For profit’s sake, stop using brand advertising!

Let’s face it. Most advertising stinks. It’s an absolute snoozefest in the world of advertising and it feels like most people in our space can’t see it. I know it’s a bit inane for me to complain about it because this has been going on a long time. But I can definitely tell it’s getting worse.

It wasn’t that long ago that the copywriting greats like Rosser Reeves, Eugene Schwartz and John Caples were publishing the great copywriting books. But much to our shame, more and more copywriters and advertisers seem to lose the plot as the decades pass.

In his 1961 book Reality in Advertising, Rosser Reeves lamented, “We imply no derogation of art directors, photographers, artists, or the writers of words. Technically, these advertisements dance and shine. It is just that they have no real content. We find we are sifting through chaff and looking for wheat.”

Rosser Reeves is often credited with the invention of the USP and wrote an entire book on the matter. And I now lament how this 60 year old book seems to have been buried in the sands of time among copywriters and advertisers.

We’re in desperate need of a renaissance of those who take the premises of the USP seriously. Those who refuse to abuse it until it’s a shell of its former self.?

The downfall of brand advertising

I often turn on the TV, the radio, YouTube, or LinkedIn and find myself in a sea of useless ads that compel no one and sell nothing. And I credit most of the advertising prattle to the lost art of the USP. Something we abandoned to chase after the cruel mistress known as brand advertising.?

And a cruel mistress she is indeed. Why else would you pay a future hall of fame quarterback to put on a coffee branded track suit to… I’m not sure what that was to be honest.?

Sure, she often gets our feelings stirred up. Usually by trying to make us laugh, entertain us, or invoke nostalgia. But then what? Spend millions in hopes that one day your prospect chooses your brand of tires because they saw a blimp at a football game??

Now, don’t get me wrong, branding has its place (mostly to make corporate executives happy). But a brand image, no matter how good, is impotent when divorced from the benefits and mechanisms of a well crafted USP. And I know this because brand advertising isn’t how any of the major corporations became a major corporation.

And because of the onslaught of brand advertising, the USP has come to mean nothing more than a catchy slogan or the cliche drivel about being “industry leaders” and “innovative thinkers.”?

I once looked at the marketing material for a chain of gas stations only to learn about their “industry leading innovation.” There were no details and definitely no benefits to the customer. It was a bland claim with no supporting evidence and even less selling power. The absurdity is astounding.?

And even if you manage to sort through the self-aggrandizement of most copy, what’s left, if anything, is too vague to matter.

What to do instead

I could spend hours ripping apart bad USPs and razing horrid copywriting because most modern copywriting is wasted space (and dollars). But the point of this newsletter is to give you actionable information for your business so you stop wasting money on useless crap that doesn’t work.?

You need a USP. Because the point of the USP is to tickle one of those deeply held desires we all have. More money, better health, more friends, more/better sex, admiration, an easier life, a better looking body, etc.?

Whatever the desire happens to be, the USP is the bridge between your product/service and your prospect’s wallet. And if you don’t have a USP, that’s a problem. A big problem. So how does it work?

It all comes down to three ingredients. The benefit, the mechanism, and the curiosity. And it must feed one of those innate desires mentioned above. Often, if a company does have a “USP”, it’s half baked sloganeering. “Our soda tastes amazing” or “our jewelry shines the brightest.” Okay. So what??

These fluffy phrases may sound nice but ultimately do nothing to persuade people to buy. The problem with these “USPs” is they do nothing to feed the self interest of the prospect. Heck, there’s not even a mechanism or curiosity involved.?

It’s a blanket statement that can’t be proven. An opinion. And if your advertising reads like this, you need to kick it into gear. And fast.?

But there is a silver lining. It’s easy to rise above your competition if you’re willing to put in some work. And since most of you are the self reliant type, I’ll teach you how through example.?

But first, we need to arrive at a useful definition. If you were to Google USP you’d find this: “a feature or characteristic of a product, service, etc. that distinguishes it from others of a similar nature and makes it more appealing.” This puts us on the right track but it’s too vague to be useful. We can do better.?

One definition I’m quite fond of is Dan Kennedy’s: “Why should I do business with you against your competitors and versus doing nothing?” What I like about this definition is the sober reminder that our prospects could simply delay their decision indefinitely if none of the offers they find are compelling.

Another definition I found is in Evaldo Albuquerque’s book The 16 Word Sales Letter. It’s a fill in the blank USP formula and one of the best I’ve found. It looks like this:?

“This [new opportunity] is the key to [their desire] and it’s only attainable through [my new mechanism].”

Mind you, this is more of a starting point and not what your prospects will see in your ads.

So which should you use? Well, you should use Dan Kennedy’s definition as your guiding light and use Albuquerque’s formula to implement it.

Now, with this is mind, let’s take a look at this headline:

“Light Up a Lucky, and You Won’t Miss the Sweets that Make You Fat!”

This Lucky Strike ad from the 1920s captures everything we’re looking for in a USP. It tickles one of our core desires. We have a clear benefit and suggestion of a special mechanism. The ad goes on to talk about how the flavor of a Lucky Strike is better because “It’s Toasted.” And it’ll be much better for the waistline to pick up Lucky instead of a sweet treat.

And you’ll also notice, everything about this ad is telling us why we should smoke Lucky’s even verses doing nothing. Why? Because doing nothing actually means getting fat according to this ad.

Let’s try another.?

“I’m 61 pounds lighter… never hungry a minute”

The ad was selling a book which contained a special method for weight loss. You should be able to figure it out for yourself by now. If not, you’re hopeless.?

What if you’re in a crowded room?

Now, another question you may be asking is, “How do I come up with a unique mechanism in a crowded industry?” That’s a great question. Although easier said than done, we do have the answer.?

Often, it’s unnecessary to come up with a truly unique mechanism. You simply need to market your business in a way that no one else has thought of. And this is where bringing in a professional saves you the hassle. Bringing in someone with fresh eyes is often the best way to accomplish this.?

One example few people know about is George Foreman Grills. I recently read how the George Foreman Grill was originally marketed as a taco meat maker. The reason for the slant was to slide the meat into the shells. The marketing flopped.

But when they started marketing it as a fat draining device, product finally started selling. At the time, dietary fat was public enemy number one when it came to being healthy. So marketing the GF Grill as a healthy eating device was the trick. A more modern example the same idea is the air fryer.

Often, you need only take a fresh look at whatever you're selling to formulate a USP.?

Be Bold! Give me something!

The most important thing to remember is that a good USP is a specific claim about how your product or service benefits your customers. Take a look at this USP.?

“When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”?

What a claim! Obviously, you could only make an extravagant claim like this if you’re capable of following through. And at the time, FedEx had the infrastructure and reliability to do it when competitors such as USPS were infamous for their unreliability.?

We can even look at Apple’s “Think Different” campaign. The USP is obvious. Buying an Apple computer provides the mechanism by which you can set yourself apart from your peers. There’s a clear benefit and a clear mechanism which feeds a desire held by millions of people.?

Obviously, as Apple has grown and become a staple of American culture, they’ve shifted to brand advertising. But the original “Think Different” campaign is, in my opinion, a stroke of marketing genius.?

We could go on like this for hours but hopefully I’ve given you the tools you need to correctly identify a good USP and even create your own.?

Nobody likes a copycat

But I will issue you a word of caution. Do not rip off another company’s USP. While they can provide inspiration, copying another USP will only hurt you in the long run. There are countless examples of small companies that have copied big corporations only to be disappointed.?

There are several reasons why this doesn’t work. The first is that most people don’t understand why a USP or headline worked to begin with. In other words, they have no clue about the stuff I just told you about in this newsletter.?

The next is that, especially with big corporations, the other company’s advertising may not have the same goals. Most corporate advertising only exists to make executives and shareholders happy. Actually selling something is often the least of their concerns.?

And yet another reason is that stealing another company’s USP is akin to a child screaming “But I can do it, too! Look at me!” It’s amateurish. I’m also unaware of any examples of it working.??

I believe that if you’re willing to put some serious effort into crafting a USP, you’ll be handsomely rewarded with higher profit margins.

Get to it,

Sean Ryan

P.S. If you want to hire me to write a compelling USP for you, you can email me at [email protected] .

P.P.S. If you know someone who you think would benefit from this newsletter, forward it to them right now! Don’t wait!