What’s Your Strapline?

What is a strapline?

Marketing professionals use the term ‘strapline’ to describe a phrase that becomes identified with a company. Branding expert Caroline Gibson:

A company’s strapline is a long-term property and will be legally registered as a company asset.

A strapline sums up the essence of a brand or company. It does more than describe what the product does; it should encapsulate what the company stands for, its values, and its personality. It should be short enough to be remembered and memorable enough to stand the test of time – always a sign of successful thinking. No wonder Avis resurrected its brilliant 1962 line “We try harder” in 2014 having dropped it only two years earlier.

It should position the company in the context of its competitors and in the mind of the consumer – straplines like Apple’s “Think different” and L’Oréal’s “Because you’re worth it” have appeal because they say something valuable, aspirational and inspirational to the consuming public.

Some of the best ones have been around for eons. “Never knowingly undersold” has underpinned everything John Lewis stands for since 1925; it’s even hard to remember what even Nike used before creating “Just do it” in 1988. The Nike line has become so synonymous with the brand and what it stands for, the ads don’t even have to carry it anymore.

Some straplines are so blindingly simple, such as De Beers “A diamond is forever” and Imperial Leather’s “Rare but good” and Nokia “Connecting people”, you wish you’d been at the pitch.  And some have a double whammy by cleverly adding in the company name, such as “Mum’s gone to Iceland” or “You can do it when you B&Q it”.

There’s a current trend in communication for brands to forego the strapline. The usual excuse is that the brand can’t be tied down by one simple phrase; the reality is something else. As time goes on, it’s harder and harder to write fresh and unique lines which make sense and work across a number of commercial activities, for a range of consumers, through a number of communications channels. Witness the esoteric nonsense of most car brand straplines (Mercedes – “The best of nothing”; Ford – “Go further”) and how often they keep changing!

What’s The Difference Between A Headline, Strapline, Tagline And Slogan? Caroline Gibson

It’s fair to say there are, as yet, no identifiable straplines in the kombucha industry. If you covered up the left column in the lists below, it’s unlikely consumers would be able to guess which brands they belonged to. That’s not surprising since this is such a new industry. Indeed it took decades for brands such as Budweiser in the US to become known as the “King of Beers” or Schlitz to be “The beer that made Milwaukee famous” or, in Ireland draft Guinness to be recognizable as “Good things come to those who wait.”

Hopefully, Booch News has an appropriate strapline:

Kombucha brand straplines

We selected the top 20 brands for the UK and California based on Google search volume, with statistics provided by Searchabull – a Consumer Search Insight agency that has created reports to increase the understanding of the kombucha market.

The strapline for each was selected from (in order):

  1. The product label, absent this
  2. Social Media – starting with the Instagram profile, absent this
  3. Website – the most prominent text on the page.

There were some brands where no strapline was apparent, even after checking these three places. In this case, we made a judgment call from whatever was available.

We hope this allows brands to compare their terms with others. How can this help?

This might be the first time you’ve seen your brand listed alongside 19 others. You can see if you are in a crowded space (Wellness) or one less popular (Taste, Provenance). Remember, these are the terms consumers absorb, consciously or, more likely, unconsciously, as part of your brand identity.

The goal of publishing these lists is only a step in helping analyze the current state and trends in the industry.

UK Brands

Blighty BoochThe new revolution in Kombucha!Provenance
Equinox KombuchaTaste is everything.Taste
Fix8 KombuchaLive Sparkling Soda.Taste
Go KombuchaAuthentic Since 2003.Provenance
Gutsy Captain KombuchaBoost your body. Mind the gut.Health
Hip PopGut Lovin’.Health
Holos KombuchaBrewed for Good.Wellness
Jarr KombuchaOrganic sparkling fermented tea.Wellness
Kompassion KombuchaLive-cultured, unfiltered kombuchaWellness
LA BreweryNaturally Non-Alcoholic.Health
Left Field KombuchaCraft Brewed Fermented Tea.Wellness
Lo Bros Living DrinksDoin’ good with every drink.Wellness
Mighty BrewSparkling Fermented Tea.Wellness
Momo KombuchaRaised in a Small Glass Jar.Wellness
NexbaNaturally sugar free.Health
No 1 Living DrinksFull of Life.Wellness
Real KombuchaNaturally Fermented Sparkling Tea.Wellness
Remedy KombuchaWant a healthy dose of flavour? There’s a Remedy for that.Taste
So GoodHandcrafted in Derby.Provenance
You and IDrinks with benefits.Wellness

California Brands

Babe KombuchaPure goodness.Wellness
Better BoochSparkling Probiotic Goodness.Health
Boochcraft Hard KombuchaBoochcraft is Different. Good Different.Wellness
Boochman KombuchaHandcrafted In Berkeley.Provenance
Brew DrRefreshingly Real Kombucha.Wellness
Clearly KombuchaOrganic Sparkling Fermented Tea with Added Probiotics.Health
GT’s SynergyLiving foods for the living body.Health
Health-AdeBubbly probiotic teas for a happy gut.Health
House KombuchaExperience Kombucha with Soul.Wellness
KC KombuchaSacramento’s first kombucha taproom.Provenance
KeVitaLovers of live probiotics.Health
KÖEIt’s kombucha, only better.Wellness
Living TeaLiving Tea for Living Life.Wellness
Marin KombuchaActive Culture Probiotic Tea.Health
Nova EasyInspired by Nature. Live Easy. Have fun.Wellness
Revive KombuchaBubbly beverages for your gut.Health
Strainge Beast Hard KombuchaUnapologetically Unique Hard Kombucha.Provenance
The Bu KombuchaSmooth Brewed to Taste Good and Feel Good.Taste
Whalebird KombuchaSuper Tasty Classic & Hard Booch.Taste
Wild TonicCrafted with Organic Tea & Honey.Wellness

Categories

We categorized the words in one of four ways:

  • Health: the strapline mentions gut health, probiotics, or that it’s alcohol or sugar-free.
  • Taste: Specific use of the word ‘taste’, ‘flavor’, or implication that it is taste-forward (such as ‘sparkling’).
  • Wellness: Less specific health-related claims.
  • Provenance: Statement of heritage or location.

Conclusion

A count shows that most brands can be identified with wellness, which is soft version of health, and might talk about taste in other messages.

 CaliforniaUK
Wellness810
Health74
Provenance33
Taste23

In some cases, it’s arguable if the slogan is Health or Wellness, “Living foods for the living body” could fit in both categories. Within the Wellness category, there’s a possible further division. Some brands focus on wellness because of the product (“It’s kombucha, only better”), the second group highlight the lifestyle benefits (“Living Tea for Living Life”).

As discussed above, there’s no ‘iconic’ kombucha strapline. It’s unlikely there ever will be. Only the world’s largest brands with massive marketing budgets would ever get to the level of a memorable strapline.

A good strapline creates a strong and clear brand image in the customer’s mind. Together with your logo, typography (font), and colors, your strapline defines your business in your customers’ eyes. It communicates your USP, defines your business, and helps set you apart from other beverages on the shelf. A good strapline will often evoke emotion and create a clear image and place for your business and brand in the customer’s mind. Likewise, as I’ve noted before, the semiotics (symbolic meaning) of your images Instagram communicate certain brand messages.

Indeed, it’s crucial to consider this from the customer’s point of view and aim to capture what you do for people in a few words to convey this succinctly. Consider the reaction a consumer feels when they read your strapline. What do they need? Is it something healthy, something that will make me feel better, or something that tastes great? Consumer needs should drive brand decisions.

A kombucha brand should make a decision about the type of consumer they want to appeal to based on where they position the product. Being very health focused might appeal to a relatively small target audience. Likewise being “Handcrafted in Derby.”

Of course, the success of a kombucha brand does not depend on the strapline. Many businesses market and sell successfully without a strapline. They do a good job, become familiar with customer tastes, and build a good reputation and a strong business.

Disclaimer

This post was developed with the assistance of Searchabull. The content of this article is accurate to the best of our knowledge and is presented for general informational purposes only.

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1 Response

  1. Nina Gordon says:

    My strapline “because you’ve got guts” made some sales at the market to people who’ve never had kombucha before and were even afraid of it. They took it as a challenge and tried some, and liked it!

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