Brand slogan: how to create and test
Liked or remembered: two different questions that confuse almost everyone
When people are shown several slogan options and asked 'which one is more liked,' they react to the aesthetics of the phrase: rhythm, sound, absence of complex words. This is an emotional assessment here and now, and it hardly correlates with whether a person will recall that phrase in a supermarket a week later.
An investigation of more than 820 real brand slogans has revealed a direct conflict: short phrases with frequent, familiar words are rated higher on the 'liked' scale, but they are worse retained in memory. Phrases with rarer, more specific words — especially those containing the brand name — are liked less, but are remembered significantly better.
This explains why a beautiful slogan can fail in real work. A smooth phrase blends into the stream of other advertising precisely because the brain has nothing specific 'to grab onto' — there is nothing distinctive in it. Roughness, an unfamiliar word, or a brand name in the text create an anchor that memory clings to, even if at first glance the phrase seems less elegant.
Slogan length: there is no universal standard, only a compromise
Data on 820 slogans show that the optimal range is 3–7 words. This is confirmed by nearly all top sources. But behind this figure lies a fork that is usually left unmentioned.
| Parameter | A short and 'frequency-based' slogan | A slogan with specifics and a brand |
|---|---|---|
| Like rating | High | Below average |
| Memorability | Weak | High |
| Brand connection | Weak, easily confused with a competitor | Strong, effect of 'big' size |
| Example of logic | 'Your choice', 'Live brightly' | 'Just Do It', 'Lick your fingers' (KFC) |
Including the brand name in the slogan — a specific, measurable lever: it almost always reduces the aesthetic evaluation of the phrase, but sharply enhances both memorability and association with the company. If the strategic task is to embed the name in the audience's mind, sacrificing 'beauty' for the brand name in the text is a rational decision, not a compromise with taste.
How to test: right questions versus convenient questions
‘Which one do you like more?’ — the most common question in surveys and the most useless from the perspective of predicting effectiveness. It measures instant aesthetic reaction, not how the slogan will behave in real brand communication.
The correct sequence of questions is structured differently — it tests the function of the slogan, not its attractiveness:
- What does this slogan promise to the consumer?
- For which product or category does it make sense semantically?
- What image of the company does this phrase create?
- Memorability — through a distracting task: show the slogan, redirect the respondent's attention to another task, and 5–10 minutes later ask what they remember.
The format of the survey is no less important than the content of the questions. It is optimal to display 2–4 options simultaneously: more than that, and respondents start getting confused, evaluations become noisy and poorly interpretable. The entire survey should be kept within 5–7 questions, distributed across specific parameters: clarity, memorability, emotional response, trust in the promise.
A/B test in real advertising: what to measure instead of votes
Audience research is laboratory conditions. An A/B test in a live ad campaign is fairer because it shows behavior, not declared preferences. Two slogan variants are launched in parallel on comparable audience segments, and compared not by 'likes' ratings, but by actions.
Metrics that actually show the effectiveness of a slogan in advertising:
- CTR of the ad — does the phrase capture attention in the first second;
- Bounce rate and time on page after click — does the slogan's promise match what the user sees next;
- Brand recall in post-click surveys — do people remember the brand specifically through the slogan after some time;
- Conversion to target action — does the emotional response translate into behavior.
Voices in the 'like / dislike' poll are not included at all here. This is a principled point: a slogan that won in the preference poll often loses in an A/B test by CTR and recall — because the poll measured taste, while the ad test measures the effectiveness of the phrase.
Final choice from 5–7 semifinalists: criteria, not voting
The most common mistake at the finish line is to choose a slogan that received more votes in the overall poll. Most votes reflect what the phrase is liked by a broad audience right now, but say nothing about its strategic suitability for the brand in the years to come.
Instead of voting at the final stage, each candidate must be run through six parameters:
- Clarity — is the meaning immediately readable, without explanations.
- Brand connection — can the company or category be guessed without a logo nearby.
- Credibility of the promise — does the phrase raise expectations that the product will not fulfill.
- Appropriateness of tone — does it match the brand's voice, and doesn't sound like a random quote.
- Memorability — test via a distracting task, not self-assessment by the respondent.
- Timelessness — is the slogan tied to the current campaign, season, or news event.
If one candidate received fewer votes in the preference poll but performs better on these six points — the choice should be made in favor of him. Voting shows momentary taste, criteria show work readiness.
What the history of famous slogans says
«Just Do It» was born at Nike literally in one night, inspired by the last words of a condemned prisoner — «Let's do it». The phrase is short and simple in words, but with an unusual, slightly harsh tone that cannot be confused with a competitor's. KFC got «Finger-licking good» from a spontaneous remark by a manager during a commercial shoot — the phrase did not go through 50 ideas or focus groups, but survived decades precisely due to the specificity of the image. And the L'Oreal slogan «Because you're worth it» has been working for 50 years and has been translated into 40 languages — an example of longevity, stable against fashion and seasonal advertising trends.
None of these slogans was chosen based on the principle of 'being the most liked in the survey.' All three are grounded in a specific image, a recognizable tone, and an accurate match to the brand's promise — that is, precisely those parameters that the 'like/dislike' voting almost never captures.
Liked or remembered: two different questions that confuse almost everyone
When people are shown several slogan options and asked 'which one is more liked,' they react to the aesthetics of the phrase: rhythm, sound, absence of complex words. This is an emotional assessment here and now, and it hardly correlates with whether a person will recall that phrase in a supermarket a week later.
An investigation of more than 820 real brand slogans has revealed a direct conflict: short phrases with frequent, familiar words are rated higher on the 'liked' scale, but they are worse retained in memory. Phrases with rarer, more specific words — especially those containing the brand name — are liked less, but are remembered significantly better.
This explains why a beautiful slogan can fail in real work. A smooth phrase blends into the stream of other advertising precisely because the brain has nothing specific 'to grab onto' — there is nothing distinctive in it. Roughness, an unfamiliar word, or a brand name in the text create an anchor that memory clings to, even if at first glance the phrase seems less elegant.
Slogan length: there is no universal standard, only a compromise
Data on 820 slogans show that the optimal range is 3–7 words. This is confirmed by nearly all top sources. But behind this figure lies a fork that is usually left unmentioned.
| Parameter | A short and 'frequency-based' slogan | A slogan with specifics and a brand |
|---|---|---|
| Like rating | High | Below average |
| Memorability | Weak | High |
| Brand connection | Weak, easily confused with a competitor | Strong, effect of 'big' size |
| Example of logic | 'Your choice', 'Live brightly' | 'Just Do It', 'Lick your fingers' (KFC) |
Including the brand name in the slogan — a specific, measurable lever: it almost always reduces the aesthetic evaluation of the phrase, but sharply enhances both memorability and association with the company. If the strategic task is to embed the name in the audience's mind, sacrificing 'beauty' for the brand name in the text is a rational decision, not a compromise with taste.
How to test: right questions versus convenient questions
‘Which one do you like more?’ — the most common question in surveys and the most useless from the perspective of predicting effectiveness. It measures instant aesthetic reaction, not how the slogan will behave in real brand communication.
The correct sequence of questions is structured differently — it tests the function of the slogan, not its attractiveness:
- What does this slogan promise to the consumer?
- For which product or category does it make sense semantically?
- What image of the company does this phrase create?
- Memorability — through a distracting task: show the slogan, redirect the respondent's attention to another task, and 5–10 minutes later ask what they remember.
The format of the survey is no less important than the content of the questions. It is optimal to display 2–4 options simultaneously: more than that, and respondents start getting confused, evaluations become noisy and poorly interpretable. The entire survey should be kept within 5–7 questions, distributed across specific parameters: clarity, memorability, emotional response, trust in the promise.
A/B test in real advertising: what to measure instead of votes
Audience research is laboratory conditions. An A/B test in a live ad campaign is fairer because it shows behavior, not declared preferences. Two slogan variants are launched in parallel on comparable audience segments, and compared not by 'likes' ratings, but by actions.
Metrics that actually show the effectiveness of a slogan in advertising:
- CTR of the ad — does the phrase capture attention in the first second;
- Bounce rate and time on page after click — does the slogan's promise match what the user sees next;
- Brand recall in post-click surveys — do people remember the brand specifically through the slogan after some time;
- Conversion to target action — does the emotional response translate into behavior.
Voices in the 'like / dislike' poll are not included at all here. This is a principled point: a slogan that won in the preference poll often loses in an A/B test by CTR and recall — because the poll measured taste, while the ad test measures the effectiveness of the phrase.
Final choice from 5–7 semifinalists: criteria, not voting
The most common mistake at the finish line is to choose a slogan that received more votes in the overall poll. Most votes reflect what the phrase is liked by a broad audience right now, but say nothing about its strategic suitability for the brand in the years to come.
Instead of voting at the final stage, each candidate must be run through six parameters:
- Clarity — is the meaning immediately readable, without explanations.
- Brand connection — can the company or category be guessed without a logo nearby.
- Credibility of the promise — does the phrase raise expectations that the product will not fulfill.
- Appropriateness of tone — does it match the brand's voice, and doesn't sound like a random quote.
- Memorability — test via a distracting task, not self-assessment by the respondent.
- Timelessness — is the slogan tied to the current campaign, season, or news event.
If one candidate received fewer votes in the preference poll but performs better on these six points — the choice should be made in favor of him. Voting shows momentary taste, criteria show work readiness.
What the history of famous slogans says
«Just Do It» was born at Nike literally in one night, inspired by the last words of a condemned prisoner — «Let's do it». The phrase is short and simple in words, but with an unusual, slightly harsh tone that cannot be confused with a competitor's. KFC got «Finger-licking good» from a spontaneous remark by a manager during a commercial shoot — the phrase did not go through 50 ideas or focus groups, but survived decades precisely due to the specificity of the image. And the L'Oreal slogan «Because you're worth it» has been working for 50 years and has been translated into 40 languages — an example of longevity, stable against fashion and seasonal advertising trends.
None of these slogans was chosen based on the principle of 'being the most liked in the survey.' All three are grounded in a specific image, a recognizable tone, and an accurate match to the brand's promise — that is, precisely those parameters that the 'like/dislike' voting almost never captures.
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