People often ask me how I discovered that out of all of the things in the world that I could have chosen to do professionally, what was a determining factor that led to me choosing to become a marketing professional? As simple as that question may sound to you at the moment, it’s not quite as easy to answer as you may think.
The truth of the matter is that I always had an affinity for the practice of marketing. Even long before I would go on to know just what all of the elements of marketing actually comprised.
If I had to actually pinpoint an epiphanic moment when I realized that I had an intense passion for marketing, it would probably be during one of the many spirited debates I had during my freshman year of college in my business classes pertaining how to market a brand.
And one of my most favorite topics during those open debates consisted of the effectiveness of brand slogans.
Do all successful brands use slogans?
Imagine if for a million dollars—someone were to ask you to state the brand slogans for Apple, McDonald’s, and Nike without Googling them, would you be able to do it? I believe that within minutes or maybe even seconds—that million bucks would be all yours.
Now, what if someone were to extend that same offer to you, but instead of asking you to name the above-mentioned brand slogans, they simply asked you to state the slogan for Polo Ralph Lauren. Would you be able to state it off the top of your head? I knew you wouldn’t be able to (and neither would I).
The reason for that is because unlike Apple, whose slogan is Think Different. And unlike McDonald's, whose slogan is I'm Lovin' It. And unlike Nike, whose slogan is obviously, Just Do It; Polo Ralph Lauren doesn’t have a brand slogan. Well, at least not one that they heavily promote.
So no, all successful brands do not use a brand slogan. Or even have a brand slogan for that matter.
Would a slogan help or hurt your brand?
Whether it was having lively debates in class with my fellow classmates and professors back in college regarding the effectiveness of a great brand slogan, or discussing the need for a brand slogan with the founders and CEOs of our startup clients today, the reason why I am such a huge proponent for brand slogans is because they do what every facet of marketing is designed to do—help bring consumers closer to your brand.
However, I must now confess that contrary to beliefs that I once held, not all brands require a slogan. In fact, for some brands (not the majority), having a popular a brand slogan (no matter how great it is) could actually have a negative impact on the way that consumers will perceive your brand.
How to know if your startup should use a brand slogan or not
For the vast majority of brands, brand slogans are a great mnemonic device that’ll help your audience keep your brand in mind. However, we've discovered that for brands that aspire to be perceived as luxury or high-end, having and using a brand slogan more often than not—would have more of a negative effect on the overall image of your brand than a positive one.
Nonetheless, most brands do not aspire to be perceived as luxury or high-end.
Therefore, as long as one of your brand’s primary objectives doesn’t consist of being perceived by consumers as being luxury or high-end—using a brand slogan is absolutely something that you should consider. As it would help your brand become more memorable and appealing to its audience.
Final thoughts
There’s a reason why so many of the most successful brands in the world use brand slogans—it's because they are extremely effective! If you’d like to learn how to create a great brand slogan for your startup, here are 3 simple ways to do so.
And if you’d like for our team to create a killer brand slogan for your startup that’ll appeal to your audience and bring more consumers closer to your brand, email us today and we’ll schedule a complimentary client call with you to discuss just how your startup could become the next Decryption client.
Comments