Unique Selling Propositions Still Matter

04 Jan Unique Selling Propositions Still Matter

Back in the middle of the 20^th Century, during the so-called Mad Men era (recently made famous again by the AMC network show of the same name about New York City’s Madison Avenue-based ad agency boom during the 1950s and ‘60s), most advertising campaigns began with, and centered around, Unique Selling Propositions. These USPs were designed to encapsulate everything about a product, service or company into one precise idea.

Sometimes these USPs were so prominent and on point they were actually used in advertisements as taglines or ad slogans. For example, here are just a few of the more famous ones of that era:

• We love to fly and it shows:  Delta Airlines

• A little dab‘ll do ya:  Brylcreem

• M’m! M’m! Good!: Campbell’s Soup

• Cross your heart: Playtex

In each of these instances (and in many others from this time), advertisers and their agencies spent big bucks to come up with the exact definition of their USPs and then worked hard to translate them into branding messages — some subtle and some not so subtle.

For example, by using “We love to fly and it shows” as its tagline, Delta Airlines communicated that because its employees loved flying, they would provide customers with a better flying experience than any other airline.

Brylcreem clearly understood the importance its customers placed on a conservative, well-dressed look. Hence, “A little dab ‘ll do ya” communicated that men who used Brylcreem would look as if they had just left the barbershop. Then to achieve that sharp, well-groomed appearance from home, men only needed an inexpensive “dab” of Brylcreem to look and feel great. 

And besides, who better than Dick Clark to deliver that message in the ad above?

Similarly, few would argue that any one could make soup as well as mom. But with its “M’m! M’m! Good!” ads, Campbell’s Soup subtly told moms that not only was pre-made soup good for their families, but Campbell’s also communicated that no one would be the wiser if moms opened up a can of Campbell’s Soup rather than slaving in the kitchen all day.

Finally, with its line of “Cross your heart” bras, Playtex promised women that they could achieve a fuller figure / movie star look that “lifts and separates” their breasts merely by using their brand of bras. Better yet, no one would ever know that they had turned to Playtex to achieve this trick.

In these instances, each company (Delta, Brylcreem, Campbell’s and Playtex) and their respective agencies developed a tagline and campaigns that correctly defined their targeted USP to set them apart from their competitors.

But don’t be fooled . . . USPs are not anachronisms of an earlier time in the world of advertising and marketing. In fact, Unique Selling Propositions are used all the time today. They’re just not always called USPs.

Recent examples of modern USPs that have been translated into advertising taglines include

• Apple:  Insanely great.

• FedEx:  Fast, affordable shipping.

• Walmart:  Save money. Live better.

• Dodge Ram Trucks:  Built Ram Tough.

In a nutshell, this is one of the biggest challenges marketers face today:

Can you boil down to one concise phrase or sentence the essence of what it is that sets your company, product or service apart from your competitors?

If you can, then you are FAR ahead of your competitors. If not, what are you waiting for?

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Do you have a favorite USP/tagline/slogan that’s not included above? If so, I’d love to hear back from you with your suggestions.

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