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Taglines

Record Number of Entries, Quality Needs Improvement – Nonprofit Tagline Awards Update

nonprofit taglinesI’m thrilled to tell you that more than 2,700 taglines — of four types from nonprofit organizations in 13 different categories from health to civic benefit — were entered in the 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Awards . That’s:

  • 1,544 organizational taglines
  • 510 program/service/product taglines
  • 393 fundraising campaign taglines
  • 385 special event taglines.

Our vetting of the taglines began as soon as entries closed on July 28.  First the GettingAttention.org team selected semi-finalists based on these nonprofit tagline effectiveness criteria.  Next, our dedicated nonprofit tagline award judges panel selected the 70 finalists from that group.

These finalists are the taglines up for awards! Voting for the 17 winners — one organizational tagline in each of 13 categories; one tagline in each of the fundraising and event types; and two in the program tagline type due to the large number of entries — will open in early September.

I’ll keep you posted on the voting — the more voters, the more accurate the results!

Thanks so much for spreading the word, for entering and to our fantastic judges for their time and effort!

P.S. I have to tell you that although some of the taglines entered work well (roughly 30%), most do not. The reasons why are varied, from “they make no sense” to “they make sense, but don’t make an impact.” Whatever the reason,  the end result is a highly-used message that’s not doing its job for your organization.

That’s solvable but a call to action you have to heed. Many of you need to revise your tagline, or develop a new one altogether.The fully-revised 2010 Nonprofit Tagline report and first-time searchable online tagline database will be a great help in making the most of the few words that comprise your tagline .

Make sure you’re in the first wave to get these 2010 tagline resources by downloading the 2009 report now. It’ll give you a great head start and you’ll be at the top of the email list come November!

The 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Awards program is made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of Blackbaud, Event360, Eventbrite and See3 Communications.

P. S. Follow the tagline award news on Twitter via the hashtag #taggies

Nancy Schwartz on August 11, 2010 in Awards, Taglines | 0 comments
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Last Chance to Enter 2010 Tagline Awards — Deadline Midnight Tonight

Nonprofit-Tagline-Awards-2010Update – July 29 – Nonprofit Tagline Award entries are now closed.  Please enter next year!

Your nonprofit could be a 2010 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Award winner! But only if you enter your organizational, fundraising campaign, program/service and/or special event taglines by midnight tonight.

And, even if you don’t win this time round, all entrants will be invited to join me this fall in a game-changing webinar: How to Build Leadership Support for Critical Marketing Projects.

Take 3 minutes now to enter your nonprofit taglines today. Here’s more information on the tagline awards program.

You’ve been fantastically enthusiastic about this year’s award program. For those of you who have already entered, your organizational, fundraising, program and/or special event taglines are of astounding quality.

I thank you for your interest, and for spreading the word.

Let me also thank you for your contribution to strengthening the nonprofit communications field! All taglines entered will be integrated into the Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Database (will be online for the first time) and the updated 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Report.

Don’t miss this opportunity to enter. Today, until midnight,  is your last chance to enter your taglines.

All tagline entrants get a free copy of the report and access to the database when they are published in late fall! If you’d like a copy too, but you don’t want to enter your tagline, simply subscribe to the free Getting Attention e-update. That’ll ensure you’re on the list!

Enter your taglines today – or forever (till 2011) hold your peace!

Nancy Schwartz on July 28, 2010 in Awards, Taglines | 0 comments
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Ask Yourself 4 Questions for Effective Nonprofit Taglines

Tagline-Expert-Allison Van DiestWelcome to guest blogger Allison Van Diest. Allison, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Blackbaud, prides herself on being not only a marketing “artist” but a marketing “scientist”  able to measure the marketing impact. She has some terrific guidance to share with you on shaping a tagline that works…

What has less than 140 characters and tells the world what you’re up to?

Yes, Twitter does.  But how do you think the Twitter folks got the idea that a short, punchy phrase or two can be among the best ways to communicate?  Decades ago, taglines showed the world that a few well-chosen words can mean more to a reader than pages of advertising copy.

The purpose of a tagline is to create an impression that is meaningful and moving, as succinctly as possible.  And in today’s landscape of light speed communication, with constraints on readers’ time and attention, a well-written tagline is critical.

It is your best tool in capturing the imagination of a prospective supporter and also arms them with the perfect message to send to their network (through Twitter, perhaps!).

Sold on the idea of taglines, but not sure yours is prize-worthy? Enter the Nonprofit Tagline Awards program anyway, there’s nothing to lose. And every entrant will be invited to join me in a special free webinar on building leadership support for critical marketing projects. But back to taglines…

If you’re not satisfied with your tagline, consider sending it through a quick positioning refresh to make sure it truly captures your spirit.  As a reminder, a strong positioning statement answers these questions:

  1. Who (what group) does your organization serve?
  2. What does the group you serve hope to accomplish?
  3. What does your organization provide to the group you serve?
  4. What is the outcome if the group you serve accomplishes its goal?

Consider how how this information is conveyed by TexasNonprofits, a 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Award winner:  “Building community deep in the hearts of Texans”

  1. Who (what group) does your organization serve?  Texas nonprofits
  2. What does the group you serve hope to accomplish? To encourage higher levels of giving so they can do more good in Texas
  3. What does your organization provide to the group you serve?  Resources and support to aid the nonprofit community
  4. What is the end state if the group you serve accomplishes its goal?  Texans are even more philanthropic and nonprofit impact goes even further

With its tagline, TexasNonprofits conveys mission and impact in a clever and memorable way.   This year’s Taggies will once again celebrate well-crafted taglines and – hopefully – inspire other nonprofits to follow suit, so please enter yours today (deadline is July 28).

 We can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!

The 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Awards program is made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of Blackbaud, Event360, Eventbrite and See3 Communications.

P. P. S. Follow the tagline award news on Twitter via the hashtag #taggies

Guest Blogger on July 21, 2010 in Awards, Taglines | 0 comments
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How to Build Leadership Support for Critical Nonprofit Marketing Projects— Only for Tagline Award Entrants

Leadership support nonprofit marketingI have some exciting news to share -

I’ll be holding a special, free webinar for all organizations that enter the 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Awards Program.

Here’s why:  You’ve told me time and time again how much marketing work you want and need to do to advance your organization’s mission. But frequently meet a roadblock in convincing your leadership (and sometimes colleagues too) of the value (a.k.a. ROI) of investing in key marketing projects.

Building understanding is first step to building support and this webinar will walk you through, step-by-step, how to build leadership understanding and support.

You’ll leave with a clear sense of what it takes, examples of what works and doesn’t work and a comprehensive checklist to work from in your initial “building awareness and support” campaign and on an ongoing basis.

Trust me. When your leadership feels like part of your marketing team – rather than like outsiders – you’ll be much more likely to get the support and budget you need to execute the marketing campaigns you know will make the greatest impact. You’re the marketing expert but leadership support is a key to success.

So, don’t waste a minute. Enter today - The 2010 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards (a.k.a. The Taggies) close on July 28! Please enter today. And this year, for the first time, you can submit your organization’s program, fundraising campaign and/or and special event taglines, in addition to your organizational tagline.

When you do, your name will be placed on the invite list for the webinar, to be held mid-fall.

P.S. Learn more about building leadership support for critical nonprofit marketing projects:

Building Internal Support for Communications

How to Defend Your Marketing Budget, Even in Tough Times

Why Communications Advocacy Should Remain #1 on Your To-Do List

Nancy Schwartz on July 19, 2010 in Leadership, Taglines | 0 comments
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5-Star Nonprofit Taglines – MS Society Fundraising Events

event taglinesThe 2010 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards are open and waiting for your entry! But let me invite you to enter more than just your organizational tagline…

This year’s tagline awards program has been expanded from organizational taglines (awards for the best in each of 13 sectors – from human services to libraries) to include awards for the best taglines for nonprofit programs, fundraising campaigns and special events. Enter up to four separate taglines today.

I’ve heard from a few of you wondering what I mean by special event taglines. But they’re out there and they work! What’s easier to plug into a Facebook status update or mention in a call with a friend than a special event tagline. And the MS Society does a fantastic job in this series of three event taglines for its ride and walks.

Here are two more examples, from much smaller organizations, that clearly differentiate their special events.

  • The Literary Feast – An evening to nourish you mind, body and soul (from the Morrin Society)
  • LA Marathon – Start 2011 on the “Write” Foot (from Team Story Project)

Enter your tagline(s) today! Deadline is July 28 and I don’t want you to miss this opportunity to learn and be recognized for your great work.

Nancy Schwartz on July 19, 2010 in Awards, Taglines | 0 comments
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Abstractions Make Your Nonprofit Tagline Pointless

Jeff Brooks

Enter your taglines today - organizational, fundraising, special event and/or program taglines – in the 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Awards!

I want to welcome guest blogger Jeff Brooks, creative director at TrueSense Marketing. Jeff has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 20 years and blogging about it since 2005. Today, he shares some guidance on what NOT to do with your nonprofit tagline…

Writing a good tagline for an organization is one of the toughest challenges around. You have to get a whole lot of things right.

So let me show you something that a lot of nonprofits get wrong with their taglines.

It’s abstraction.

A lot of really pointless nonprofit taglines merely throw out an abstraction that’s vaguely related to what they do. And that’s too bad, because most nonprofits I know actually do specific things. It seems to happen more often than not.

Here are some examples:

Schools seem to specialize in vague, say-nothing taglines like these:

  • A Great School
  • Experience It
  • Be Central (”Central” is part of the school’s name)
  • Learn More

I’d call those a waste of ink, but since I’m responsible for creating an enormous volume of direct mail in my life, that would be the pot calling the kettle black. But still. Surely something specific and worthwhile goes on at those schools. You wouldn’t know from their taglines.

Probably the most over-used abstraction in nonprofit taglines is the word hope. Now, hope is a good thing, and if you’re in social services or health, you should be increasing hope in a number of ways.

But the hope really says nothing concrete. Check this numbing selection of abstract taglines:

  • Hope lives Here
  • Empowered by hope
  • Bringing Hope and Healing
  • Building Hope for a Cure
  • Providing Help, Hope and answers
  • Help and Hope
  • Sharing Knowledge. Sharing Hope.
  • Our help is their hope
  • Providing Healing, Help and Hope
  • Bringing hope. Changing lives.
  • Keeping Hope alive

And here’s one that combines the abstraction of hope with a sea of words:

Because at the heart of [name of organization] is what lives in the hearts of us all: The desire to help change the life of another and, in the process, change our own. Together we can perform extraordinary acts, and transform a life in crisis into a life of hope.

That’s clearly the work of a committee out of control.

The organizations with these taglines do a huge array of different things. Specific, useful, important, exciting things. But you’d never know by their abstract taglines.

Abstraction happens when committees are at work. They can’t agree on specifics, so they settle on the abstract. A lot of people actually believe an abstraction is better, because it’s “higher.” It’s not. It’s just airy vagueness that adds nothing to your messaging.

If your tagline is about “hope,” consider changing it. Have it tell people what your organization actually does.

P.S.  Enter today - The 2010 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards (a.k.a. The Taggies) close on July 28! And this year, for the first time, you can submit your organization’s program, fundraising campaign and/or and special event taglines, in addition to your organizational tagline.

This program is made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of Blackbaud, Event360, Eventbrite and See3 Communications.

P. P. S. Follow the tagline award news on Twitter via the hashtag #taggies

Nancy Schwartz on July 13, 2010 in Taglines | 2 comments
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Enter Now – Powerful Taglines for Your Nonprofit Program

Uniting Girls to Change the World
girls fundraising & empowerment program
Because There’s No Excuse for Abuse
domestic abuse prevention services
Your Lake. Love it or smell it. - lake water quality exhibit
Stop and Think - abstinence education program
Life.Support. - family services program

The 2010 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards are open and I want to invite you to enter more than just your organizational tagline…

This year’s awards program has been expanded from organizational taglines (awards for the best in each of 13 sectors – from human services to libraries) with awards for the best taglines for nonprofit programs, fundraising campaigns and special events. So you can enter up to four separate taglines today.

I’ve heard from a few of you wondering what I mean by program (that includes products and services too) taglines. But you can see from the examples above that they’re out there and they work! What’s easier to plug into a Facebook status update or mention in a call with a friend than a tagline for the program you’re participating in, supporting or volunteering with.

Enter your tagline(s) today! The deadline is July 28

Nancy Schwartz on July 6, 2010 in Awards, Branding and Messages, Taglines | 4 comments
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The Power of Special Event Taglines – Enter Yours Today

nonprofit taglineWelcome back to guest blogger Tamara Mendelsohn, Director of Marketing for Eventbrite for Causes, a sponsor of the 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Awards (a.k.a., The Taggies). Tamara focuses day in and day out on making events more productive for nonprofits and has a valuable recommendation to share…

This year, the Taggies have added a category for special event taglines. (You can enter yours now here.) Take my advice: This is something you should get in on! If you’re reading this, you already know that a live event represents a unique fundraising and awareness opportunity. But you may not be aware of what event taglines can do for your cause.

Here are 5 reasons special event taglines are so helpful:

  • They set your event apart from similar events - Attendees have a limited amount of time and resources for events. Imagine they’re picking between two great benefit concerts, one clearly branded with a tagline and one without. Which one do you think they’re more likely to remember, spread the word on and more likely to attend?
  • They make it easy for attendees to become your best marketers – For attendees to convince their social networks to join them at an event, they need to be able to explain why it will be great. By creating a potent tagline, you’re doing much of that work for them.
  • They’re built for social media – A great special event tagline is a snap for attendees to drop into the small text spaces of Twitter and Facebook. And drop again. And again.
  • They promote repeat attendance – Even a great event can fade from attendees’ memories if it lacks a distinctive identity. A strong tagline makes your event unforgettable, and can give it a permanent place on attendees’ monthly or yearly calendars.
  • They’re fun - A little humor, even a well-placed pun, communicates to attendees that you know how to show them a great time. And—especially since many organizations are raising money for quite serious causes—it’s key to remind them that your event is a gathering they’ll enjoy and feel good about.

So enter your special event tagline today in the 2010 Taggies. We already have some great entries and want to add yours! Deadline is July 28.

Guest Blogger on June 29, 2010 in Events, Taglines | 0 comments
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Enter Your Tagline(s) Today – 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Awards Open for Business

nonprofit tagline awards

Great Words Promoting Good Causes

Your nonprofit or foundation could be one of this year’s Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Award (a.k.a. The Taggies) winners!  And this year, for the first time, you can submit your organization’s program, fundraising campaign and/or and special event taglines, in addition to your organizational tagline. So enter here now.

A strong tagline does double-duty—working to extend your organization’s name and mission, while delivering a focused, memorable and repeatable message to your base. It’s one of your most basic, and effective, marketing tools, but a GettingAttention.org survey showed that 72% of nonprofit organizations don’t have a tagline or rate theirs as performing poorly. The awards program is designed to help close this gap by providing both motivation and models.

All entrants receive a free copy of the fully-updated 2010 Nonprofit Tagline Report in late 2010. It’s the only complete guide to building your organizational, program, fundraising or special event brand in 8 words or less—filled with how-tos, don’t-dos and models. 

Here are the winners of the 2008 and 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Awards (with the 2009 winners selected by more than 4,800 voters in the field). This could be you in 2010! Please take 3 minutes now to enter your nonprofit’s taglines today while it’s on your mind. The deadline to enter is July 28.

This program is made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of Blackbaud, Event360, Eventbrite and See3 Communications.

P. S. Follow the tagline award news on Twitter via the hashtag #taggies

Nancy Schwartz on June 24, 2010 in Taglines | 3 comments

How to Motivate Action with Your Nonprofit Tagline – Case Study

nonprofit taglineQ: We’re trying to finalize our nonprofit tagline, but need your help.

Your nonprofit tagline report has been incredibly helpful.  But we’ve been trying to finalize  a new tagline here at Seattle Central Community College for over a year now!

Here are a few that we’ve come up with. I’d appreciate your thoughts:

  • Seattle Central fits you – Based in large part on results from student/staff/faculty focus groups we conducted and is taken directly from a student quote. I’m hesitant to use this because one of your the tagline “don’ts” is repeating part of the organization’s name.

– Judy Kitzman, Communications Specialist

A. You’re right to pick up on that don’t, Judy, as repeating your organization’s name in your tagline IS a waste of messaging real estate, especially when the other words don’t differentiate your organization (and you are using just four words).

One thing in particular we would like to do is set Seattle Central apart geographically from other colleges -  we’re the only downtown community college campus and students love our urban location and diverse campus.

With that in mind, here are two options we’ve developed. I’m very interested in your feedback here:

  • The college on Capitol Hill.
  • Your college. Your future.

A: Judy, these are going in the right direction. But I don’t think either one does it: Location alone isn’t enough to motivate someone to matriculate, although diversity and/or a successful future may be. But put those concepts together and you’re far likelier to motivate prospective student interest:

Seattle Central Community College
Your future starts on Capitol Hill

This is just a quick draft Judy, that needs polishing, but take it from here!

If you have suggestions for Judy, please post them in Comments below.

Nancy Schwartz on June 22, 2010 in Taglines | 4 comments
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