Writing Taglines that Resonate

Audience Research + Personal Passion = Meaningful Copywriting

I’ve been in a bit of a reflective mode lately. After more than a decade devoted to brand storytelling strategy for cause-oriented clients, I’ve made a career shift and have been revisiting some of my most successful campaigns, keynote presentations, and now, taglines. What have I learned and crystallized in retrospect? What can I pass on to other professionals at nonprofits and educational institutions leveraging every ounce of creativity they have to make the most of tight (or nonexistent) marketing budgets?

Those of you familiar with my work know that I’m a fan of the “open” movement. I love that, over the past several years, we’ve seen nonprofits shift from a competitive mindset to a collaborative mindset — together, we can make that proverbial “pie” (aka resources, donations, etc.) bigger for everyone. I also love seeing professionals on Medium, LinkedIn, and other platforms openly share their expertise — it’s inspired me to attempt the same. So, here it goes — I offer you my unsolicited but hopefully helpful advice on writing taglines.

Writing a great tagline — one that resonates so much that people are willing to champion it — is no easy feat. It’s not simply an “Aha!” moment that a brilliant creative has. It’s not your mission statement restated. It’s not just stringing buzzwords together.

Taglines are the signature of a brand. They capture the essence of an organization’s personality, values, and call to action in just a few words. Those same few words must capture your audience’s values, too, so that they feel they see a piece of what drives them reflected in what you do. This can be just a little pressure-inducing for writers. So, where should you start?

1. Audience Research. Period. Do it, and do it well. Conduct surveys, host diverse stakeholder focus groups, create polls on social media, interview your front-line staff, and be a keen observer of the interactions between your brand and its customers . Organize a competitive analysis so that you know your landscape well, and go through all of the metrics available to you on your platforms. Get to know your loyal audience (including employees!) and your desired audience, and ask your customers and potential customers directly what they want and expect from your organizations.
2. Re-commit to your mission and core values. Read all of your internal literature (mission, vision, values, strategic plan, etc.), review past campaigns and the way your organization has been talking about itself, talk to your colleagues about why they work at the organization and what drives them, and remind yourself what you personally love about the organization.
3. Define your voice. You should now be aware of who your audience is, what they prefer, and how your own internal brand champions (employees, students, volunteers, donors, etc.) talk about the brand. How can you make how the organization talks about itself more accessible, inviting, and fitting for your audience? Describe the brand personality so that you have a frame of reference when you begin writing. Know how you want to sound, and use descriptive words like “fun,” “friendly,” “accessible intellectual,” “serious yet optimistic,” “smart but casual,” “straightforward,” “passionate,” and more.
4. Once you have a great grasp of the brand voice and brand promise — what your organization uniquely offers to meet the needs and expectations of its audience — grab a pen. You now know where you are and where you want to be in the mind of your customer and you’re ready to bridge the gap. Equipped with this knowledge, you know get to let your creativity loose and go wild. Carry a pen and paper or your smartphone voice memos with you wherever you go. Let yourself be free of rules and word limits at first. Write down everything that comes to mind. Write down one hundred ideas or more. Then, start eliminating. And start combining. And start editing and condensing. As you refine, find your favorites, and ask yourself why they are your favorites. How do they compare to your audience research insights? Don’t be afraid to show your top choices to your colleagues and friends to gauge their reactions. Which do they feel are the most memorable? Which are crystal clear and don’t leave any questions about what you’re trying to convey? Which taglines match up with the values of both your organization and your audience? You’ll likely be able to narrow down and refine a set of options for your CEO pretty quickly.

The idea is to do your research up front so that you can feel confident that you’ll come up with something on target when you start to write and just have fun with the actual writing part. The science is in your head at this point, so the writing should flow naturally and it will seem a lot easier than starting with the writing and working in reverse.

Ultimately, the most meaningful taglines are generated by writers who truly care about your brand. I know, for me, authentic passion for a cause shines through. There’s always a bit of me in everything I write for the causes I believe in. Authenticity can’t be forged, and savvy customers can sense when the writer has captured something real.

A Few of the Taglines I’ve Penned Using this Method

Curiosity Welcome — Blanton Museum of Art (2012–2022)

Love Local. Do Good for Central Texas. — GivingTuesday Austin, I Live Here I Give Here, 2019 (Words & Design by Yours Truly)

Generosity is the Heart of Our Community — GivingTuesday Austin, I Live Here I Give Here (2020)

Support Local Nonprofits & Join the local generosity movement. — Amplify Austin Day, I Live Here I Give Here (2019, 2020)

Taglines I’ve Worked on as Part of a Team

Inclusive. Innovative. Impactful. — Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (2021 — Present) See the story behind this rebrand here.

Protect the Lakes You Love — Texas Parks and Wildlife, by Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing , for the campaign to prevent the spread of invasive Zebra Mussels