In this post-millennial era, the food truck industry is still booming. Becoming more popular on an almost daily basis, new food trucks are popping up all over the United States, bringing delicious delicacies to the curbside and outside malls and office blocks. An industry that is estimated to be worth more than $2.7 billion a year, a food truck is a lucrative business idea with heaps of potential.
Now that you have your food truck name – based on our awesome articles on how to start and how to name your food truck business – it’s time to start thinking of an amazing slogan that will bring in the customers in droves. Our 7-step guide to creating the perfect food truck slogan for your business can help you get ahead of the competition, and make your food truck the one to go to for great tastes.
Coming up with a catchy and attention-grabbing slogan is like selling ice to Eskimos. Once you know how, it becomes easy. The trick is working out “how” in the first place.
- Research your target audience
- Simplicity is the key
- Make it memorable
- Focus on your strengths
- Make it “standalone”
- Make it timeless
- Test it out
Research your target audience
Research is an important step in creating a great slogan
Research is one of the most important factors in creating almost anything, and if you fail to do your research, your slogan will go unnoticed among the catchy slogans of other trucks. The first thing to research is the target audience you are aiming at, in conjunction with your actual business line.
You want to appeal to your target audience, and make then remember who you are based on your slogan alone. Knowing who you want to target is half of the battle, and your tagline increases in value over time as you become more recognized in the marketplace.
Simplicity is the key
Keeping it simple and short is the key to being memorable
The “KISS” rule is generally applied to most things these days, and slogan writing is no exception. “Keep It Short & Simple” is a general idea that has spanned centuries and made brands more popular and recognizable. The most successful slogans are the ones that are short and snappy, and catch the attention of passers-by easily, drawing them in to your world of taste sensations. The simplest slogans that are most recognizable have helped huge businesses be more easily recognized, even outside their target markets.
McDonalds slogan, “I’m Lovin’ It” is known all over the world, and is even translated in some countries, changing to “Love ko ‘to” in the Philippines – still short and catchy. And the Taco Bell slogan, Live Mas (Live More), is one of the more well-known restaurant slogans in the country.
And if you don’t know the owners of the slogan “Finger lickin’ good”, then you must have been living in a cave in Antarctica for the last 50 years. One thing to remember is that, if people are confused by your slogan, they are unlikely to remember it.
Make it memorable
Your slogan should have a memorable and positive impact.
The task of a slogan is to make it understandable by everyone, whether they are 5 years old or 90. Every eye that spots your slogan should automatically understand what you are talking about, and even if they don’t know exactly what you sell, they should know what it means.
For Subway, their slogan, “Eat Fresh”, is as catchy as it is relevant to the freshness of their ingredients. And Sprite’s “Obey your thirst” tagline is designed to make people want to drink it when they get thirsty. The Burger King slogan of “Have It Your Way” says nothing about selling burgers, but it does let you know that you can choose how you want whatever it is they sell.
When you look at some of the famous food trucks in the country, you can see that their slogans are catchy, short, and very, very, memorable. San Francisco’s “Ebbett’s Good To Go” slogan, “Admit it . . . you need a sandwich” makes you think twice after you read it. You can imagine people’s minds turning over and over with the thought of “Do I actually need a sandwich? I think I do…”
Focus on your strengths
Your strong slogan can bring in the biggest queues of customers.
Every food truck has its own ideas on what makes it great, and this is an area you can expound on in your slogans. Since there are no two food trucks that are the same (unless you operate a fleet of trucks in the same line of business), you can guarantee that your idea and food is as unique as you are, and your slogan can easily show this. For a Taco truck, a slogan like “Life Happens, Tacos Help” would focus the reader on the idea that tacos are a part of life.
Incorporating what makes you special into your slogan can help to make it more memorable as well. If you have the Best Burgers in Baltimore, you can let people know it. The slogan “Come Hungry, Leave Happy” says it all, letting people know they will be satisfied. And Sonny’s Food Truck in Philadelphia lets you know that “you can’t beat our meat!”
Make it “standalone”
Your slogan should be able to stand on its own
Your slogan should not be too mysterious that people do not recognize what it stands for. But at the same time, it must be able to be recognizable enough on its own to be associated with your food truck business. So even if they do not hear the name, the slogan can be recognized as part of the overall brand.
The slogan should also be able to tell people what to expect from your truck. Being too general in what the slogan says can be too confusing for customers, and make you forgettable.
Make it timeless
While some large companies rebrand their products every few years, you will notice that the most successful brands actually keep the same slogans for decades. One of the main strategies for marketers is to change with the times. But keeping the same slogan for half a century never did any harm to sales of Kellogg’s Frosties and Rice Crispies. “They’re Gr-r-reat!” and “Snap, Crackle, and Pop” are slogans that have lasted well for more than 50 years.
Choosing a slogan that can stand the test of time is not easy, and you need to consider how your brand may expand and grow over the years. Find something that tells people about your business, and can still manage to turn heads even after your products evolve and grow.
Test it out
Test out your slogans on your friends.
Believe it or not, most great slogans are the subject of focus group studies to find out how well it goes down with the public. In 2014, McDonalds tested out a change to their “I’m Lovin’ It” slogan, launching a “Lovin’ Beats Hatin’” slogan. Test groups and focus studies forced the company to change its mind, and stick to their well-known slogan.
While you may not have the ability to test out your slogan ideas with study groups and focused brand targets, you can try it out with your friends, family, and the guys in the bar or bowling alley. These are the ordinary people that are likely to be your potential customers, so they will be able to tell you whether your slogan is catchy enough to turn their heads. It’s also a good strategy for a little free advertising for your new business.
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