Examples
Some good current examples of products with a clear USP are:
- Head & Shoulders: "You get rid of dandruff"
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: "When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight"
- M&M's: "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand"
- Metropolitan Life: "Get Met, It Pays"
But their "uniqueness" is debatable (for example Head & Shoulders is hardly unique in its claim) and it's not entirely clear what a 'proposition' actually is. If it is simply an assertion of a product benefit, by this standard, any assertion about a product could be called a USP.
The 'weak theory' of advertising however suggests that customers cannot be compelled to shift allegiance in quite the way suggested.
Others will argue that there is a difference between a USP and a brand slogan. In fact, the FedEx and M&M lines are catchy ad slogans that were created for the purpose of making their USP memorable. M&M's USP is chocolate wrapped in a hard sugar candy shell. The slogan is, "melts in your mouth, not your hands." FedEx's USP was the ability, unlike the Post Office, to guarantee overnight package delivery. The Fed Ex slogan is similar, but not the same as the USP The Domino line is an actual USP. The company has dropped the "or it's free" promise, but their current slogan is "You got 30 minutes."
The term USP has been largely replaced by the concept of a Positioning Statement. Positioning is determining what place a brand (tangible good or service) should occupy in the consumer's mind in comparison to its competition. A position is often described as the meaningful difference between the brand and its competitors
Read more about this topic: Unique Selling Proposition
Famous quotes containing the word examples:
“Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“It is hardly to be believed how spiritual reflections when mixed with a little physics can hold people’s attention and give them a livelier idea of God than do the often ill-applied examples of his wrath.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)
“No rules exist, and examples are simply life-savers answering the appeals of rules making vain attempts to exist.”
—André Breton (1896–1966)