· 4 min
How to come up with a company slogan: tips and examples
A good slogan says one thing, briefly and in the brand's own voice. Here's how to come up with one in five steps, with the slogans we wrote for Goldcorn and Euro Projekt Scriptum as examples.
What makes a good slogan
A slogan or tagline is a short line that sits next to the name and logo and says what the company does or what the customer gets from it. A good slogan:
- is short: the unofficial rule is no more than five words,
- has a meaning that reflects the company's business or purpose,
- says what value the customer gets and stirs an emotion,
- avoids vague terms and empty phrases that nobody remembers.
An often-quoted example is Toyota's "Let's go places": it is short, clear and connected to what the company sells.
How to come up with a slogan in five steps
- Describe your business in one sentence. What do you do, and for whom? The key words of the slogan often come out of that sentence.
- Define the value for the customer. What does the customer get: quality, speed, security, good taste? The slogan should say exactly that.
- Write as many options as you can. Don't rule anything out in the first round; a good tagline often grows out of a weaker one.
- Cut it down. Bring every option down to five words or fewer and drop the phrases any company could use.
- Test it in use. Read the slogan aloud, put it next to the logo and where it will be seen, on a vehicle or a website for example, and check how people who don't know your company understand it.
Examples from our work
Goldcorn: "Partner dobrom okusu"
Goldcorn in Zagreb distributes food products, and its clients include many well-known bakeries and restaurants. Alongside the vehicle wrap design, the company asked for a slogan to strengthen its identity. Having tried some of its products ourselves and knowing they were of top quality, we linked the company's role as a partner to the hospitality trade with its value: quality and good taste. The slogan "Partner dobrom okusu" (Partner to good taste) appears next to the company's name and logo in the vehicle design.
Euro Projekt Scriptum: "Umijeće uspjeha do EU fondova"
Euro Projekt Scriptum prepares EU projects for its clients. Alongside the logo redesign, we wrote the slogan "Umijeće uspjeha do EU fondova" (the art of success in securing EU funds), which sums up the company's mission and expertise: securing EU funding is a complex process, and the company has turned mastering it into an art.
When to leave the slogan to a copywriter
You can come up with a slogan yourself, but a copywriter is worth it when the company is entering a new market, changing its name or visual identity, or when none of your attempts sounds right. At our studio the slogan is written alongside the design, so we check straight away how it works with the logo, packaging or vehicle.
We create slogans and names as part of our copywriting, slogans and company names service. How to come up with a name is explained in How to name a company or product.
