Speaking Gen Z: A Register-Authenticity Framework for Brand Tagline Development

บทคัดย่อ

Abstract:  Generation Z is often described as a generation that can tell, almost instantly, when a brand is “trying too hard.” Nowhere is this more visible than in taglines the short, repeatable lines meant to carry a brand's identity in a handful of words. Much of the existing guidance on slogan-writing still treats a tagline mainly as a persuasion device, judged by memorability, distinctiveness, and fit with brand positioning. This conceptual paper argues that for a Generation Z audience, a tagline succeeds or fails earlier than that at the level of language itself: does it sound like something a real member of this generation would actually say, or does it sound like an adult institution performing youth Drawing on sociolinguistic register theory and the consumer brand-authenticity literature, this paper proposes the Register-Authenticity Framework (RAF), which organizes tagline language along three dimensions register alignment, relational tenor, and authenticity cueing and translates them into a seven-item Register-Authenticity Checklist (RAC) that marketers, student-affairs offices, and university communication teams can apply directly to a draft tagline. A short illustration from Thai higher education marketing shows the framework in use, and the paper closes with implications for practice and a short research agenda.