At some point the word “reimagine” escaped a TED Talk and began lurking in every tagline. “Reimagine health.” “Reimagine banking.” “Reimagine the future of brackets.” You name it, someone is allegedly reimagining it. Yet the real question remains: is anyone actually doing anything or are they sitting in beanbag chairs pondering the possibilities?
I was chatting with a client this week about some tagline options, and it got me thinking … most taglines try too hard to sound important without saying anything at all. My position is simple: a tagline should be a signature sign-off. A brand line. A clear statement of what you do or believe. It should feel like something you’d stamp on the bottom of everything you make. Not some vague, floaty phrase clinging to your logo like a marketing lanyard explaining why the logo exists in the first place.
When done right, a tagline doesn’t explain the brand. It is the brand, distilled. It doesn’t need to be poetic or clever. It needs to be unmistakably yours. Something you could imagine saying out loud at the end of a conversation, and people would just nod. Not because it dazzled them, but because it made sense. Too many brands write their taglines like they’re trying to win a pitch contest. The best ones write like they’ve already delivered.
“Reimagine” is the corporate shrug that hints at vision without delivering specifics. It is the equivalent of nodding during a blockchain presentation while praying no one asks for your opinion. It signals ambition without risk, a promise of progress neatly vacuum-sealed for distribution.
Consider “Reimagine healthcare.” Fantastic. What exactly is being reimagined? The Byzantine insurance codes? The paper gowns that betray you when you sneeze? Or is it merely a fresh color palette draped over the same bloated billing software?
Now look at “Reimagine manufacturing.” Translation: “We bought one robot arm,” or, “Our logo moved from industrial gray to electric teal and we now say ‘digital twin’ in meetings.” Meanwhile Jerry in shipping still hand-writes inventory on a clipboard from 1987.
“Reimagine education” usually boils down to gamified flashcards. “Reimagine travel” wants you to scan a QR code before basking in the same airport security line. “Reimagine food” tends to involve chickpeas that moonlight as ice cream. Each claim floats in copywriting limbo, free of pesky details like cost, timeline, or measurable impact.
Let us try honesty instead:
- Healthcare: “We make healthcare less awful.”
- Manufacturing: “We build cool stuff with scary-precise robots.”
- Banking: “We let you keep more of your own money.”
- Food: “Tastes good and will not kill you.”
“Reimagine” once suggested boundless creativity. Today it is the placeholder used when the strategy deck is still a blank slide titled “Vision.” If you are truly rethinking an industry, tell people what changes tomorrow morning. Otherwise just admit the truth: you make a solid product, you are improving it, and Jerry finally got an iPad.
No more reimagining. Say something real.
Folks that are Reimagining
Companies across virtually every industry have embraced “reimagine” as a powerful positioning word that signals transformation, innovation, and departure from traditional approaches (ahem, throw away line). This lists over 40 companies that use “reimagine” in their taglines, slogans, or core brand messaging, with usage concentrated heavily in the 2015-2024 period during major digital transformation waves.
Technology & Software
- CME – “Reimagine Everything”
- Attentive – “Reimagining business-to-consumer relationships”
- Reimagine AI – (Company name itself)
- Simplify – “Reimagining how people discover and secure their next career opportunity”
- Sprout Social – “Reimagine how social media can grow your business”
- EY – “Enterprise Reimagined”
- Tabs – “Reimagine how businesses get paid”
Automotive & Manufacturing
- Jaguar Land Rover – “Reimagine” (full brand campaign name)
- General Motors – “Reimagining use of electric vehicles as backup power sources”
- BrightDrop (GM Subsidiary) – “Reimagine commercial delivery and logistics for an all-electric future”
- Ford – “Reimagine the Malaysian ‘balik kampung’” (campaign), and broader reimagine messaging
- Bosch – “Reimagine your business for a smarter world”
- Siemens – “Reimagine products, retool manufacturing and rethink business models”
Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals
- Medtronic – “Reimagining the treatment of over 70 of the world’s most complex and challenging conditions”
- Phlow Corp – “Reimagining essential medicines from start to finish”
- zLOCK – “Reimagining spinal fusion”
- Reimagine Care – (Company name itself)
Financial Services
- Capital One – “Banking Reimagined”
- Vibrant Credit Union – “Banking Reimagined”
- Reimagine Capital – “Reimagining the power of investment capital to shape a better world”
- Manulife Investment Management – “Reimagine your possibilities”
Consumer Brands / Other
- Marriott Bonvoy – “Rewards Reimagined”
- Estée Lauder Companies – “Beauty Reimagined”
- AltSchool – “School, reimagined”
