bbbbrands and Crafting the Perfect Tagline
This is the second in an ongoing series of posts about bbbbrands.com, a new project I’m working on with my good friend and fellow brand loyalist Noah Stokes. If you missed it or just need a recap, here’s part 1.
As Noah and I began to talk through the initial gist of bbbbrands and I started some sketches and typography explorations for an identity, I also began the task of thinking through taglines. Not every brand needs a tagline, but in this case it made sense to craft a line of copy that described the site’s core functionality to the user and helped us have a clear mission as we design and build it. A statement of purpose helps the user know exactly what value we’re providing to them and it gives us a main identifier for decision-making (e.g. does X or Y feature fall into what the tagline describes us as? If not, kill it.)
Here’s the first round of tagline attempts:
All of these more or less describe what the site will be full of, but there are problems with them, too. There’s way too much “brand” in there. The site name already has it, so repeating it in the tagline, especially twice, is overkill. These choices are passive. They’re a description of something, not an action or a call to participate. Some of the language of each individual tagline doesn’t hold up. What’s a label recommendation (#2)? What if they aren’t actually new recommendations (#4)? Are they really the best (#5)? All of these fall short.
As Noah and I bantered back and forth on IM (this is a bicoastal operation we’re running here) we settled on the concepts of sharing and discovering as the main verbs we want our users to engage in. Are you looking for recommendations for a new messenger bag? We want you to discover trusted brands on bbbbrands. Do you absolutely love your new American Apparel Tri-Blend Track Shirt? We want you to share that on bbbbrands.
The passivity is gone, but #6 still suffers from word overkill, #7 feels awkward, and #8 is just too long. #9 is close, but stops just short of what we want for users—sharing and discovering the brands themselves, not just the reviews of the brands. And then there was #10. Short, sweet, active, bold, truthful. If we do our job to build a site that attracts like-minded brand loyalists, then they’ll naturally share the best brands with one another. And over time our catalog of brand recommendations will become a playground for discovery.
On a design note, I initially fought myself on #10. Then I realized I was doing it for the wrong reason; I simply liked the typographic lock-up of the lowercase serif “from” in there. I liked how it looked. But this isn’t solely about letters and aesthetics, it has to act as a rudder and identifier. Ultimately, the content has to be more important than the form, even if it hurts.
We want our users to share and discover the best brands, so that’s our working tagline. But is it the best? Are we missing a better opportunity? We’d love your feedback.
To be perfectly honest, I like number 1 best. It seems to portray what you’re about in the most simple and elegant way possible. Rolls off the tongue and all that.
Yes, there is no “call to action”, although “Share & Discover” seems gimmicky and social media-y in its own respect. At least from my personal perspective, as soon as I see the word “share”, I usually stop reading.
said Michael Mistretta
at 6:18am on Friday
Oh, we like it when people are perfectly honest. We’ll also take brutally honest. We might even dig seismically honest.
said Joshua
Great feedback Michael. I think I agree re: share == social media-y…
said Noah Stokes
at 9:46am on Friday
Then to be seismically honest, I’m just jealous that I didn’t come up with the idea first.
said Michael Mistretta
at 10:43am on Friday
#10 makes the most sense to me
said Randy
at 11:47am on Friday
#10 works, not only because of the obvious, but because it doesn’t make me feel like i have to be an elite member of some club to be a part of it. most of the others do in some form or another.
said Danielle
at 1:13pm on Friday
Michael is right, #1 is very good. But so is #10.
But I have to agree with you Joshua—the lowercase serif is pleasing to the eye. If you go with #10, perhaps the ‘the’ can get the same treatment.
said Chris
at 2:15pm on Friday
I just want to see #10 with the ampersand in the same serif typeface as “from.” Otherwise, I think it fits the bill for what you’re hoping to achieve.
said Pat
at 2:34pm on Friday
The lowercase serif (in this particular case, Adobe Garamond) works with the “from” so well because of that gorgeous “f” descending below the baseline. “The” wouldn’t have the same effect, and a serif ampersand just feels completely out of place (the serif-ampersand-amongst-san-serifs trend that’s happening lately often feels wrong, wrong, wrong.)
said Joshua
I can’t put my finger on what I dislike so much about #10, but it just feels so dull and obvious. More like a sentence than a slogan.
It certainly doesn’t feel like something that a lot of thought went into (especially from such fine gentlemen as yourselves).
said Michael Mistretta
at 2:50pm on Friday
Naw, it’s not bland … it’s succinct. Unfortunately it does have an aroma of ‘web 2.0′.
#1 does have the nicest ring to it. Perhaps three brands isn’t too much after all.
said Chris
at 2:54pm on Friday
Michael, dull is a great description. I love that #10 is active in voice. I dislike that it feels a tad dead.
said Joshua
SHARE & DISCOVER THE BEST from LOYALISTS
said Mom
at 5:41pm on Friday
I kinda like what Moms is saying…
Regardless of the sound of the tagline, this app would likely still be pinned as a Web 2.0 app simply by it’s function.
said Noah Stokes
at 5:48pm on Friday
When I hear about a web site providing “recommendations” I think of algorithm, a la Amazon or Digg. Boring… I want context around why I’m being recommended whatever it is that is being recommended to me. I’m not sure I’m feeling the word “loyalists” either.
Number 10 however works quite well, in my opinion. Short, sweet, and implies participation. How about “Share and discover the brands you love”?
said Dwayne
at 7:32pm on Friday
Everyone must accept (or not since we are talking subjectivity) that everything is subjective with regard to what is recommended/shared/discovered (or will be) on this site, whether one is talking about a garden trowel, or a shoe, or a place to eat, or a car, or a place to live, or paper clip style (who knew there were so many designs for something so tiny, and that people actually CARED about that?).
When it’s all said and done, the item that I might think is THE best ever, and that I want to share with the world, may not meet your needs at all. However, I on the other hand, might never have even thought of trying THAT thing had I not seen it, with picture, and such a glowing and effusively joyful report accompanying the entry, written by the truly brand loyal wordsmith, which he had, with hopes of changing world opinion, placed on bbbbrands.com. (pause for intake of breath)
Therefore, if the tag is going to be honest, and truly describe the site’s “core functionality,” which is really to SHARE OPINIONS about what folks believe THEY think is the best of whatever, then it is not really presenting the best, it is only presenting one person’s IDEA of best…total subjectivity.
BE totally honest and state it in as few words as possible whilst still adhering to some stylistic license in the process of that presentation…that…or muck about. I don’t think you want to do the latter. I still maintain that you do not need to restate the obvious.
SHARE AND DISCOVER from LOYALISTS
(or if you must have another few words…SHARE AND DISCOVER THEIR BEST from LOYALISTS)
said Mom
at 9:26pm on Friday
I’ll be honest, I care more about being a part of this than I do the tagline. However:
“Ultimately, the content has to be more important than the form, even if it hurts.”
While this is true, there shouldn’t ever be a time when you sacrifice form unless you are under some undue pressure, and even then, I question it. I say keep working it over until you find what works best, even if it does take more developmental time. It may be a small detail, but it’s a detail that is of great significance. Admittedly, you more than likely know this, and probably better than I do (with the benefit of seven years more than I have under my belt and a much more professional background) and there’s a chance that it’s already been said here (as I must confess I did not read most of the comments, especially the lengthier ones.
Meanwhile, was making the “the” in similar form to the “from” in the earlier versions considered?
SHARE AND DISCOVER the BEST BRANDS
There’s a good chance that in this instance, I don’t know what I’m talking about, really. I am relatively speaking inexperienced in graphic design, marketing, and subsequently branding as well. Nonetheless, you did trust my aesthetic vision enough to ask if I was available to assist Jeremy for your wedding photos, so I hope there’s at least some measure of weight to what I say.
said Chris
at 12:44am on Saturday
So after feeling a mite guilty for not reading most of the comments and then writing an extensive one that has so little content and a whole lot of advice from someone with zero experience in this field, I read through the comments and realized you already dealt with the second half of my comment long before I even made it. I totally see what you mean, but now I agree with Mom. Especially the comment right before mine. Yes, yes, yes.
said Chris
at 12:48am on Saturday
How about:
We like this shit
™lovers
Seriously, I like 10. Active, command, short, and after 6 years working as a CD for a market research firm, I hate the word “loyalist.”
said Renaud
at 1:34am on Saturday
SHOW & TELL for WELL-LOVED BRANDS
show and tell provides both an action or a call to participate (share) and a description of what you’ll find (discover). It’s nostalgic, active and not social media-y.
the “for” keeps that beautiful f.
“Well-loved” isn’t perfect but it avoids the “what if they’re not the best?” argument and incorporates mom’s honest about subjectivity. These brands are well-loved by at least one person.
said Luda
at 2:13pm on Saturday
Well…alrighty then…it begins…for those who hate specific words, and for those who don’t…
(I think Virginia may have already beat you to it on tm for “lovers” Renaud)
Another few thoughts or so…
SHARE AND DISCOVER OUR BEST from LOYALISTS (merely to spite)
SHARE AND DISCOVER from OUR BEST
FORAY and DISCOVER from OUR BEST (or FORAYS and DISCOVERIES from OUR BEST)
FORAY: attempt to become involved in some new activity, or the search for some item or other, which for many and most, would fit the bill of the core function…as differentiated from DISCOVERY: finding that new activity, or item, or other from amongst the BEST offerings
Or…if that sounds too off putting or war-ish…
INQUIRY and DISCOVERY from OUR BEST
said Mom
at 2:21pm on Saturday
Three cheers for Luda!
One: Nostalgia
Two: for
Three: truth
said Mom
at 3:43pm on Saturday
Oops…just realized I forgot the &…oversite…
could use “of” and keep the “f” for its innate beauty, and it does open a few more possibilities…
SHARING & DISCOVERY of:
OUR BEST,
OUR BEST BRANDS (if one insists on redundancy, which is not necessarily a bad thingggg),
OUR FAVORITES,
or if that is too proprietary (perhaps that it what was off-putting to Renaud about “Loyalist”?)
WELL-LOVED BRANDS,
GREAT FINDS,
GREAT FORAYS (I just like the seeker-try-something-you-have-not sound of that one),
BRAND LOYALISTS (HA!)
said Mom
at 9:50pm on Saturday
oops again. Grammatically, that last one would have to be SHARING & DISCOVERIES of BRAND LOYALISTS…otherwise, one would be discovering the brand loyalists, not the brands, which is not the intent at all I suspect…although, with the problems that some of the ‘find me a mate’ sites are experiencing of late….
said Mom
at 9:58pm on Saturday
10. Simplicity is king!
said Christopher
at 8:13am on Monday
In most cases, I suspect the discovery of great brands (on your site) is what will elicit the sharing of great brands (on your site). So, maybe “Discover & Share…” would be a meaningful order?
said Matt Donovan
at 3:30pm on Monday
THE BEST PRODUCTS from THE BEST COMPANIES
ITS A LABEL OF LOVE
said Nick
at 9:29am on Tuesday
SHARE & DISCOVER (DISCOVER & SHARE works equally and has merit)…
BRAND FAVORITES from FAN FAVORITES
FFFFAVORITES from FFFFANS
But I think you probably need to stick with the more “elegant” phraseology
I really need to stop this…
said Mom
at 6:01pm on Tuesday
OK, I couldn’t resist. I do like Luda’s, but I might replace “Well-Loved” with “Worthy,” just to streamline it a bit.
Thus,
SHOW & TELL for WORTHY BRANDS
A couple other thoughts … Have you considered “Find” instead of “Discover”? Shorter and a little less Net-cliche. (There are a LOT of ads with “discover” in them.
Also, it seems that switching the order does have merit, as your mom noted. Seems to me that the first motive at the site for a user would be to find great brands, to look for them … and then to share.
So …
FIND AND SHARE THE BEST BRANDS
said Blaine
at 9:04pm on Friday