Having a business slogan or tagline can lead to some bizarre benefits. Who’d have thought a slogan or tagline could make you taller?!
1. The Mohawk Principle: A slogan or tagline can make you taller
Unless you sell something rare and weird like ergonomic desks for newborns, you’re going to have stacks of competitors. I mean, stacks. Hundreds. Thousands. Maybe even trillions.
You and all your competitors will glob together into one unrecognisable mass. Or, maybe you’ll remain separate but all look the same, like a gaggle of Agent Smiths from The Matrix. See below, none of them stand out. Not even the slightly constipated one in the back left.
None of the Smiths stand out. One of them needs a tagline. Image: matrix.wikia.com
But, what if one of the Smiths had a rainbow-coloured mohawk?
You’d take notice, right? You’d probably even ask for his hairdresser’s details (and hope like crazy it’s not the same dude who works on Morpheus).
Well, a slogan is your Mohawk. It helps you stand out from the crowd. It helps you rise above the rest, literally and figuratively. It adds inches to your height and metres to your marketing.
It’s what I call The Mohawk Principle.
An example using The Mohawk Principle
Let’s imagine you’re scanning a printed or online directory listing for mechanics. There’s dozens of them. All their names are blending into one. John’s Mechanics. A1 Mechanics. Mechanics R Us.
Names, they’re just names. None of them appealing. None of them exciting.
But hang on. Who’s this? Mansfield Motors. Nothing unusual about the name. But wait, they have a tagline.
Our honesty. Our experience. Your safety.
This logo stands out from the crowd because of its tagline: Our honesty. Our experience. Your safety.
All of a sudden Mansfield Motors rises out of the page, standing taller than the rest. And here’s the thing, Mansfield Motors doesn’t just have any old tagline, they have a slogan that sells. Their slogan tells the world they have honest, experienced staff who help their customers to have a safer driving experience.
Next time you’re thinking about creating a slogan for your business, remember the Mohawk Principle, and just do it. Get taller. Grow business.
2. You’ll become a town planning Infrastructure Neuroscientist. (Whatever that means)
Having a catchy slogan or tagline is like owning your very own billboard in people’s minds; a priceless piece of lifelong advertising at the busy intersection of their very own information superhighway.
YOUR slogan could be positioned prominently amidst everyone’s hopes, dreams and deepest, darkest fears (think Hannibal Lecter and fava beans). How’s that for a smart bit of town planning? GO YOU!
Once in their minds, a slogan can encourage people to:
- Recognise your business and brand
- Remember you for future reference
- Reward you with their business when they’re ready to purchase
With a slogan or tagline, you can own your very own billboard in people’s minds; a priceless piece of lifelong advertising at the busy intersection of their very own information superhighway.
3. You’ll be a Trust Superhero
Don’t worry, as a Trust Superhero you don’t have to wear your undies outside your tights, but it’s helpful to at least wear undies, or at the very least a robust fig leaf.
When your business has a slogan, (even if your business is a startup), clients may perceive you to be professional and established, and as result, more trustworthy. Why? Slogans can inspire a perception of permanence. After all, the big companies Just do it and they’re Lovin’ it.
On the topic of trust, slogans can also actively contain trust-building information. For example: Making snake scarves for over 30 years. We’ll wrap your reptile.
4. You’ll be an expert at harnessing
When you have a business slogan, you harness every promotional opportunity possible. You become a harnessing expert. A rope master. A cord king. And other labels related to brilliance and twine.
Something sad
One of the things that makes me shake my head in sadness, aside from half-eaten Cadbury Twirls, is the wasted promotional opportunities when businesses don’t have a tagline.
Businesses pay to have their logo in lots of different places in order to provide valuable promotion. But sadly, they haven’t capitalised on the opportunity by including a sales-boosting slogan. Remember Mansfield Motors? The business name isn’t persuasive, but the slogan is.
Here are all the places I’ve seen fantastic logos without a slogan, which meant I either had absolutely no idea what the business sold, or I knew what they sold, but had no idea why I should care (= do business with them).
- On the side of cars
- On the side or front of buildings
- As sponsors in newsletters, newspapers, magazines, flyers and websites
- On the back of shopping dockets and parking tickets
- On banners at sporting and other events
- On stickers
- On products
I eat a lot of chocolate, so I see the below logo maybe five times a day.
This logo doesn’t have a tagline, so not sure why I should care about this brand? Image: utzcertified.org
It’s UTZ certified. So what? I have no idea what that means, so seeing the logo doesn’t compel me to buy chocolate that’s UTZ certified. However, seeing the below UTZ logo (with a slogan!) does. In four simple words it’s told me a compelling, sales-increasing story.
This logo has a tagline. They’ve now given me reason to care about the brand. Image: utzcertified.org
Every time I see a logo without a slogan, I see a missed opportunity. Professionally-designed logos tell a wonderful story, but a slogan can make that story a best seller.
There are many benefits
So there you have it, if you want to be a tall, mohawked harnessing expert who dabbles in neuroscience infrastructure while wearing undies, it’s probably time to get a sizzling business slogan or terrific tagline.
What are you thoughts on the benefits of taglines and slogans? Join the conversation on Facebook!
