Unique selling proposition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Unique Selling Proposition is a marketing concept that was first proposed as a theory to explain a pattern among successful advertising campaigns of the early 1940s. It states that such campaigns made unique propositions to the customer and that this convinced them to switch brand.
Today, a number of businesses and corporations currently use USPs as a basis for their marketing campaigns.
[edit] Origin
In the early 1940s, Ted Bates & Company carried out extensive market research on successful advertising campaigns. In particular they identified two desirable attributes: the penetration and the usage pull. - - The pattern they found among campaigns that produced a high usage pull was the basis for the theory of the USP. It may also be known as the unique selling point.
[edit] Definition
In his book Reality in Advertising, Rosser Reeves (Chairman of the Board at Ted Bates & Company) gives the precise definition as it was understood at his company:
- Each advertisement must make a proposition to the customer: "buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit."
- The proposition itself must be unique - something that competitors do not, or will not, offer.
- The proposition must be strong enough to pull new customers to the product.
Reeves also wrote that a USP does not necessarily have to be a verbal message. It can be communicated both verbally and visually. For example, a classic Clairol advertisement showing a picture of a model and just the headline, "Does she or doesn't she?" implied the USP, "If you use Clairol products, people won't even notice that you dyed your hair."
However, Reeves warns against forming a USP based on what he calls "The Deceptive Differential" - a uniqueness that is too small or too technical that customers cannot observe the differences in actual practice.
[edit] Examples
Some good current examples of products with a clear USP are:
- Head & Shoulders: "You get rid of dandruff"
- Olay: "You get younger-looking skin"
- Red Bull: "You get stimulation of body and mind"
- Ronseal: "You get exactly what it says on the tin"
Some unique propositions that were pioneers when they were introduced:
- Domino's Pizza: "You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less."
- FedEx: "Your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight"
- M&M's: "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand"
- Wonder Bread: "It helps build strong bones 12 ways"
