Burger King announced this week that it is moving away from the well-established “Have it Your Way” slogan in favor of its new “Be Your Way” tag. The chain’s senior VP of global brand marketing is quoted in Ad Age saying the move to the new tagline is aimed at “trying to elevate ‘Have it Your Way’ to a state that’s much more emotional” and to facilitate the brand’s revised positioning.
Is the advertiser asking a lot of this new tagline? Yes. Is it likely to deliver results? Communicus research suggests that the answer is probably not…
The subtly of taglines is often lost on consumers. The brand’s connection to the tag is usually only evident to the marketing team that has developed and read the strategy brief. While some brands have managed to establish well-known and meaningful taglines (“Just Do It” and “Mmm, Mmm Good,” to name two), many brands struggle to develop evocative and salient slogans.
The best taglines convey the brand’s differentiating benefit(s) and are strongly tied to the brand – upon hearing it, consumers know what it means and can easily name the brand behind the line. However, establishing these dynamics is not as easy as simply developing a tagline and putting it at the end of your commercials. It typically takes time, consistent usage, and well-supported campaigns aimed specifically at introducing the tagline to consumers. Like any brand-linked equity, developing effective slogans requires both substantial time and financial investment.
Burger King is not alone in leveraging a new tagline as part of a brand revitalization or repositioning strategy. The auto industry has a long-standing tradition of creating, and then replacing, brand taglines. JC Penney recently introduced the new “When it fits, you feel it” tagline in an effort to leave its recent turmoil behind. Apple also recently debuted a new “You’re more powerful than you think” tagline in iPhone 5S executions. The effectiveness of these taglines has yet to be seen, but history suggests that there is a minimal chance of these being a home run for any of the sponsoring brands.
Can you name the brands behind these slogans?
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