Headline, tagline, payoff, claim: short texts in professional communication
Over the decades, the universe of business communication has seen the emergence and sedimentation of various forms of short texts, which have gradually consolidated and taken well-defined forms to accomplish precise tasks. Sometimes, however, misunderstandings arise even among professionals, because there is not always total consistency in the way these text types are named, nation to nation.
In other cases, the advent of the digital revolution has contributed to confusion, for example, in the way the word headline is understood. Finally, it must be said that the common language is sometimes confused with the professional language and misunderstandings still increase. In this article we will endeavor to provide some clarity and offer the reader as objective, clear, and pragmatic definitions as possible.
Headline. One, none, a hundred thousand
The headline experiences, in the context of contemporary communication, not a few identity crises. Today we cannot fail to recognize that there exist in the world of professional communication several types of headlines, qualitatively different from each other. Let us take a closer look at the two main forms.
1.Advertising headline
It is perhaps the headline par excellence: the oldest, with the most certain identity. It is the headline of an advertising campaign planned in print or billboard media. Unlike a newspaper headline or a book headline, it is traditionally spelled with a period. The reason behind this stylistic choice provides us with a valuable clue to grasp the specificity of this type of short text. The advertising headline-unlike what is often believed in nonprofessional contexts-is not a stand-alone headline that “sounds good” or is particularly “catchy.” In fact, it is not even an actual headline. Instead, it is a sentence, which is often incomplete, when not entirely incomprehensible, unless read in conjunction with another sentence, which is entirely visual: that is, the image of the page or poster. This is precisely why, as we said, the advertising headline traditionally wants the point. It is not the title of a record or a novel, but a sentence that is completed in conjunction with an image.
If I say, “There are ideas we’d like to have copied.”, I haven’t written anything understandable or catchy or musical. But I have written the headline of an excellent Apple page, which can be understood only by looking at the image as well: an expanse of photovoltaic panels. Just by matching headline and image, the reader understands the irony: Apple’s competitors may not boast the same commitment to renewable energy as the Cupertino brand.
One clarification, for the avoidance of doubt: the headline works on the short term and changes from page to page, from poster to poster. It is not the phrase that links to the brand, but simply the headline of this or this other message. Thus, a brand like Nike, for example, may have “Just do it.” as institutional copy (we will soon learn to call it a tagline) while creating from ad to ad headlines as diverse as, “Michael Jordan 1 – Isaac Newton 0” or “It’s only a crazy dream until you do it.”
2.Headline for Digital Content
Actually, this category would open a large panel of subcategories. But for the purposes of this brief guide between terms, suffice it to know that all the many forms of headline for digital content differ qualitatively from the advertising headline for one obvious reason: they are not to be read by referring dialectically to an image. Sure, in the header of an article for LinkedIN, for example, an image may be there. But we will not find the same headline-image connection that we find in advertising pages. The relationship is more like that which has always been found in news reporting.
The headline is sufficient in itself and, when best written, entices one to read the article, newsletter or content of a post distributed on Facebook. The image serves in this case primarily to attract the eye and sometimes to support what the headline and body of the text indicate. This type of headline, among which we can also include all the headlines in this same article, does not want a period.
Subheadline (or subhead). A bridge to bodycopy
The subheadline may or may not be present in a print page, or in a billboard. When there is it has a bridging function between the promise highlighted in the creative part of the message and the more rational and explanatory part. We can consider it the introductory title of the bodycopy.
Tagline and Payoff. A freeze-dried universe in three words
The word payoff is very common in Italy, but less widely used in Anglo-Saxon countries, where people tend to prefer the word tagline. What is it? It is a text that is very different from the headline, which performs an institutional and broader task: it is the phrase that positions the brand in the market and, in conjunction with the brand, becomes a valuable foundation for characterizing the corporate identity. It has the task of communicating its personality, style, tone of voice, values. All this, in very few words. Some taglines last for entire decades and contribute greatly to a brand’s memorability.
A few examples:
- Nike. Just do it.
- Apple. Think different.
- Volkswagen. Das auto.
- McDonald’s. I’m loving it.
If the headline relates to the visual of the individual campaign, the payoff (or tagline) relates closely to the company’s naming and can be applied to all of the brand’s ads and communication actions, even for many, many years. It is an invariable component that works over the long term.
Claim. A campaign payoff.
It is perhaps the most elusive and indefinable short text of all. Some professionals consider it a synonym for headline, but for others it is a text very close to payoff (or tagline). Perhaps the simplest and clearest definition to refer to is this: the claim is the payoff of a multi-subject campaign. What does this mean in concrete terms? In some cases, a brand may decide to create an advertising campaign consisting of more than one subject. Each individual subject might have an ad hoc headline, while underneath the logo we would find the usual brand payoff that positions the brand. But to tie the individual subjects together, stitching them together with a red thread, a short text can be used: it is precisely the claim, which makes explicit the concept of the campaign and, like an umbrella, holds under it the different creativities emanating from the same creative idea. In this fun campaign for Cafi Aspirin, for example, we can read three different headlines. The short text that appears next to the brand reads, If it gets stronger, we get stronger. This is certainly not Bayer’s institutional tagline, but it is a claim that makes explicit the concept that the campaign for Cafi Aspirin is intended to communicate, and that underlies the creative idea. By the way, Bayer’s tagline is: Science for a better life. But by corporate choice it rarely appears in communication materials.
The Slogan. Does it exist or not?
We close our exploratory journey through the glossary of short texts for communication with one of the most common terms, at least in countries like Italy. Slogan is supposedly derived from the Gaelic “war cry.” In common parlance it is used to refer to a memorable, catchy, musical motto that can come from the world of advertising as well as the political world. Often laypeople employ the word slogan in reference to payoffs, but sometimes also to claims or even headlines. Because of this anti-specificity, in professional contexts the word slogan is not particularly appreciated. Rarely, within a multinational advertising agency, will you hear a creative director say, Here we need to improve the slogan.
Curiously, we can observe in conclusion, the best-known advertising term, at least in Italy, is the least specific and employed by professionals, who certainly prefer to employ the words described in this article to avoid misunderstandings as much as possible.