But a strong slogan can help you a whole lot more.

I’m talking about grabbing attention, increasing brand awareness, and improving brand loyalty. I could go on, but you get the picture.

That’s what makes a tagline so powerful, and that’s why you need one.

I bet that’s got you thinking, right? Now, you’re probably curious about how to create a slogan for your business. And that’s exactly what I’m talking about today.

Key Takeaways

• The value of a strong business slogan extends beyond being just a catchphrase. A good slogan can create brand recognition, grab attention, and increase brand awareness and loyalty. 
• A good business slogan is a rallying point for your brand and encapsulates everything you stand for and offer. 
• Slogans are crucial in inspiring engagement with your audience and leaving a lasting impression. 
• Your slogans should be short, catchy, and consistent with your other branding.
• Slogans are essential in summarizing what you do and for resonating with your audience.

Why Do You Need A Business Slogan?

A good business slogan is more than just a catchphrase. It’s a rallying point for your brand and ranks up there with your business name, logo, and web design. It envelops everything you stand for and everything you offer to the public. It also sums up what you do, inspires engagement with your audience, and sticks with them until they need your product or service.

These days, slogans are more important than ever as we are awash in visual and audio media, from TV and radio to the internet and digital media.

In many ways, it can bolster your brand marketing strategy. After all, a slogan can:

• Give you a memorable identity.
• Provide the foundation for a creative marketing campaign.
• Speak to values to rally around.
• Help position you and make a statement.
• Help customers remember you.

Finally, using great slogans as part of your consistent branding can also help boost revenue. What’s not to love?

Now, let’s discuss why a tagline matters so much.

What Makes A Business Slogan Effective?

There are a few features that come together to make the best slogans. Here are four qualities every tagline should have.

The first secret of how to write a catchy slogan is simplicity: Avoid being too smart or abstract. The key is to make it easy to understand and recognizable by using clear, straightforward language. Cover Girl’s “Easy, Breezy, Beautiful” is a great example.

Next, it should be catchy. The best slogans capture attention and stick in people’s minds. They might use wordplay, rhymes, or repetition, like Snickers’ “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”

Of course, it has to be memorable and descriptive, too. Think Skittles “Taste the Rainbow.”

Finally, a dose of creativity is crucial. Creativity helps businesses stand out and makes a lasting impression on consumers. Take “Maybe it’s Maybelline, or Maybe she’s born with it,” for instance.

And in case you’re interested in what consumers say, well, there are some conflicting opinions out there. According to recent research from Bayes Business School, people prefer short slogans without brand names and with commonly used words.

Consumers aren’t so keen on long slogans, taglines that feature brand words, and slogans that include unusual words. But here’s the kicker: they’re more likely to remember them.

A Good Business Slogan In Action

Let’s revisit Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan. The simple tagline makes Nike instantly recognizable and has helped position it as the top sports apparel brand. 

Seriously, if you want to know how to come up with a killer business slogan, you can take a leaf out of Nike’s book.

The short motto has all the qualities of a great slogan (creative, simple, catchy, and memorable). It’s also versatile, working just as well in different advertising formats.

But it goes to a deeper level than that: It inspires.

The message is motivational and empowering, connecting with consumers regardless of their backgrounds.

Nike’s been using the same slogan for over thirty years now.

And they keep it fresh and relevant by working with well-known personalities and influencers, like former soccer player Megan Rapinoe.

How To Create A Business Slogan

It’s a tall order to create a simple slogan that hits it out of the park. While it’s tricky, it doesn’t have to be impossible. In the next section, we’ll talk you through how to come up with a slogan in simple steps.

Consider What Makes Your Brand Special

Before creating a business slogan, you have to think about what your business is offering the world and what makes your brand special. A couple of things to ask include:

What values is your company built on? Is it innovation, integrity, or social responsibility?

And what do you stand for? Ethics are a big deal for consumers these days, and they build trust.

Here are a couple of tips to get those creative juices flowing:

Start by nailing down your unique value proposition (UVP): Your UVP matters because it shows your product’s unique benefits and the value it offers customers. Get inside your audience’s head (use a customer persona for this), understand their needs, and tailor your brand or offering specifically to them. 

Using a solid brand story: Match your story with eye-catching visuals, create a killer brand identity, and develop brand recognition. Just look at National Geographic’s marketing, which focuses on exploration, adventure, and conservation, backed up with stunning images.

A few places you can look for inspiration include your:

• mission statement
• vision and values statements
• company history
• target market and their values
• brand assets like infographics, webinars, or e-books.

Determine Your Goals

Every marketing plan should start with your sales goals. By setting out what you want to achieve and outlining your future plans, it becomes much easier to write a strategy that will get you where you want to be.

You should also keep your customers’ needs in focus. What do they want? And how can you create a product/service that works for them and aligns with your sales goals?. 

Keep your guiding principles at the forefront and let them drive your journey toward your slogan. It’s critical to stay on-brand as you create your slogan.

Think about what you need this business slogan to do for your brand:

• What do you want people to know about your brand?
• What products or services should be the focus?
• What values and visions do you want to communicate?
• What solution does your company deliver?

Let those answers guide you when figuring out how to make a good slogan.

Start Writing

You can hire an outsourced marketing consultant to write your tagline. However, if you keep it in-house and write it yourself, you’ll want to understand how to create a slogan for your business according to best practices.

Here are some tips:

• Have a brainstorm. Use the steps we’ve detailed so far to start generating ideas. They don’t need to be great or even good; just keep going, and something will soon jump out at you.
• Narrow down your best ones and see if there’s room for improvement.
• Ensure you write a slogan suitable for a wide range of marketing materials/platforms.
• Remember, your tagline needs to be memorable. When you step away from your computer, which ones stay with you?
• Ensure you reflect your brand’s personality in your slogan. If you’re a company appealing to younger adults, you might want something playful, for example.
• Keep it short and snappy.

Finally, always consider your audience and make your tagline benefit-driven and consistent with other branding.

Make It Timeless

Slogans need to stand the test of time. You want people to associate your brand name with your business slogan, which means it has to stick around for a long time so they can hear it many times.

This means avoiding anything too contemporary or trendy. Some things to avoid could include:

• playing off a popular series or song title
• building off a political campaign slogan
• reflecting a current pop culture reference
• using “new” slang

To create a timeless business slogan, use words and phrases that are universally understood, at least by most speakers of your language.

Try to keep it shorter and avoid any complex phrases or words.

Keep it simple and straightforward to help make sure it stands the test of time.

Appeal To Your Audience

As with everything in marketing, you need to consider your target market when creating a slogan for your business.

How do they talk? Are you using language and syntax that is natural to your audience?

If your target market uses a particular register of English, you can lean into utilizing that language style. Remember what we talked about above, though.This is what McDonald’s did. Are you thinking of the jingle, too? 

You don’t need to stylize your business slogan to match a certain trendy or slangy way of talking, but you can ensure you use language your target market can relate to.

Another aspect to keep in mind as you shape your slogan is what is important to your target audience. What do they want from your brand or your competition? What’s important to them?

Consider what they are getting from your brand, but dig a little deeper. What are their aspirations? What do they envision their life to be with your brand?

Speak to those needs rather than just your benefits.

Pare Down Your Ideas

Now, it’s time to start whittling down your business slogan ideas. Don’t be afraid to be a bit brutal. It can be hard to nix your favorites but use the ideas above to weed out slogans that don’t work.

Which ones are too trendy or contemporary? Let them go.

Which ones are too much about your brand and not enough about your target audience? Remove them.

How’s your list looking now? Do you still have too many ideas? If your list is still too long, here are a few more filters to take out the ones that won’t work as well.

• Which ones are too long?
• Which ones aren’t very memorable?
• Which ones sound too much like someone else’s?
• Which ones do you just not love?

Pare them down to a few that really work. It’s okay to still have a few great ones. How do you decide what to do next? Let’s look at the last step.

A/B Test Your Top Ideas

Do you still have two ideas left to consider? If you aren’t sure which is “the one,” it’s time for an A/B test. This involves comparing different versions of your slogan to determine which performs better.

How do you do that? Start by asking friends, colleagues, or business associates. You might also consider using a focus group. There are also numerous A/B testing tools available, including Optimizely, VWO, and Adobe Target.

Whichever path you choose, present each slogan in the same format. For example:

• Create a branded logo with each of your slogan ideas.
• Design a newsletter header with each slogan idea.
• Record a demo commercial with the slogan ideas at the end.

Now, share with your audience. Which one do they respond best to? Is there a clear winner?

If not, consider the feedback they share. Think about the criteria listed above. Did one not appeal to them? Was one less timeless? Or was it too confusing? Keep in mind that simple is usually best. You can also use A/B testing in paid ads to see which slogan draws in the most traffic or sales.

FAQs

What makes a good slogan?

It’s short, memorable, and speaks to the target audience. Ideally, it should be timeless so it can be used for years to come.

What is a slogan example?

McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle is an example of a catchy slogan.

What are good slogans?

Burger King’s “Have It Your Way” stood the test of time by speaking to the burgers and an aspiration. In-N-Out’s “Quality You Can Taste” slogan is simple and holds up over time.

How do you create the perfect business slogan?

Start with your own business goals in mind, then think about your target audience and what’s important to them.

Conclusion

When it comes to setting yourself apart in the market, branding is crucial. Every component needs to speak to a common goal of who you are and what you’re about, from your visuals to your voice.
More importantly, they need to speak to what your target market is looking for. Your slogan is another piece of this puzzle, giving your marketing collateral and campaign another element to work with. Get creative, stay on course, and create the perfect business slogan for your brand.