Six Tips To Create a Killer Slogan

Think back to your youth. Maybe you watched a lot of cartoons on Saturday mornings as a kid, and remember some of the commercials that were shown over and over. Maybe one of the first things to pop into your head is that one from Coca Cola. You know, “Have A Coke And A Smile.” Or maybe this slogan from some old candy company: “Melts In Your Mouth, Not In Your Hands.”

As an adult, maybe you remember seeing commercials from American Express reminding you, “Don’t Leave Home Without It,” or De Beers’ “A Diamond Is Forever.” There are countless others that you no doubt would remember with a little nudging.

These sayings are slogans. You remember these slogans from the past because they are memorable phrases—usually short, catchy, maybe rhyming, and usually used as part of a marketing campaign. This means that you don’t just hear them once while watching TV and then never hear it again. These slogans were effective because when they were used, during the heyday of these ad campaigns, these slogans were everywhere. On TV, on the radio, in print publications, and they were repeated often.

There have been countless slogans used throughout the history of advertising that no one remembers. If a shoe company used the slogan, “Since 1902” would you remember it? What about if a restaurant used the slogan, “Proudly serving you the best”? Probably not, but unfortunately, these are the types of slogans that most businesses come up with.

There is somewhat of an art to creating a memorable slogan. This article explores 5 key things to keep in mind while you are trying to develop a good slogan for your business.

1) Develop a logo, and following that, a slogan.
If you are trying to change an existing slogan, then examine how well-known that slogan already is, and what steps you might need to take to re-brand yourself. But also remember that it is OK for you to change your slogan. Businesses change their slogans all the time. The scope and customer base of even a very successful business can change dramatically over five or 10 years, so don’t feel like your slogan is set in stone.

If you have already created some distinct graphics or a logo for your company but you haven’t extended that brand to a slogan, that can be an obvious starting point for you. If you don’t have a logo, create one, because unless you advertise solely on the radio, a slogan works in harmony with a logo to promote brand identity.

2) How do you want to brand your product or company?
What image are you trying to project? Are you interested in a playful, catchy, rhyming slogan that has a connotation of fun and easy living? Or are you trying to cultivate an image of corporate professionalism?

The more that you can refine how you want to be perceived, the closer you are to creating a slogan. Start by creating a list of adjectives that you feel describe your business effectively, and then narrow down the list to the most important three. Hopefully, you have a well-developed business plan and a clearly defined mission statement to draw from.

3) Sleep on it. Maybe a few times.
Regardless of whether you are trying to create the slogan for yourselves or for a client, even a great idea looks different in the morning. Allow yourself plenty of time to come up with alternatives, play with your ideas, research, brainstorm, and consult with others involved in the project or business.

Coming up with a slogan isn’t easy, and it does take some time and a measure of creativity that isn’t always possible to rush. Your final idea might be the first one you come up with, or it might take months.

4) Short and simple.
Your logo shouldn’t be something that people need time to “get.” It should be instantly understandable and immediately effective at conveying its message. In most instances you will have mere seconds in which to make an impression, so something like “quality in products and services from the crossroads of where customer service and reliability meet″ is dead in the water.

Aim for short, sweet, memorable, catchy, and simple. A (good) slogan should be no longer than one sentence, probably capped at 10 words (can you think of any slogan longer than 10?), and it should use easily recognizable language.

5) Memorable often equals rhyming, catchy, or funny.
This is one facet of marketing in which humor is a good thing. A popular local business near me is a brewpub theater, in which patrons can watch a movie while enjoying food such as burgers and sandwiches and pints of micro brewed beer. Their slogan is “Not Sneaking Beer Into Movies Since 2008!” I love this slogan as it points out something pretty universal to people who attend movies in theaters, which is the practice of trying to sneak in some type of refreshment.

It never fails to bring about a chuckle from patrons, and when a customer remembers your business with a smile, that’s a warm fuzzy feeling you can take to the bank.

The flipside if this is that something one person thinks is funny could be offensive or just plain dumb to the next person. Have some thoughtful people vet your potential slogan, to make sure you’re marketing up the right tree. If you can’t make it funny without being crass or groan-inducing, keep trying, or don’t try to be funny.

6) Be Honest.
It might be tempting to slap the slogan “World’s Greatest Pizza” on each of your delivery boxes, but that’s a pretty hefty claim to live up to. Make sure your business delivers what the slogan claims it can. A restaurant near me bills itself as “the best” in the state. While the food is good, the fact is that it is very much like every other restaurant serving that type of food anywhere in the country. There is nothing about this establishment’s menu to distinguish it as the best at anything, much less outside of the city limits.

Seeing this preposterous claim every time I drive by the restaurant hasn’t made me start believing that this restaurant truly is the best in the state. On the contrary, it has lowered the esteem I have for this restaurant because each experience I have there reinforces its mediocrity. So, avoid hyperbole. Not only is it commonly used, meaningless marketing jargon, but it can’t be substantiated and will often only serve to make you look desperate.

A slogan is an important part of your business branding, but it shouldn’t be as intimidating as writing a book. Luckily, there are some great examples of successful slogans to look at, so just start brainstorming and see where it leads you. Try and answer the question: What would your product say if it could talk?

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