Tag

A tag or tagline is a short descriptive phrase used in public relations, advertising, and marketing to convey a key message. Tagline and slogan are terms that are often used interchangeably. Taglines are clever words, phrases, or sentences that appear at the end of an advertisement or other communication tool to summarize the message in a highly memorable way. If the tagline is repeated from advertisement to advertisement, it is generally called a slogan. The word slogan comes from the Gaelic expression for “battle cry,” and slogans and taglines are the battle cry for a company, nonprofit organization, and brand. Therefore, taglines can be attached to a profit-making institution, a nonprofit organization, or a particular brand that is produced by an organization.

In the case of a particular brand, taglines play an important part in branding strategies and become a unifying theme in a campaign, which is a series of ads or collateral under some kind of thematic umbrella. A tagline summarizes the promise of the brand or how the brand wants to be positioned in the marketplace. In the case of a tagline for an organization, it becomes incorporated into a corporate identification system, which consists of a tagline, a logo, and an organization's name. In either case, taglines sum up the theme for an organization's unique positioning in the market or a brand's benefits in a short, easily remembered message.

Effective taglines are short, simple, and memorable and differentiate the company or product from its competitors. They are designed to be repeated, provide quick and easy identification of the organization or product, create a lasting impression, and ensure continuity. Frequently, taglines appear at the end of an ad as the final phrase, but they are usually incorporated throughout the materials produced by the organization or brand.

To write an effective tagline, a clear understanding of the organization's or brand's mission, unique characteristics, and competitive differences is needed. Some well-known taglines include “Microsoft: Where do you want to go today?”; “Visa: It's everywhere you want to be”; “L'Oreal: Because I'm worth it”; “AT&T: Reach out and touch someone”; “Nike: Just do it”; “Bounty: The quicker pickerupper”; and “Yellow Pages: Let your fingers do the walking.”