Your Ad Agency Tagline Is Not Your Agency Elevator Pitch

Let me repeat, and not just for SEO purposes: your ad agency tagline is not your elevator pitch.

Yet, so many agencies treat them as one and the same.

An Adweek article defines an agency tagline this way:

Every organization has words it lives and operates by—mantras, if you will—and ad agencies are no exception. Some are more well-known than others, some are plastered across the agency’s website, and some take a bit of digging to find. But all represent an agency’s core values and goals.

Ad Agency Taglines Are Important

Let me just get that out there.

Creating one for your firm provides you with an exercise into who you are as a firm.

As the article points out, it represents your core values and goals.

Having said that, many come across as empty platitudes, but I’m not here to judge.

So now that I’ve put forth their importance, what is absolutely critical?

When To Use, And Not Use, Your Tagline

Your tagline is on your site, it’s on your digital and physical collateral and it’s on your business card, as it should be.

You should not, however, use your tagline in your top-of-the-funnel messaging.

I’ve said it previously, but you have to break through to your prospect before you can do anything else.

And you typically won’t if you lead with a tag line.

But, I see agencies do it, and I do understand.

You’ve spent time and effort crafting that tagline, and it does embody your core values.

Why wouldn’t a prospect understand and embrace that?

Because they’re busy and they don’t care-not upfront.

Here are three real-world agency examples to illustrate why leading with a tag line in your prospecting doesn’t work (and I’m not saying these aren’t good tag lines.)

Hi, Lee with X agency, we exist to help our clients make it deep.

Hi, Lee with X agency, we’re successful because we believe the work for our clients is never finished.

Hi, Lee with X agency, where we deliver for our clients by uniting behind one principle: Be Human.

To be clear, these taglines are real, but I made up the examples, not putting forth these firms are using their tag line in this way.

A lot of agencies out there are though, they’re leading with their tagline when reaching out initially to a prospect.

Look at my three examples again.

As a stand-alone, they don’t mean anything.

A prospect is not going to care-at all, at that point.

Your tagline has a place, and it’s when you have the time to tell a story, and you can weave the tagline into the work you do.

Upfront, lead with your 1 to 2 sentence elevator pitch, who you help, what you help them solve and who you are.