Why Taglines Get A Bad Reputation – Bridgestone Tire
Look at Bridgestone Tire’s Tagline…
How generic can this be? What’s the benefit to a Bridgestone customer? What company doesn’t strive for excellence? Imagine a company the size of Bridgestone with all their uniqueness coming up with this for a positioning?
This is what fuels marketing people to say a tagline is not necessary. Yet when done right it works masterfully.
A tagline is a company’s one chance to differentiate themselves from the competition. To stand out and apart. It should leverage your brand identity. What’s Bridgestone’s brand identity?
Here’s how to do it right:
Volvo – For Life
You see how Volvo leverages their “Safety” positioning? Can ANYONE else in the auto industry claim safety? They all say their safe but Volvo OWNS safety. What does Bridgestone own?
If you’re going to be vanilla and generic don’t bother having a tagline.
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July 6th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Could the Bridgestone tagline be defensive? I still remember the brand as one infamous for product defects (recalls).
Being passionate about excellence might be a code word for ‘unquestionable quality’ and for those who don’t have the memory of their recalls, it might hint at high performance. At any rate I think the thinking might be to head off any question about their product quality (sheesh!)
Volvo, of course, is a great brand, they really own the word “safety”. The marketing guy who wanted them to be known for “overpriced boxes” no longer works there.
July 7th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Hey there,
Yes I’ve often wondered what’s the point of taglines like that, unless they give a description of the service then surely the company should have a reputations anyway? For example, it’s ok that GQs tag line is ‘Fashion, Girls, Travel, Cars’ because it tells you about the company. Mc Donald’s “I’m lovin’ it” isn’t great, but everyone knows what it sells anyway.
July 17th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I think you are right in saying that Bridgestone Tires has a weak tag line. However, I do not think a tag line is the “one change” to differentiate a company from others. If that is the only differentiating factor between company A and company B, there is a big problem! A company that sets itself apart from its competitors starts from the core, from the vision of the company, and the message and culture is spread and continually evolving through its employees.
July 17th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Of course, a tagline is a part but look what a great one can do?
October 20th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Do you mean “Bad” or “Bed?”