As noted above, taglines, slogans, and descriptors are bits of copy that help express your brand. Sometimes they are paired with your logo. Sometimes they are embedded into your advertising.
Consider Motel 6.
Tagline: We’ll leave the light on for you
Slogans:
Save more for what you travel for
No frills, just rest.
Descriptor: Economy motel
Taglines help customers remember the brand and emotionally connect, but don’t overtly tell customers anything about what you do or why they should choose your brand. The Motel 6 tagline conveys welcoming homeyness, but the truly distinguishing feature of the brand is lower price, not greater hospitality. Taglines are usually shorter phrases and don’t change frequently. A tagline can help a fairly descriptive brand name evoke more emotion and customer engagement.
Slogans express brand positioning and can be adapted to changing marketing goals. They can be long: There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard. Slogans sound more like campaign headlines and are more likely to feel like jingle lyrics: The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup!
Descriptors tell you what the brand does, how it does it, where it does it, or who it does it for. Descriptors frequently are paired with brand names that are more abstract or that express the brand’s emotional benefit or personality but not the functional offering. Without the latter two words in Red Bull Energy Drink, the name could work for almost any brand characterized by power and passion.