Brainstorming a Tagline For Aeolidia

We rolled up our sleeves and got together to brainstorm our tagline recently. I got two amazing pieces of advice from my team that I wanted to pass along to you. Here are the thoughts I shared with my team to kick off the tagline brainstorming:

Our tagline now is “Simply attractive design,” which I liked because I was thinking originally that our websites are “simple” (not massive and complicated) and “simply attractive.” But I now think this is kind of boring (and our websites get less “simple” all the time!) and doesn’t capture our spirit or really give people an idea of what we do.

Some features of what we do that could be highlighted in the tagline:

• we’re a one-stop shop
• we do web and also a lot of “etc.”
• maybe something client-centered like “your friendly web studio…”
• we can help build a business
• we’re kind of a small biz toolbox

How to highlight pride in your company

Mariah shared a logo she’d seen decorated with “Best and Most Fearless,” and when I said it seemed too arrogant, Dewi shared this wonderful insight:

I really like Mariah’s example — very bold and fresh.  Here is my take on the cocky v. confident issue, and I share this with clients often (especially sweet, humble clients like yourself, Arianne): For what it’s worth, I believe sometimes people err on the side of too much humility.  When a consumer/client/customer enters into any goods & services establishment (whether it be Brick & Mortar or online) there is an expectation that the purveyor will be trying to sell the positives of the business — and sell hard.  While I agree that too much pushiness = desperation, too little selling can read as lack of confidence, lack of experience, and/or a wan belief in their offerings in general.

An effective tool for really highlighting pride in a company without being obnoxious is to infuse the enthusiasm, pride, and jubilance at how awesome your company is with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor.  This works really well for a company like Aeolidia — which is already quirky and indie and trying to attract a fun, hip audience with sense of humor intact.

Find your unique selling proposition

Why will your clients or customers come to you instead of to your competitors? There has to be something different about what you do to make you the obvious choice for your ideal client.

Rather than selling stuffed animals, maybe you sell plush internal organs. The woman whose son is getting his kidney transplanted may find your kidney more fitting than a teddy bear.

When your business is different from the other options out there, your customer can concentrate on what it is you do, rather than compare multiple similar choices with the only available differentiator: price (or convenience, or something else you’d rather not compete based on!).

Jena came in to help us hone our scattered thoughts with this great clarification of what’s so special about us:

I agree with Arianne’s initial idea that the tagline might want to emphasize that we’re a one-stop shop, a small biz toolbox, helping build businesses and that it’d be nice to have it client focused. I think that’s namely what separates Aeolidia from other independent design studios- that we offer more than just design but awesome design with the support of expertise in illustration and marketing and copywriting and photography and all sorts of stuff that other places don’t/can’t offer. No, we don’t guarantee site metrics and conversion rates and what not, as mentioned, but I don’t believe our target customer is looking for that kind of thing anyway – the person who wants standard sort of services ain’t looking for us.

We offer a much more personal, hand-holding experience than the biggie places with marketing teams can offer, and a much more comprehensive service than many of our fellow indie design studios offer. And I KNOW we have some of the best, most organized, most dependable customer service out there, which also sets us apart- so I like the friendly angle on ideas so far.

As I see it, we’re exactly what a creative person needs to create a thriving online business – we’re not just setting them up for success but offering them access to tools (and brains) that will help ensure it. It’s ultimately up to them, of course, but I believe with us as a whole team behind any client we offer quite a lot of support to help them really create the biz of their dreams. And I think if we were able to begin drawing in more people than those just interested in web design, the ones who need marketing or copywriting or a logo or photography for their existing websites – those could very easily translate into future design clients. So I think it’d be beneficial to be able to define ourselves on a slightly broader front, for independent creatives not just looking for a new website, but help with their business in general and the overall goals they have for it.

What Did We End Up With?

I am super happy with it! Once we saw it with the logo, we knew we were all set. Now that I see it took 3 weeks, 10 people, and 67 messages to get back to the original idea in my project brief, I may try going with my gut a bit more often during this process!

Do You Need a Tagline?

We offer tagline brainstorming services (and business name brainstorming services) at Aeolidia. It is a great feeling to have someone to help you come up with ideas and research them for you. It’s sure been a weight off of my mind! Please get in touch for tagline brainstorming services.