A catchy slogan is highly desired in marketing for one major reason–It serves as a catalyst that initiates a positive association between a person and a company’s brand on a neurological level. A successful tagline takes advantage of echoic memory (auditory memory), which it uses to generate an associative memory in a person’s mind. This then triggers a memory of a brand with the sound of the slogan.
All good slogans have a few things in common: They are short, creative, memorable and meaningful. When creating one, remember these attributes.
Keep it short and sweet. Make every word count–resist the temptation to over-complicate it. Trying to use too many words only dilutes your message with unnecessary verbiage.
Be original. Steer clear of any word combinations that are similar to someone else’s slogan. The last thing you want is for your tagline to trigger a memory of a different company. IMAX’s “Think big” and Apple’s “Think different” are very similar to one another, increasing the chance of confusion.
Make it memorable. A slogan should stick in your mind like verbal glue. One technique is to use a play on words. Cannon’s “See what we mean?” slogan connects seeing a photograph with how great their cameras are.
Convey the right message. Don’t confuse being “clever” with being “original.” It’s easy to get so caught up in trying to be creative that your tagline no longer represents your company’s purpose. Many companies have attempted to make their slogans too clever and the result is vague, cryptic or so far off target that it conveys the wrong message altogether. A confusing or meaningless slogan loses some of its value to your audience, because what they don’t understand they won’t remember.