Distinctive texts for distinctive brands

You have the brand name. You know what you want to communicate to the target audience. What’s next? How do you ensure that your brand sticks well with the public, becoming both recognizable and memorable? In addition to strong visual framing through an appealing visual language and a powerful logo, you can achieve this through using appropriate strategic texts like a pay-off, tagline, and a campaign slogan.

Unfortunately, these terms are still often used interchangeably, making the distinction between them unclear at times. In this blog, we solve this issue and provide you with concrete tips for developing good strategic slogans for your brand. Slogans that help your brand stand out from the competition and simultaneously build a deeper emotional connection with your target audience.

Pay-off

Why you do what you do

Brand pay-offs are chosen while focussing on the long term. With just a few words, you try to summarize the brand essence, the promise you’re making to your audience, the distinctive advantage you offer, and express the 'why' of the brand, not the 'what' or 'how'.

A pay-off is short, powerful, preferably taps into an emotion or desire, and is crafted to be memorable. A strong pay-off makes your audience curious, challenges them to take action, or even makes them laugh with a touch of strategic humor. Over time, you will strengthen your brand identity and increase brand awareness.

Checklist
Pay-off

short! Aim for 3 to 5 words.
linked to the brand promise. To your brand’s 'why'.
easy to remember. Ensure the pay-off has an audible rhythm. Or opt for an alliteration.
positively framed. This evokes positive emotions in your audience, automatically associating the brand more positively.

activating. Try to include a verb in the pay-off to prompt the audience to take immediate action. Not necessary, but it helps!
Consumer-centric. Communicate in the interest of your target audience, not that of the brand itself. So, don't just proclaim that you are the best. Ensure the best for the target audience. That is relevant!

Tagline

What it is that you do

A tagline is more substantive and specific than a pay-off. Especially when the brand name doesn't immediately convey what you do, a tagline can help. With a tagline, you clearly and concisely convey what the target audience can expect from your brand in terms of services/products. It explains the brand's activities. Overall, a tagline is simple and unambiguous. Too much creativity can be penalized.

You place a tagline in various locations, both online and offline. Your tagline should be prominently displayed on the website so that visitors know what to expect. It's also common to display the brand logo/name with or without the tagline. It serves as an explanatory note. If you feel the need to further explain what the brand does in your communication and it's not already clear in the message, place the tagline next to/under the logo.

Checklist
Tagline

clear. Don't beat around the bush; tell exactly what you do. It's about the 'what,' not the 'why' or 'how.'
short! Aim for a tagline of 3 to 5 words.

descriptive. Use words that indicate the industry the brand is in or the services/products it offers.

Campagneslogan

De aandachttrekker

The shelf life of a campaign slogan is much shorter than that of a pay-off and tagline. The term itself says it all: 'campaign' slogan. It's a slogan that should bring your (one-time) action or product launch to the attention of the target audience. Although a slogan is temporary, invest enough time and attention because if your slogan catches on, you might use it for a follow-up campaign.

A good campaign slogan should grab the attention of the target audience, be easily remembered, and above all, provoke. With the slogan, you communicate the main message of the campaign.

Checklist
Campagneslogan

appealing. Written in the right tone of voice, the tone your target audience prefers.
memorable! If the slogan catches on, you can use it repeatedly.
provocative. The target audience should feel something, actively think about something.

activating. With each campaign, you aim to get something done by the target audience, like visiting the website, visiting your store, or contacting you. Use words that playfully indicate what you expect from the target audience. Note: in the call to action, be very concrete and clear.

Need help?
In fishing for strategic hooks

Determining the pay-off and tagline is part of a good brand positioning. If you know what you want to tell the target audience, it can be challenging to summarize the brand promise and what you offer in a nutshell. We're here to help.

If you've already identified the 'strategic hooks' for your brand but now want to run a campaign, we're happy to brainstorm on an impactful campaign concept with you!

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