When it comes to branding, having a great logo is essential. However, many owners and managers think that image marketing stops there. A tagline is one brand aspect that many small businesses ignore at their peril. This one short phrase can define your company and set you apart from the competition. However, creating a tagline is easier said than done. Here are a few famous taglines along with what the small business owner can learn from them.

Just Do It. I likely don’t have to tell you who this tagline belongs to, because it is widely recognized all over the world as belonging to sports giant Nike. However, many people don’t think about the true meaning of these three words or their effect on the company’s success. Nike tries to portray an active image, as seen in their iconic Swoosh logo. ‘Just Do it’ not only compliments the existing branding, it adds a sense of urgency that many customers have been unable to resist.

Fair and Balanced. Regardless of whether you personally agree that Fox News embodies these characteristics, they nonetheless are congruent with the brand image that the cable news station is trying to portray. Not only does this tagline give Fox News a boost in credibility, it implies that the competition is lacking these traits. Being different from the crowd has kept this company alive for decades, and this tagline alone can take them into the future.

Eat Fresh. When evaluating this tagline, it’s important to keep in mind what Subway is trying to offer: a healthier, fresher alternative to conventional fast food. This tagline says it all in two short and memorable words, making it a successful and appropriate part of the Subway brand.

What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas. Many people don’t realize that this well known and often copied tagline was created by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. When the city had poor luck promoting itself as a family friendly vacation destination, the board decided to play on Sin City’s appeal as a place to shed your everyday values. The message is clear: that visitors can discretely partake of the many vices available in Las Vegas without repercussion.

Buyer Be Happy. This is the new tagline of Best Buy, but how effective will it be? It relates very little to the store’s branding of being a superstore for the technologically savvy. Nor does it relate to the big screen televisions and five dollar movies that make up the products. Further, this tagline sounds suspiciously like the old caveat ‘buyer beware’. While this twist on words was almost certainly deliberate, it may conjure up an unpleasant image for the customer. However, Best Buy has a history of focusing on consumer happiness with their tagline, as this new one replaced the former ‘You Happier’ that was inappropriate. This store has seen amazing success, but it truly could do better.

What do all successful taglines have in common? They are short, catchy, and representative of the company they portray. The same advantages that multi-national corporations get from tag-lines can be bestowed on any small business that chooses to use this brand aspect to further define themselves in the eyes of the customer.