How to craft a memorable tagline for your business

Key takeaways

• A tagline for your business is a memorable catchphrase that remains a permanent part of your branding and only changes if you rebrand
• Great taglines drive brand awareness, especially when they’re catchy, witty, or fun
• Identify what makes your business uniquely valuable to create a tagline that differentiates your brand

Odds are, you still remember taglines from your childhood—from the California Milk Processor Board’s “Got milk?” to Nike’s “Just do it.” These taglines are more than just catchy phrases. The best taglines withstand the test of time and connect us to brands for decades. 

While your small business may still be growing, a great tagline can help you establish trust and recognition with customers for years to come. Here’s what you need to know about crafting a tagline for your business, along with eight famous tagline examples for inspiration.

What is a tagline?

A tagline is a memorable catchphrase that represents your brand and captures the spirit of your small business branding. It should also deliver a clear value proposition, or the reason customers choose your business over the competition. 

While taglines are similar to slogans, there are a few key differences. Slogans are specific to a product, service, or marketing campaign, like Coca-Cola’s “Taste the feeling” or M&M’s “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.” 

Taglines, on the other hand, are a permanent aspect of your brand. They represent your company’s mission statement, purpose, and values. This is why taglines are often displayed prominently—next to business names and company logos, as well as on product packaging and website headers. 

Why are taglines important?

Great taglines make brands memorable. Your visual branding may capture a customer’s eye, but taglines engage your target audience on an emotional level by providing a statement they can connect with and remember. 

A tagline can also communicate your values and attract people who align with your beliefs. This is increasingly important, as research shows customers are four times more likely to spend money with purpose-driven brands. 

Catchy, fun, or witty taglines can also convey your brand personality, helping to differentiate your business from competitors. Ultimately, a memorable tagline is key to driving brand awareness in your target market, or the ability of consumers to recall a business. 

How to craft a catchy tagline 

You don’t need to be a professional marketer to craft a catchy tagline for your business. A great tagline is simple and easy to remember. If you want to save money by creating one yourself, use these tips to get started:

• Identify your unique selling proposition: Your unique selling proposition (USP)—or the one thing that sets your business apart from competitors—is an important part of your business tagline. If you don’t know your USP, start the brainstorming process with market research to determine what your competitors do best and what you can do better.
• Cater to your target audience: Make sure your tagline aligns with your audience’s values to boost their emotional connection with your brand.
• Simplify your tagline: Keep your tagline brief. In fact, taglines are usually shorter than advertising slogans since this keeps them adaptable as marketing strategies change. The most famous taglines are no more than five words long.
• Weave in your brand personality: Give your tagline some extra oomph by infusing it with your brand personality (the human characteristics of your brand). This will help shoppers connect your tagline back to your company.

8 famous tagline examples

There’s no set template for writing a good tagline for business. However, you can take a look at these famous tagline examples to understand what kinds of phrases consumers relate to and why.

1. Dunkin’

“America runs on Dunkin’.”

Since the mid-2000s, this catchphrase has helped Dunkin’ position its products as fuel for busy Americans. It speaks to its audience’s shared American culture, which often values productivity and convenience.

This tagline example also shows how great taglines can be timeless. Even as Dunkin’ Donuts dropped “Donuts” from its brand name to focus more on selling beverages, its tagline remained relevant.

2. Apple

“Think different.”

Apple caters its brand to creatives and consumers who seek premium experiences. The message within its brief but effective tagline speaks to the values of this target audience. It puts the tech company’s dedication to innovation on display, helping Apple present itself as a cutting-edge brand.

3. Maybelline

“Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.”

This tagline uses a play on words to form a catchphrase that’s easy to remember. While it’s longer than most taglines, it’s still highly adaptable. Maybelline’s tagline is easy to identify, even if it’s shortened to either sentence.

Although Maybelline New York retired this tagline in 2016 in a rebrand focused on empowering women, this iconic phrase had a strong run for well over three decades.

4. De Beers

“A diamond is forever.”

While De Beers originally created this catchy slogan for a 1940s ad campaign, it’s become so iconic that the diamond company has used it as a tagline ever since. This phrase showcases the value De Beers provides: everlasting symbols of commitment, family bonds, and cherished memories.

5. McDonald’s

“I’m lovin’ it.”

Crafted in 2003, this McDonald’s catchphrase is a highly successful tagline that’s recognized by people all around the world. It perfectly reflects the fast-food joint’s mission—”to make delicious feel-good moments for everyone”—by highlighting the company’s ability to create great experiences.

McDonald’s made its tagline even more memorable by turning it into a jingle. This can be a great strategy for cementing your branding when you’re running video ads on social media, YouTube, and other platforms.

6. Lay’s

“Betcha can’t eat just one.”

Lay’s is a snack brand that’s well-known around the world for its potato chips. However, Lay’s doesn’t state this value proposition outright in its tagline. To make its business tagline more interesting and memorable, Lay’s uses a playful tone, which aligns with the personality behind the tagline of its parent brand, Frito-Lay: “Food for the fun of it!”

7. L’Oréal Paris

“Because you’re worth it.”

By embracing the timeless values of gender equality and women empowerment, L’Oréal Paris crafted a tagline that continues to be relevant today, over 50 years since its introduction. It does an effective job of matching L’Oréal’s long-term, confidence-boosting mission.

This example shows how a tagline can differentiate your brand. In the 1970s, when many makeup company slogans and taglines still objectified women, L’Oréal stood out by lifting up and unifying its target customers.

8. KFC

“It’s finger lickin’ good.”

Created back in the 1950s, KFC has been using its iconic tagline for most of the company’s existence. Its fun, catchy wording captures customers’ attention while highlighting a clear benefit of purchasing from KFC: tasty products.

Uniquely, KFC’s tagline also doubles as a slogan. While it delivers a broad brand promise, its catchphrase can also be viewed as a message about the value of a specific product: fried chicken.

Create a memorable business tagline

Writing a tagline for business is a simple step you can take to build brand awareness and boost the longevity of your brand. With a brief tagline that reflects your company and its unique selling proposition, you can stand out to your target audience and generate more leads.

If you’re thinking about writing a slogan once your tagline is complete, read our guide on slogan ideas, tips, and examples. You’ll find inspiration ranging from BMW’s “the ultimate driving machine” to Bounty’s “the quicker picker upper.”