How effective are marketing "tag lines"?

Alan Yarnoff, SCORE counselor and former advertising executive, looks at the importance of an effective tag line for your service or product.

“With all the effort small business owners and managers put into creating websites, online advertising, and newspaper and radio ads, they sometimes overlook the most important ad they need to create: the company’s or product’s tag line. A tag line is best defined as a short phrase that tells your audience what you offer in a memorable fashion and should never be taken as an after thought.

An effective tag line is the true first step and an integral part of brand building. No matter what your company does, your tag line creates a first and lasting impression to your projected target audience and should not be ignored.

Effective tag lines are terse, “Just do it;” they make a promise, “Bayer works wonders;” or they can suggest the risk of not using the product, “It’s gotta be clean, it’s gotta be Tide.”

To get you started, here are some tips on how you can create a winning tag line for your business. Start by defining the key factors of your product or service. What features are truly different and how do they translate into a real benefit for the customer. Once this is done, you need to translate the findings into an evocative and inspiring call to action.

First, keep it short - more than one line becomes tedious. Second, be descriptive - this can be difficult to do in a few words but it is very important. The tag line that describes the core benefit of the product and what truly sets it apart will be successful. Third, stay within the brand - the tag line must fit in and compliment your brand, not stand apart from it. Lastly, be relentless - the challenge of creating an effective tag line is not an easy task and will not come quickly. Use all your resources, give it time, and eventually you will find it.

We all know how difficult the current market situation is and we must do everything possible to build and maintain our customer base. No part of your promotional program can be over looked, especially something as important as an effective and meaningful tag line. So get to work today and devise the words that will define your business and create a memorable and lasting impression for your customers.

The Ask SCORE column needs a tag line. The winner’s name will appear in the first article that uses it. Send your ideas to my attention at info@scoreprinceton.org.

Richard Strug
Greater Princeton Area SCORE (Chapter 631)
Serving Mercer and Middlesex Counties