Slogan vs Tagline vs Motto: Know The Difference

Although these concepts, taglines or slogans, and claims are part of the brand’s branding strategy, each one of them has small nuances.

Slogan, tagline, and motto are three terms that are often confused with one another. While there are some similarities between these terms, there are also some major differences between them that will be highlighted in this article.

Slogan vs Tagline vs Motto

Slogan

A slogan is a phrase that is used to capture the attention of the public. It is usually one or two words that are used to identify a company or its products. A slogan is typically short, catchy, and to the point. It is designed to be easy to remember and to create a strong association between the company and the slogan.

A slogan can be used to communicate a company’s mission or values. It can also be used to promote a product or service. Slogans are often used in advertising and marketing campaigns.

Some well-known slogans include

• “Just Do It” (Nike)
• “Think Different” (Apple), and
• “Finger Lickin’ Good” (KFC).

Tagline

A tagline is a phrase that is used to describe a company or its products. It is usually one or two words that are used to identify a company or its products. A tagline is typically short, catchy, and to the point. It is designed to be easy to remember and to create a strong association between the company and the tagline.

A tagline can be used to communicate a company’s mission or values. It can also be used to promote a product or service. Taglines are often used in advertising and marketing campaigns.

Some well-known taglines include

• “The Ultimate Driving Machine” (BMW),
• “The happiest place on earth” (Disneyland), and
• “We try harder” (Avis).

Motto

A motto is a phrase that is used to describe a company’s values or beliefs. It is usually one or two words that are used to identify a company or its products. A motto is typically short, catchy, and to the point. It is designed to be easy to remember and to create a strong association between the company and the motto.

A motto can be used to communicate a company’s mission or values. It can also be used to promote a product or service. Mottos are often used in advertising and marketing campaigns.

Some well-known mottos include

• “The customer is always right” (Sears),
• “A diamond is forever” (De Beers), and
• “Just do it” (Nike).

Types Of Slogan

Depending on the type of strategy that we seek to carry out, we will choose one type of slogan or another.

To do this, we must be clear about the objectives we are seeking with our marketing plan.

Although several slogans can serve the same purpose, it is important that we do not try to cover too much and look for what best suits our objectives.

descriptive slogan

A descriptive slogan is one, as its name suggests, that describes the advantages, characteristics, or benefits of our brand, product, or service.

• Example; “At the heart of the image” – Nikon

differentiation slogan

With a differentiation slogan, we seek to stand out from our competition. To do this, we allude to one or more characteristics of our business that the competition lacks.

A good way to create a differentiation slogan is by using the question “What makes my brand different from others?”

• Example; “The brand most used by dentists” (Oral-B)

informative slogan

An informative slogan is one that clearly informs what the brand or product to which it alludes does.

If you have a brand with little recognition, an informative slogan can be a good option so that your customers can easily get to know you.

• Example; “The car to live” – Renault

value slogan

Through a value slogan, we seek to explain what our brand does to add value to our consumers.

With this slogan, we do not seek to explain our product, but to teach our potential customers why they need our product.

• Example; “We help the world grow the food it needs”. – Mosaic

results slogan

Thanks to a results slogan, we can emphasize the good results that can be achieved thanks to our product or service.

In other words, we show an incentive to our clients with the aim of interacting with us from the first moment.

• Example; “Wake up to life” – Nescafe

What characteristics should a good slogan have?

✅ A slogan must be brief, short, and concise. Explain in a few words everything we want to convey, bluntly.

✅ Without contradicting the above, the slogan must not be inappropriate or rude. Carrying out a good market study to find out what may be offensive to which audience is key to achieving good results.

✅ Unique. Plagiarism is useless in any field, less if it fits in slogans. With this little phrase, we want to differentiate ourselves from our competition, and therefore, being an exact copy of it will not benefit us at all.

✅ Creativity. In the development of brand branding, creativity is the main ingredient. For this reason, it could not be missing in the elaboration of a good slogan that accompanies us in time.

✅ Values ​​and missions. With the perfect slogan, we must be able to convey the values ​​and missions of our brand. In this way, we will be able to position ourselves in the minds of our potential clients.

✅ Time is another characteristic that a slogan should have. Like the name of the brand, the slogan is designed to accompany us in the medium or long term. . Although sometimes it is dispensed with for various reasons, the idea is that it accompanies the name as if it were a surname.

In summary, this phrase that will accompany our logo must express in very few words the mission and values ​​that we want to convey, thus helping us to achieve the desired position in the market,

Some examples of successful slogans

There are many opinions that state that one of the best slogans is the one used by Nike, “ Just do it ”. These three words fit the basic characteristics that we mentioned before.

It is brief, concise, and conveys many (if not all) of the values ​​that the company must convey with its brand image. Let’s do an exercise if someone tells you ” Because you’re worth it ”, what brand do you immediately remember? Another clear example of success is developing a corporate slogan or tagline.

“Do you like to drive “? Indeed, it seems that it evokes the BMW car brand. And so it is, it is another clear example of a good slogan, that worked in accordance with what the brand wants to convey. It’s not just a car, it’s the pleasure of driving.

Claim

The claim is very similar to the brand’s slogan, but with certain nuances. The clearest and fastest to detect is the durability of both.

While the time established for the slogan is practically infinite, in the case of the claim it is finite durability. Generally, this time is marked by an advertising campaign that you want to launch with an estimated and temporary time.

The claim will accompany our brand and this advertising campaign for the duration of the latter.

Therefore, the essence of both is similar, since they will be phrases that describe something. In the case of the slogan, the essence of the brand. When we talk about claim, it will reinforce the idea of ​​the advertising campaign that it accompanies.

Both of them can survive together, they can even come to support each other, reinforcing the main motto of the brand, for example.

Types of claim in marketing

While the slogans can be grouped into many more types, the claims are grouped into these 3 types based on the benefits for the consumer and their commercial objectives.

Category Controller

This first type of claim is used to explain the benefit of the category of our product or service.

This type of claim is usually used by companies that are launching new products or services and need to explain what they offer and the benefits of obtaining it.

Category differentiation

This type of claim is used to differentiate ourselves from our competition.

We can use it to break through in our sector and try to become the market leaders.

It often answers the question “Why should you choose our brand over all others?”

Contextual statement

Contextual claims seek to cover more relevant topics and go further than the “what” and the “why”.

They are usually used in a short period of time, taking advantage of the market push (“hype”) and seeking to exploit said market, obtaining the highest profitability.

A good example to use this type of claim could be sporting events of great magnitudes, such as a World Cup held every 4 years or events with a large number of spectators worldwide, such as the Super Bowl.

What characteristics should a good claim have?

✅ As we have already mentioned, timing is key to creating a good claim. Its durability will depend on the estimated time for the advertising campaign of the product or service that it accompanies.

✅ As with the slogan, creativity must not be lacking. It is not good to use the same claim for different campaigns as it could be confused with the brand’s slogan. Much less, use claims of other brands other than our own.

✅ In line with the previous point, in addition to being creative, the more memorable and/or catchy the better. With this, we will ensure that the vast majority of people our campaign reaches remember it.

✅ As we have already said, the claim and slogan can coexist, so it cannot be contradictory to the message that we transmit with our slogan.

✅ As was the case with the slogan, it is very important to analyze the public to which the advertising campaign is directed so that the creation of the claim is consistent with them. In this way, we will be able to reach the target audience with the most appropriate and related context.

Some examples of successful claims

For example, if we ask you what follows Fairy? You will remember the phrase “ The anti-fat miracle ”. At the time, this cleaning product used this little phrase to accompany a campaign that publicized the benefits of its product.

Being an advertising campaign, the estimated time of this phrase is usually short-term, regardless of how long the campaign is on the air.

Going back to one of the previous examples, Nike, their slogan or tagline is “ Just do it ”. Some of his claims have been: “ Make Yourself ”, “ Write the Future ”, and “ Find your Greatness ”.

The phrases with each other are not contradictory, “Do it yourself”, “Write the future”, and “Find your greatness”. All of them coexist with the message conveyed by their slogan “Just do it”.

The difference between them is mainly durability, all the claims have been abandoned at the same time that the advertising campaigns came to an end, while their slogan is still valid as it is a kind of surname.

Finally, another of the greats, Apple, is another clear example of differentiation between slogan and claim.

Your slogan? Think different. Instead, it uses claims for each product launch campaign. For the presentation and promotion, the iPhone X uses the claim “ Say hello to the future ”.

Branding tasks are not easy, from developing a brand name, and naming, to finding the most appropriate slogan or claim. Therefore, seeking advice and asking for help from professionals can be the key to success.