When it comes to tradeshows, there are dozens of important elements that go into creating a successful booth for your brand. From finding an eyecatching design to developing the proper booth layout, each piece needs to support your brand’s overall presence and marketing goals for the event. Yet, there are two key aspects of tradeshow marketing that are often overlooked: a tagline and a catchphrase.
A good tagline and catchphrase combination is an important part of any booth activation. Taglines are short slogans used by brands that can be easily displayed on the tradeshow booth. As their verbal counterpart, catchphrases are expressions that tradeshow staff can say to capture the interest of those who visit the booth.
At a tradeshow, your brand has a brief opportunity, typically around three seconds, to capture the attention and interest of attendees. For this reason, taglines and catchphrases are great tradeshow tools. Their efficiency and ability to be repeated ensure the first experience any customer has with your booth is consistent.
The importance of a tagline resides in its ability to convey the benefits of a brand’s product or service in a simple, short message. Some of the most well-known taglines include Nike’s “Just Do It,” McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It,” and Disneyland’s “Where Dreams Come True.” Each of these taglines carries with them a different feeling yet manages to convey a complex message about the brand’s benefits. This can be accomplished even with taglines that are short and snappy enough to be said in a single breath. The most important part of a tagline is that you convey as much about your business as you can in the least amount of words. In this case, less is more.
If you want your brand to stand out among competitors at a tradeshow, you need a good tagline that conveys the competitive benefit that your brand offers.
While similar to taglines, catchphrases are said by tradeshow staff to attendees rather than being displayed on your booth. They’re less permanent and instead typically relate to a specific advertising campaign. These catchphrases make things easier for your tradeshow staff because they won’t need to remember a long discourse about your brand. Instead, they only need to remember the quick, snappy catchphrase that defines the product your brand is selling.
Due to their short and simple structure, taglines and catchphrases, more than anything else, are what customers remember about the brands that they come across. When executed well, they provide instant recognition for your brand.
With a tagline, you can draw an attendee’s attention to your booth the moment they see it on display. The catchphrase said by the tradeshow staff when they approach will ensure that they know your brand and product after they walk away. Having a tagline and catchphrase combination drastically improves brand recall long after the event has ended.
- To create the right tagline and catchphrase for your brand that will pull tradeshow attendees to your booth, you need only to adhere to a few simple guidelines:
Keep your phrasing short. Your tagline should be brief and easy enough to both say and remember. That means keeping the length under about ten words and the sentence structure simple enough to make it memorable - Focus your language on conveying your brand’s key competitive benefit or difference. Tradeshow attendees should know in an instant after hearing your catchphrase why your product or service is better than a competitor.
- Connect your catchphrase back to your tagline. A good catchphrase will incorporate elements of your tagline and your brand but will present each idea in a new and unique way. Your catchphrase should be easily connected to your brand to increase brand awareness.
If your brand can curate the right tagline and catchphrase combination for your tradeshow booth, there’s nothing that will be able to stop you. You will attract attendees to your booth and succeed in gaining new customers, building brand loyalty, and increasing awareness for your business.
