Key Takeaways
- You knew every brand in that quiz from three words or less, which tells you everything about what a great slogan can do.
- A logo and slogan that feel built for each other are worth more than either one on its own.
- Rhyming slogans lodge themselves in people’s memory without any effort on their part, which is exactly the goal.
- Every word that is not doing anything should be cut, four words done well beats ten words every single time.
- Saying you’re the best without actually proving it, honestly doesn’t impress anyone. You just end up sounding like everyone else, you know?
- A line that makes you think or feels a little weird usually works way better. Way better than just some boring fact.
- The slogans that feel super easy and chill? Those probably took the longest to write… it’s crazy how that works.
Let’s play a small quiz and see if you can recall these famous brands
– I’m lovin it
– Think different
– Just Do It
– American by birth. Rebel by choice
– Save money. Live better
Yeah, yeah till now you must have identified almost all the brands, starting from McDonalds followed by Apple, Nike, Harley Davidson and Walmart.
What made you instantly remember these brands? Evidently, it is the killer slogans, used to promote these companies. Whether it is a motor company or a fast food joint, you can simply remember the product even if you are not an admirer of it, this is the power of a powerful catchphrase.
Slogan is an effective and a great marketing tool that highlights the core essence of the brand.
The main goal of any slogan is to grab attention of the customers and make them believe that they are using the right product or dealing with a perfect company.
A slogan should convey the purpose of your business. Even if you make an effective slogan that suits your brand, it won’t work in your favor until and unless it is easy to memorize or striking to remember. Make a slogan that easily melts in the mouth of the public.
Confused, how to write an effective + catchy catchphrase for your budding business?
Don’t worry here are few tricks that would help you to come up with a killer slogan for your startup:
Logo comes first:
Does your product or company have a logo?
No, then first plan up for a logo so that you can combine it with a suitable slogan. When you look at the logo of Nike with a ‘correct’ or Tick sign, you instantly match it up with its slogan, Just do it, which complements the logo. Similarly LG’s slogan Life’s Good is often confused to be the full form of the acronym LG but it is the bacronym which means a slogan or a catchphrase that fits the existing word (LG).
Basically LG stands for Lucky and Goldstar. Logo plays an important role in branding and this can be used as one of the tools to come up with an exceptional slogan for your product.
Mingle your product with jingle:
‘Do you… Yahoo!?’ – Yahoo!, ‘Once you pop, you can’t stop’ – Pringles
Doesn’t this rhyming slogans seems catchy? Even if the slogan is of three to four words, it should be pleasing when you read or hear, hence rhythmic slogans or jingles are memorable and famous type of slogans. According to a study, rhyming words easily get stored in your minds. Jingles can be effective to kick-start your business or for launching a new product.
Short and sweet:
‘Connecting people’, ‘Think small’, ‘There is no substitute’
The slogans above are of two to four words they are effective and conveniently convey the purpose of their brand. Long slogans are puzzling and are forgettable. When you go for short slogans, make it powerful and convincing. For eg. Connecting people, slogan of popular mobile brand-Nokia, doesn’t even need explanation it easily expresses the message of the brand.
Honesty is the best policy:
Can your company actually deliver what it claims for?
In business, it is very important to be honest to your customers, if you are asserting something through your slogan make sure it’s an honest thought. Just by claiming to be the No. 1 brand, or World’s best product, does not mean the customers are fool to believe you. If Wikipedia states to be The Free Encyclopedia, it lives up to its catchphrase,
Philips was one of the prominent electronic companies to bring innovation and change in the world of electronic technology hence its tagline, Let’s Make Things Better was just apt for branding.
Opposites attract:
‘To be or not to be’, ‘Believe it or not!’ , ‘Let you fingers do the walking’
Such kind of phrases with opposite, reversal words or paradox situations often creates an excitement and inquisitiveness among the public and encourage them to explore the brand or know the company in a better way.
These are the five magical techniques which you can use to make an unsurpassed slogan for your company or product. You never know, even your company may get recognized throughout the globe due to your catchy slogan.
FAQs
Q: Why do some slogans stick while others just disappear?
The ones that stick around are usually super short, honest, and just feel like they belong. Like “Just Do It” – nobody ever had to explain it because Nike and those words became the same thing in everyone’s heads over time. That kind of fit doesn’t happen by accident, it takes a ton of real thought about what the brand actually stands for, you know?
Q: How short should a slogan even be?
Short enough that you could say it mid sentence without losing your breath. Honestly, two to four words is where the magic happens. Nokia said everything they needed to say with “Connecting People” and left it at that just kept it really tight.
Q: Does a slogan need to rhyme?
No but it helps more than most people realise. Research backs this up, rhyming phrases are stored and recalled more easily than ones without rhythm. “Once you pop, you can’t stop” has been stuck in people’s heads for decades and the rhyme is a big reason why.
Q: Should I have my logo sorted before writing a slogan?
yes. The strongest brand identities have a logo and slogan that point at the same idea from two different directions. Nike’s tick and “Just Do It” are inseparable in people’s minds because they reinforce each other. Writing a slogan without knowing what the logo looks like means you are working with half the picture.
Q: Is it okay to call my business the best in my slogan?
Only if you can prove it the moment someone walks through the door or visits your website. Hollow claims like “world’s best” wash over people because every other business is saying the same thing. Wikipedia works as “The Free Encyclopedia” because opening it confirms that claim instantly.
Q: What is a bacronym and how do I use it?
It is a phrase built to fit an existing word or set of initials. LG’s “Life’s Good” is the example people always come back to because it makes two letters feel like they were chosen with intention. If your business name or initials open up something like that, it is worth spending time with because it creates a very natural connection between the name and the message.
Q: Why do slogans with contradictions or opposites tend to work so well?
Because tension creates curiosity. When two ideas that seem to pull in different directions end up in the same line, people instinctively want to understand how they fit together. That moment of engagement is what makes them pay attention to the brand in the first place.
Q: Can the right slogan genuinely make a difference for a small business
It really can. A phrase that people repeat casually is advertising you never have to pay for again. Some of the most recognisable companies in the world built enormous brand value on a single line that connected with people at exactly the right moment. There is no reason a small business cannot do the same thing.
