Creating a Tagline that Works:
A Case Study
I was recently privileged to be involved in developing a new tagline (themeline, slogan, signoff, whatever you prefer) for a world-renowned annual aviation event. The exercise taught me some valuable lessons about tagline development that you can use in your business or branding work. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is a gathering of EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) members and guests—aviation enthusiasts from all walks of life—that takes place for one week each year in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The event is the annual convention of EAA members as well as a world-renown fly-in and air show. It’s a weeklong celebration packed with superlatives: 700,000 attendees, 10,000 airplanes, 5,000 volunteers, 2,000 show planes, 700 exhibitors, 500 forums and seminars, incredible daily air shows, evening entertainment, and much more.
Packaging an event as large and diverse as AirVenture—and explaining it to the target audiences—is a complex task. For the past decade or so, the event depended on “annual themes” to create interest, build media buzz, and give visitors a reason to come back year after year. Sometimes, these themes played off of historical events, like the centennial of powered flight in 2003, but in most cases the themes were simply contrived, with attractions developed to tie into those themes. In the year 2000, for example, the theme was “speed” and air racers and other speedy innovations took center stage.These contrived themes, however, were not helping build equity in the AirVenture brand. Further, they required that our marketing efforts essentially start from scratch each year with a fresh expression of the new theme. The branding team at EAA took it as our charge to explore the options. The lessons resulting from this process can be applied to any business or branding exercise.
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1. Don’t be afraid to change—even if it doesn’t necessarily seem “broken”
While the annual themes were working—people seemed to like the special events built around them and it gave the media something “new” to talk about each year—the branding team was certain that a perennial tagline would help define the event for the uninitiated, help describe the breadth and scope of the event, and convey that this was not just a run-of-the-mill air show. A new tagline could help provide continuity to the AirVenture brand, differentiate the event, and suggest “participation”—a key differentiator for the organization.2. If it’s possible, be a mirror for what the market is already saying
As a component of the research that went into this effort, we discovered that when the media, the attendees, the exhibitors, and performers of the event talked about it, several consistent themes kept popping up: “world’s biggest,” “greatest,” “family reunion,” “premier event,” etc. While the team agreed that we wanted the new tagline to express passion, participation, immersion, innovation, and fun, it was helpful to see and hear what others were already saying about the AirVenture. These were heavily factored in to our thinking. 3. Ground it in truth, believability, and relevance
Like any tagline, we knew intuitively that the new tagline had to be believable—based on truth, not puffery. In addition, our core markets had to care about what we were saying. It had to matter…to them. Thankfully, AirVenture already had the reputation as a world-class event, attracting high-level politicians, Hollywood stars, famous sports personalities, and aviation enthusiasts from all over the globe. So in this case, superlatives were not just puffery, rather they were descriptive. 4. Simple is okay; sometime overly clever or uber-creative can actually hurt
As the team discussed and brainstormed these various criteria and objectives, we began furiously scribbling ideas. We arrived at more than one hundred possible solutions. When we looked the results and voted on our favorites, we were somewhat “under-whelmed.” Where was the cutting edge creativity, the “wow-you-guys-are clever” eureka-type ideas? Then we realized that it didn’t matter. One solution resonated with the group, and while simple, it met all our criteria from believability to relevance to descriptive. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration™5. Consistent and correct usage matters
While we immediately began using the ™ (trademark) symbol in our marketing and communications, our legal eagles went to work on getting the tagline registered for additional protection. Interestingly enough, the theme resonated so completely that others—especially the media—began using it regularly. That’s the good news! Unfortunately, they were not as careful in their usage of the theme and began using it simply as a descriptor of the event (with lower case letters and no ™ symbol). The legal opinion from the patent and trademark office was that because of this ancillary usage, the theme was “laudatory”—simply a descriptive phrase and therefore, not protect-able. What that means is that we have to be consistent in its usage and make sure others who use it to describe AirVenture use it correctly. After a successful track record of usage, we’ll be able to register the line. Meanwhile, it remains a trademark of the organization. The perennial theme was an unequivocal success. This summer’s EAA AirVenture Oshkosh was one of the most successful in its half-century history. It truly is The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration™.
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