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Are Taglines Important? Why or Why Not?

A marketing rule of thumb applies to taglines.

This series revisits the basics of branding and marketing by answering questions marketers, entrepreneurs and small business owners face when growing their business. I hope this series provides you with knowledge to think smarter and a nudge to make stuff happen.

Are Taglines Important? Why or Why Not?

Think quick. What tagline does Starbucks use? How about the tagline for Whole Foods? Crest? Nordstrom? In-N-Out Burger? Listerene? Costco? Lululemon? ZARA? Williams-Sonoma? Big Lots? Pampers?

Either these brands don’t have one or you don’t remember it.

Taglines seem ancient in today’s world. It seems retail brands and packaged goods brands are doing a better job of differentiating themselves so taglines have, in many ways, become unnecessary.

However, many brands do little to differentiate themselves in how they do business. For those brands, a tagline can help bring forth some differentiation and a veil of uniqueness.

This brings me to a marketing rule of thumb:

The more undifferentiated a brand is, the more it needs a tagline.

The more distinctive a brand is, the less it needs a tagline.

REVISITING THE BASICS | archive

#01 | How Should a Brand be Defined?
#02 | What’s the Difference between Branding and Marketing?
#03 | Is there a Difference between a Company Name and a Brand Name?
#04 | Does every Brand need a Unique Selling Position?
#05 | Do Consumers Really Feel Emotional about Brands?
#06 | How should “Brand Personality” be Described?
#07 | Are Taglines Important? Why or Why Not?