It’s no secret that people who live in cities with lots of startups have seen some of the wildest brand names out there.
And this variety of company names makes sense. When many startups in similar industries are formed in one geographic area, brands need to come up with a name that catches attention, easily indicates their mission, differentiates them from competitors, or encourages potential customers to learn more about them.
This is especially true in Australia, where startups are based from Sydney to Melbourne. These cities are the birthplace of uniquely named startups and big brands like Sukin, Canva, and Billabong.
While the successful companies listed above have made their names notable and easily identifiable, their company titles only give an indication of what their brands are offering. For this reason, successful brands like this also rely on slogans to give potential customers a quick and clear overview of the overall task or purpose of a brand.
With a good name and an effective slogan, potential customers will remember your brand’s uniqueness, mission or the types of products you offer. Then when they look for a product in your industry or field, they might think of the brand name and catchy tagline.
If you work in a busy startup hub like Australia, or start a business in an already crowded business landscape, look out for these seven Australian companies with standout slogans that set them apart from the competition.
7 Australian companies with great slogans
“More Than Money” – National Australian Bank (NAB)
During a rebranding in 2016, the National Australian Bank changed its slogan from “Give more, take less” to “More than money”.
The new tagline included a series of commercials run by the NAB agency Clemenger BBDO. Each ad highlighted their financial institution’s history, credibility and positive role in influencing countless Australian lives.
In the ad below, which was part of the More Than Money campaign, NAB evokes nostalgia by showing home videos of a newborn baby as it grows up, as well as budgeting for their parent’s milestones, such as violin lessons , Schooling and travel:
In an interview with CMO, Andrew Knott, NAB’s chief marketing officer, said the linchpin was to be more customer-centric.
“We felt it was time to move from having a very effective branding in terms of fair value and“ more give, less ”to something that was much more reflective of what we stand for today, but also with our heritage, ”explained Knott. “When we are at our best, we take the time to understand customers, understand where they are in their lives and help them with the financial aspects.”
By linking money with important milestones in life, the NAB slogan and campaign put emotions behind logistical offers. To potential customers unsure of where to put their money, the tagline makes the financial institution appear more reliable and potentially more trustworthy than other banks with basic unemotional marketing.
“Life is better in board shorts.” – Billabong
When it comes to slogans, Billabong keeps it short and sweet. Knowing that most of its customers are looking for swimwear for surfers, beach vacations, or summer sports, Billabong created a slogan to remind people how much fun they can have in swimsuits.
Throughout Billabong’s history, this slogan has been used in a number of its online and print campaigns. As of 2017, the brand produced a YouTube surf series with the same phrase as the title. Here is one of his chapters:
Billabong’s slogan is a great example of how a bold statement in a slogan can convince a prospect to buy a product to make their life more enjoyable. But depending on who hears it, the slogan can also evoke a feeling of holiday FOMO or seasonal nostalgia.
For example, if someone lives in a cold climate and hears that life in board shorts could be better, they might long to go surfing in a warm place. Or if someone has worked long hours, they can remember a time spent on the beach as a kid. The emotions or memories evoked by this slogan may not convince anyone to buy a ticket to a beach destination. But when they go on vacation, Billabong may be the first brand they remember when shopping for beachwear.
“Skin Care That The Earth Doesn’t Cost” – Sukin
As a budget conscious, environmentally conscious shopper, I can attest that it is difficult to find environmentally friendly products that meet your skin’s health needs and don’t cost a fortune.
Sukin, a Melbourne-based skin care brand, aims to solve the above dilemma by selling affordable, sustainably produced skin products. The slogan reflects this mission with a play on words: “Skin care that doesn’t cost the earth.”
Sukin’s slogan not only cleverly explains the brand in just one sentence, but also goes well with his overall mission.
“Here at Sukin, we are committed to delivering skin care products that don’t cost the world. This is a commitment not only to creating affordable products, but also at minimal cost to our precious environment. We do this by thinking and thinking sustainably act wherever possible. Read on for our environmental initiatives, ”says Sukin’s Brand Values page.
“Design anything. Publish anywhere.” – Canva
While Canva now seems like a huge global company, it was once a startup founded in Sydney, Australia.
For those who haven’t used Canva, the website allows individual users or teams to easily create and publish aesthetically pleasing graphic designs for websites, social media, and other platforms.
Since Canva is inherently artistic, the brand could have gotten away with an overly creative tagline. Instead, the company keeps things simple – yet incredibly effective – with “Design Everything. Publish Anywhere.”
In just four simple words, Canva describes its minimally viable product and attracts both designers and artistic novices to try its tools.
“Australians wouldn’t give XXXX for anything else.” – XXXX
Today the slogan of XXXX beer is simply “Pride of Queensland”. However, before the brand became known worldwide, there was another great tagline that caught the attention of the Australian masses due to the controversy surrounding the slight curse.
For decades, XXXX – formerly known as Castlemaine XXXX – has adopted Australia’s quirky sense of humor and slang with the memorable slogan “Australians wouldn’t give XXXX for anything else”.
The slogan, cleverly using XXXX to suggest a four-letter swear word, dates back to 1985. At the time, commercials featured a longer, TV-friendly slogan called “Australians Wouldn’t Give Castlemaine XXXX For Anything Else”.
These early commercials often showed Australian rural residents, farmers and construction workers getting into humorous but dangerous situations just to get XXXX beer. After a wild scene, a narrator read the slogan and insinuated that no other beer would interest Australians as much. Here is a classic example:
In the 1990s, the brand began using the shortened headline to convey a more eye-catching message.
Although the slogan was dropped in a 1996 rebranding, it is still a historically great example of how a company can be bold, attention grabbing, and memorable while still marketing a product with taste.
“Tastes like Australia.” – Vegemite
For generations, many Australians and visitors from Australia have dabbed Vegemite on bread and sandwiches for added flavor.
In addition to being a popular snack in Australia, Vegemite has been featured in global content such as films or TV shows discussing the continent. And when non-Australian people see or try Vegemite, they might ask, “What is it made of?”
Knowing that people associate Australians with Vegemite and at the same time wonder what is in the legendary snack, the brand “Tastes like Australia” was launched. – a new slogan and commercial in 2018.
The commercial explaining the tagline starts with a confused person wondering how Vegemite is made. A narrator with an Australian accent then presents videos of Australian scenes – such as sporting events, crocodiles, and travel destinations – as well as photos of fruit-based ingredients. Ultimately, the ad implies that Vegemite is metaphorically composed of fruits, vegetables, cheese, and cult scenes of Australian pride.
“Find your thing.” – Redbubble
Redbubble is a retail chain and online store where people, organizations, or small businesses can sell clothes, art, or other items that are considered crazy, humorous, or unique. If you scroll through the site, you might find pizza cat meme t-shirts, oddly decorated pottery, or pants with glitter or brightly colored patterns.
Since you can buy all sorts of unique or fun independently made treasures on the site, Redbubble keeps its tagline broad – yet motivational.
With “Find your thing”, Redbubble implies that there is something for everyone on the website. It also includes that everyone has an independent style and can search this website for clothing or items that will allow them to embrace their inner uniqueness.
In addition to “Find Your Thing” in videos like the one below, Redbubble also has a section of the same name on its website.
“Find your thing.” is a great example of how a company with a lot of offerings can create a broad tagline that states what their business is about without being too vague.
Make a great slogan
If you’ve been inspired to change or create your own slogan, here are a few topics to use in the Australian examples above:
- Keep it simple: You don’t have to be vague or overly smart to convince someone to review your brand. Sometimes simply repeating your MVP – as Canva does – is effective enough to get an audience.
- Be brave: Is your company or product known to the locals, is it award-winning or maybe an icon? If so, then you can try putting your company or product successes into a bold phrase, such as Vegemite’s “Tastes like Australia”.
- Get Smart: If you can’t put your entire mission into one short, succinct phrase, use an easily recognizable metaphor or play with words like Sukin’s “Skin Care That Doesn’t Cost the Earth”.
If you want to learn more about brainstorming and creating catchy taglines or taglines, check out this helpful guide or download the free resource below.
