12 Ways to Get the Most from Your Tagline

A great tagline separates your organization from the pack while expressing the heart and soul of your organization.  So when you integrate your tagline into all of your communications, you’re well on your way to having a memorable brand. Here’s how:
 
First and foremost, train your staff and volunteers (if you have them) to use your tagline in conversations about your organization’s work.  Using your tagline is a great lead-in when asked what your organization does.

Next, feature your tagline in all of your communications in print and on the web.  Adding the tagline to your email signature is a cost-effective way to share information about your organization.

Houston Food Bank, a 2009 Getting Attention Tagline Award winner, has gone the extra mile and included its tagline (Filling pantries, Filling lives) in its main voicemail message.  This is a simple, often overlooked way to communicate information about your organization, particularly potent during off hours.

Here is a handy checklist to make sure that you are getting the most out of your tagline:

In print:
1.  Stationery including business cards
2.  Brochures
3.  Direct mail
4.  Print advertising

Online:
5.  Website
6.  Blog
7.  Social media – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

In direct communications:
8.  Print and e- newsletters
9.  Email signature 

Often overlooked:
11. Voicemail
12. Powerpoint presentations
13. Promotions – t-shirts, mugs, tote bags

What are your additions to this checklist?  Please note how you’re using your tagline in the Comments box below to share it with the Getting Attention community!

P.S. Learn how to craft a compelling story for your org in 8 words or less. Download the free 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report, filled with must-dos, don't dos, case studies and 2,500+ nonprofit tagline examples!

Flickr photo: Mykpwedding

5 Steps to Jumpstart Your Tagline Development Process

Developing a high-power tagline for your nonprofit can be a daunting task, especially with so many competing priorities.  Whether you are creating a first-time tagline or revitalizing an existing brand, here are five steps to jump start the process:

1. Confirm that the tagline (or lack of one) is a problem. Feature a few talking points about your organization (or your tagline, if you already have one) in conversations with colleagues, members and volunteers.  Make a note of their reactions.  Does your messaging inspire people to dig in and ask more questions or get involved, or does it create confusion about your organization's work and impact?
2. Get your colleagues on board.  Let your colleagues know that it’s time to develop stronger messaging for your organization based on what you’ve heard in your listening research, and that you’ll need their help. Be as specific as possible about your goals and outcomes, and how you’d like them to help.
3. Uncover some audience intelligence, Sherlock Holmes.  Ask colleagues (and volunteers, if you need to) to insert your organization’s messaging (or current tagline, if you have one) in their own conversations in the field and report back to you what they find. Make it easy for them to report back in a way that’s easy for them and useful to you.
4. Summarize the feedback you get and your recommendations for moving forward.  What does and doesn’t work? What does that suggest about revising existing messaging or shaping  a new tagline?
5. Is more research needed? Decide if you need to take your audience research one step further or you’re ready to kickoff the tagline creation process with a brainstorming session.

These five steps are a proven stepping stone to developing a strong tagline for your organization. Supplement them with our free guide to powerful messaging for your organization: The 2009 Getting Attention Tagline Report features don't dos, must dos and over 2,500 nonprofit tagline examples to kick-start your message brainstorming.

By Amy Kehoe, Manager - Getting Attention

Flickr photo: Jeff Carlson

Strengthen Your Nonprofit's Marketing Messages -- Transcript Now Online

Your organization needs to do more than simply have a great mission to capture attention from donors and other supporters. You also must step up your efforts to market your ideas and causes.

This morning I had the pleasure of moderating a free online discussion hosted by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, about how your organization can create more effective marketing messages.  My fingers were flying as I answered over a dozen great questions in the course of an hour. Now the transcript is available for your reference (just scroll to the bottom of the page and the transcript will "replay").

Take a look now for great tips and examples that will help your group create a compelling tagline, attract more supporters, and develop a better public presence.

P.S. Learn how to craft a compelling story for your org in 8 words or less.   Download the free 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report, filled with must-dos, don't dos, case studies and 2,500+ nonprofit tagline examples!

Photo: fsc2k5

Download Free 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report -- For Messaging that Connects even in Tough Times

Nonprofits have a major branding problem in weak taglines. Taglines are the best way to succinctly convey nonprofits' value, but 7 in 10 nonprofits rate their taglines as poor or don't have one at all.

The just-released 2009 report, based on 1,700 2009 tagline award entries and recent survey responses from 1,900 of your colleague nonprofit communicators, shows that most nonprofits don’t have an organizational tagline that works to make their organizations’ value clear, and easy to remember and repeat.

A highly-effective nonprofit tagline model (and one of the 13 winners of the 2009 tagline awards) is Because the earth needs a good lawyer from Earthjustice. Earthjustice capitalizes on what people do understand–-that a lawyer protects rights–-and uses that framework to dramatically position its role and impact in the environmental movement. And it does so with humor. If your tagline makes people smile or light up, without stepping on your message, then you’ve made an emotional connection…Bravo.

A strong tagline complements your org's name to convey its unique value or impact with personality, passion and commitment. If you fail to make the most of your tagline, you throw that opportunity away.

Dig into this free updated guide to learn:

• Why a Nonprofit’s Name Isn’t Enough
• How a Strong Tagline Benefits Your Organization – Useful for developing support among colleagues and leadership
• The 10 Have-Tos for Successful Taglines
• Using  Words that Work
• The 7 Deadly Sins, 9 Snores and 5 Best Ways to Antagonize Your Audience  – What not to do
• Research, Create, Revise, Test, Repeat – The right steps to take to craft a potent tagline
• Over 2,500 Nonprofit Tagline Examples to put to work for message brainstorming.

Download the 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report here. When you do, you'll automatically be added to the mailing list for info on the 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Award Program.

Homeboy Industries Hits Home with Powerful Tagline

Every once in a while a message comes along that stops you dead in your tracks. Nothing Stops a Bullet like a Job, the tagline of Los Angeles-based workforce and community development organization Homeboy Industries, does just that. 

Voters for the 2009 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards responded strongly to this tagline and rightfully so. The tagline packs a punch with its vivid imagery, telling a memorable story in just seven words.  

Here are a couple of the specific strengths that make this tagline so powerful:

• It speaks directly to the interests of each audience segment; engaging the community it serves, inspiring donors to take action and encouraging others to learn more about the organization.
• The straight-talking tone of the tagline is used consistently throughout all of Homeboy’s communications from its mission statement to its Virtual Car Wash fundraising campaign. This consistency ensures that audiences gain and maintain a sense of the organization, and are more likely to remember and repeat what’s different about it.

Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job raises the bar for nonprofit communicators to create powerful taglines that tell a story and inspire action.  How does your org’s tagline stack up?  

Amy Kehoe, Manager - Getting Attention

NOTE: This is the first post written by Amy Kehoe, our new manager at Nancy Schwartz & Company/GettingAttention.org.  Amy brings a strong marketing background and endless creativity to our work, and will be contributing to the blog on a regular basis.

P.S. Learn how to craft a compelling story for your org in 8 words or less.   Subscribe to the Getting Attention e-update today toget the free 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report, filled with must-dos, don't dos, case studies and 2,500+ nonprofit tagline examples!

Earthjustice Packs a Visual Punch -- Picture Worth 2,000 Words

Take a good hard look at this stellar example of a picture worth far more than 1,000 words.

Believe me, this approach is a welcome reprieve for your network from the endless narrative they're fed from most organizations. Visuals (especially photos) tell more of a story so facilitate the learning process, and are easier to remember and associate with facts. Plus photos like this one pull heartstrings, tweaking emotions as well as reason. We want to make sure these adorable kids in grass-stained jeans stay okay.

Dare to try something different. Replace some of the content you're crafting today with a photo or other visual. Your network will appreciate it, and respond accordingly. Just ask Earthjustice.

P.S. Be first on your block to get soon-to-be-released 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report when you subscribe to the Getting Attention e-update.

13 Nonprofits Honored for Outstanding Taglines: "Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job" Pulls Top Honors for Homeboy Industries

A nonprofit’s tagline is hands down the briefest, easiest and most effective way to communicate its identity and impact. But this high-impact, low-cost marketing tactic is often overlooked or under-emphasized by nonprofits. 

GettingAttention.org’s  2008 survey of nonprofits showed that 7 in 10 nonprofits rated their tagline as poor or didn’t use one at all. The majority of nonprofits not using a tagline indicated that they had not thought about it or couldn’t come up with a good one.

The annual Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards program was designed to address this missed opportunity, and guide nonprofits to craft an effective tagline.  This year's winners were selected from 60 finalists drawn from 1,702 nonprofit taglines submitted to the 2009 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards competition. More than 4,800 nonprofit professionals cast votes in the final selection round.

Winning taglines are featured in just-published 2009 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Report. The free report also features:
•    The 10 Have-Tos for Successful Taglines
•    The 7 Deadly Sins – What not to do
•    Over 2,500 Nonprofit Tagline Examples to put to work for tagline brainstorming.

Download your free copy of the Tagline Report now!

These 2009 award winners demonstrate how powerful taglines can work as a first step in branding or as a highly-effective tool to refresh a nonprofit’s messaging, emphasize its commitment to its work and/or revive tired positioning:

Arts & Culture:  Big Sky. Big Land. Big History. —Montana Historical Society
The Montana Historical Society takes its state’s most elemental and distinctive characteristics (Big Sky, Big Land) and deftly melds them with its mission in a way that generates excitement. The result is a tagline with punch and focus. Also, a big hit with voters.

Associations:  Building community deep in the hearts of Texans —TexasNonprofits
TexasNonprofits’ tagline tweaks the title of an iconic American popular song from the 1940s and brilliantly connects it to the spirit, passion and mission of the state’s citizenry. A great example of how word play works in a tagline.

Civic Benefit:  Holding Power Accountable —Common Cause
Common Cause’s tagline leaves no doubt about the organization’s mission, unique value and commitment. It’s definitive, with a powerful economy of words. An excellent example of the tagline clarifying the nonprofit’s focus, when the organization’s name alone doesn’t do so.

Education:  A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste® —UNCF -The United Negro College Fund
This 38-year-old tagline from UNCF still rings strong. It elegantly delivers its straight up, powerful message. When your tagline is the boiled-down essence of your argument for support, you’ve achieved tagline bliss. That’s why this one is a classic.

Environment & Animals:  Because the earth needs a good lawyer —Earthjustice
Earthjustice capitalizes on what people do understand – that a lawyer protects rights – and uses that framework to dramatically position its role and impact in the environmental movement. And it does so with humor. If your tagline makes people smile or light up, without stepping on your message, then you’ve made an emotional connection…Bravo.

Grantmaking:  If you want to be remembered, do something memorable. —The Cleveland Foundation
It’s a rare tagline that manages to recruit people to its cause both unabashedly and effectively. That’s exactly what The Cleveland Foundation pulls off here. Clear, concise, and…memorable! A model for any organization promoting philanthropy.

Health & Sciences:  Finding a cure now...so our daughters won't have to.© —PA Breast Cancer Coalition
The PA Breast Cancer Coalition’s tagline is both emphatic and poignant. It strikes a deep emotional chord, and conveys the focus and impact of its work without being overly sentimental. “Finding a cure,” a highly used phrase for health organizations, is bolstered here by the appeal to solve a problem now so future generations won’t suffer from it.

Human Services:  Filling pantries. Filling lives. —Houston Food Bank
With simple but effective use of word repetition, the Houston Food Bank clarifies its work and impact. It delivers on two distinct levels—the literal act of putting food on people’s shelves and the emotional payoff to donors and volunteers. An excellent example of a mission-driven tagline.

International, Foreign Affairs & National Security:  Send a Net. Save a Life. —Nothing But Nets
Short, punchy and laser-sharp, the Nothing But Nets tagline connects the action with the outcome. It’s inspirational in the simplicity of its message and its reason for existing. The kind of tagline nonprofits should model.

Jobs & Workforce Development:  Nothing Stops A Bullet Like A Job —Homeboy Industries
Homeboy Industries’ tagline is a mini-masterpiece, telling a memorable story in just seven words. It stops you in your tracks, makes you want to learn more and sticks with you afterwards. That’s the kind of potent nonprofit messaging every organization desires.

Media:  Telling stories that make a difference —Barefoot Workshops
If your organization’s name is vague, it’s critical that your tagline be distinct. Barefoot Workshops’ tagline sums up the transformative power of stories to create change in people and their communities, so clarifying the organization’s focus. Saved by the tagline!

Religion & Spiritual Development:  Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. —The people of The United Methodist Church
The work of religious organizations often operates on several planes at once — a challenge for any organization and its messaging. Here, The people of The United Methodist Church delivers a tagline trinity that supports its applied faith mission and is warm, enthusiastic and embracing.

Other:  A head for business. A heart for the world. —SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise)
If an organization’s identity contains within it a distinct contrast between its key characteristics, that’s often good tagline material. Here, SIFE surprises with its crystal-clear tagline that not only conveys what’s unique about it but also capitalizes on the contrast between profit and compassion.

P.S. The fastest path to shaping a powerful tagline for your organization is downloading your free copy of the 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report today!

Just 1 Day Left to Vote for the Next Great Nonprofit Tagline!

Vote now (but once only, thanks to all of you who have already done so) for the 2009 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards. Polls close Wed., 9/30 at midnight.

Voting will:

• Sharpen your understanding of what works in nonprofit communications.
• Inform and inspire your organization's messaging.
• Give you the chance to register for the free 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report, with 2,500 tagline examples.

The 60 finalists were selected from over 1,700 tagline entries. Now it's *your* turn to choose the best.

More than 4,000 of your peers have voted already. Here's what some of them have to say:

• "Great examples of the struggle to create taglines with meaning."
• "By voting, I learned how to make our tagline better."
• "Thank you for doing this. Helping non-profit boards understand the power of marketing is difficult.  When you have excellence to point to, it helps!"

Vote now! Less than 48 hours left to do so.

P.S. Thanks again to those of you who have already voted! Only one vote please.

Detective Work First, Message Launch Second

Developing messaging that works is a sweaty, laborious process. So it's all the more frustrating when it turns out your message is exactly the same as used by an organization your target audiences are likely to know. If that's the situation, you're late to the party, and there's no way that your org's messaging will have the desired impact. When it's heard, your base is likely to think of the other org. Beyond that, you may be infringing on copyright or trademark protections.

That's what the Jewish Welcome Network(JWN) found out. When they submitted their tagline (Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors.)  to the 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Awards), voters rushed to let me know that the tagline had been used for years (and trademarked) by The people of The United Methodist Church. I put the Church and the Network together to settle the problem, and the JWN ceased using the tagline immediately.

But there's a free and easy way to avoid this kind of mess. Just Google your draft taglines and other key phrases in your nonprofit's messaging. If a local or regional organization -- or a large, well-known national organization like the Methodists -- is using it (or something very similar), best to start fresh.

Has this ever happened to your organization? If so, please scroll down to share your story in Comments.

P. S. Don't miss out on in-depth articles, case studies and guides to nonprofit marketing success -- all featured in the twice-monthly Getting Attention e-update.  Subscribe today.

Spot the Next Great Nonprofit Tagline!

Vote now (but once only) for the 2009 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards. Voting will:

• Sharpen your understanding of what works and what doesn't communications-wise.
• Inform and inspire your organization's messaging.
• Give you the chance to register for the free 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report, with 2,500 tagline examples.

The 60 finalists were selected from over 1,700 tagline entries. Now it's *your* turn to choose the best.

More than 3,000 of your peers have voted already. Here's what some of them have to say:

• "Great examples of the struggle to create taglines with meaning."
• "By voting, I learned how to make our tagline better."
• "Thank you for doing this. Helping non-profit boards understand the power of marketing is difficult. When you have excellence to point to, it helps!"

Polls close midnight, Wednesday, September 30th.

Vote now!
     http://is.gd/2NQBi

P.S. Thanks so much to those of you who have already voted! Only one vote please.