Unique selling proposition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Unique Selling Proposition (also Unique Selling Point) 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.
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[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.
However, Reeves warns against forming a USP based on what he calls "The Deceptive Differential" - a uniqueness that is too small or too technical for customers to observe the differences in actual practice.
[edit] See Also
- Point of difference: POD
[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 -- or it's free."
- 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"
