I love branding mistakes, especially if they are intentional and serve some official capacity. Like in Gas, where the tagline is, "Don't pass gas, stop by and enjoy it." Or Hooker, Oklahoma, who populace implores that their beloved city is a "...location, not a vocation."
Well, now that we have that all straightened out.
The problem with taglines is that everyone thinks they need one. Here's a tip: If you really think you need one, more than likely you don't. Customers are smart enough to know that Hooker is probably not the heartland's red light district.
Taglines can't really change perception and, far too often, they reinforce ideas you're trying to avoid. I recently looked at a few business school taglines to see whether they contribute anything to my understanding of the core values of the college. Here's some of what I found, both official and unofficial:
At Cornell, you have a "Real Impact." About three hours south at PSU Smeal, they have "Vast Resources. Personal Focus." At Duke's Fuqua, all I could find on its Web site is their commitment to "Rethinking the Boundaries of Business School."
Well, yeah. I hope so.
All three are fantastic schools and, more important, each is incredibly different. But you wouldn't think that from their tags.
The point: Tags and other key branding messages are only good if they are true differentiators and reinforce positive attributes. Most of the time, you should just let your name speak for itself.
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