Can a logo slogan be memorable? Just check these following examples:
“Just Do It”
“What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas”
“Because You’re Worth it.”
You’re probably already familiar with these logo slogans. Maybe you instantly recognize the brand when you hear them, or you refer them to your friends and family. That’s the power of slogans and the impact they have on branding.
Slogans stick to your mind and quickly become an essential feature of your brand. Some spread like wildfires, while others aren’t as successful. But what makes a catchy and memorable slogan? And why is it such an effective way to market your brand? In this article, we’ll tell you all about logo slogans and how to use them!
Table of Contents
What is a Logo Slogan?
A logo slogan, also known as a tagline, communicates the message of your brand through a catchy phrase.
The best slogan’s purpose is to catch the eye of your audience and to make them remember your mission and your brand. As a bonus, a slogan helps to spread the word about you and your products or services and significantly increases the recognition you earn.
Slogans can have multiple purposes. Some describe the company and its products, and others evoke emotions in your audience by saying a snappy phrase. Some businesses use a slogan as an opportunity to explain their products, just think of M&M’s catchphrase “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.”
On the other hand, Coca Cola evokes emotions with its slogan “Open Happiness.” They tell you how you will feel when you consume their product.
Different companies use taglines for various purposes. Walgreens changed its slogan from an emotional one to a slogan that promotes their credibility: “Trusted since 1901.” It makes the company look reliable, steady, and dependable.
Whichever way you choose to use your slogan, in the end, it’s about sending a message to your audience. You want them to pick your brand over others.
How to Use a Logo Slogan Correctly
When you use your tagline the correct way, you have immense power to boost your marketing strategy. We’ve collected a few tips to help you create the perfect slogan:
Describe your product
For a lot of companies, their motto is a way to describe their products and services. This manner is especially popular with new companies as they don’t have any recognition yet. These are often start-ups and smaller businesses.
Think of a family-owned restaurant. They would benefit greatly from a tagline like “homemade Eastern dishes.” Using this slogan, they explain what they offer, which is, in their case, more effective than a vague and emotional tagline
Evoke emotion
Subway has a great motto: “Eat Fresh.” It’s emotive since it appeals to healthy and fresh food, but it’s also descriptive as it describes what this brand has to offer.
Some other slogans are mainly emotive. Think of LG’s “Life’s Good.” It evokes the thought that using their products improves your standard of living, happiness, and a good life. This way, a significant corporation suddenly seems a lot friendlier and accessible.
When you look at the classic catchphrase from L’Oréal Paris, “Because You’re Worth it,” it evokes another powerful emotion which directs itself mainly at women. It implies that women using their products are worthy of treating themselves to beauty products, and it’s empowering too.
Stay Snappy
A good slogan is one you remember. It has to have a ring and flow. Taglines like these often are about four to five words, nothing more. Short logo slogans like KFC’s “Finger-Lickin’ Good,” are concise, but also memorable.
Other snappy taglines are memorable due to their repetition, wordplay, or rhymes.
“Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline” combines two snappy characteristics. First of all, it repeats the word “maybe” throughout their motto. It also emphasizes the brand’s name by using the word “maybe.”
Bounty’s slogan, on the other hand, combines rhyme and playful language to stand out from the crowd with their motto “The Quicker Picker Upper’.” Dollar Shave Club’s “Shave Time. Shave Money” uses puns and repetition to explain what they offer while also explaining the money-saving benefits using their product invokes.
Pair the right fonts
It isn’t all about creating a catchy slogan; it’s also about its representation. To distinguish between your logo and your catchphrase, you will want to use different fonts. However, not all fonts go equally well with each other. Clashing or cluttering fonts will make your logo seem messy, making it difficult to read.
When you learn how to pair fonts, you have to follow the golden rule of putting contrasting fonts together. Start by combining a serif with a sans serif font. Do you notice the difference? You can also choose to mix up their sizes, weights, and typefaces to establish a clear hierarchy between your company name and your motto. For more information, please check out our article on font pairing.
What not to do when creating a slogan
Now you’ve read about the dos of building a logo slogan. Here are some things you should avoid:
Long and wordy taglines
Big slogans are a no-go. First of all, an overly descriptive motto isn’t even a motto anymore; it’s merely a description. Secondly, there is no way to fit such a long slogan just about anywhere. It won’t fit underneath your logo, and it won’t fit in your website design, either.
Try to keep your catchphrase as concise as possible. Use keywords and replace the passive voice for an active voice. Look for words you can remove or replace and try to keep it within five words.
No purpose at all
Slogans may be useful, but there isn’t anything to gain from creating one just to have a tagline.
You want your slogan to have a purpose. A meaningless sentence won’t have any positive effects on your company, and it will be useless too. You want to entice your audience, not to repel them.
The slogan “Enjoy Better” by Time Warner Cable is an example of a meaningless catchphrase. It doesn’t describe the company, it’s not snappy, and it doesn’t make any sense either. What are we supposed to enjoy? What’s better? Better than what?
Do I have to use a slogan?
The short answer is no. You do not need to have a tagline, especially if you already have an established and popular company. Google and Starbucks have made it quite far without any motto at all. Some people simply don’t have the time to create a catchphrase, and that’s okay!
However, you can generate the right amount of traffic from just a catchy tagline. You can also create a memorable slogan without adding it to your logo design as you can still benefit from it on your website, social media, or business cards.
Conclusion
If you do decide to use a logo slogan, keep in mind that it has to follow a few simple rules. It needs to have a purpose, and it needs to be snappy or catchy. It also can’t be too long.
When you’ve chosen the right slogan for your company, it’s time to add it to your brand. Start by adding it to your website and marketing material. You can also use it at the end of your email signature. Then, you can embed it into your logo design. That way, you will appeal to an even bigger audience and become more memorable.
