4. Benefits and USPs

Remember talk benefits, not features ? This is of paramount importance in advertising, because your audience simply is not going to wait around while you talk about how many flashing lights your client’s latest gizmo has got. So the first thing you need to do is to work out what the key benefits of your client’s product or service are for the audience it is aimed at. Then pick the one that sets your client apart from its competitors. This is your unique selling point, or USP. It is possible the USP will already have been identified by your client and may form part of your brief. It is furthermore likely that the USP will have a lot in common with your client’s brand; in fact, it might be what defines your client’s brand. If you think about major brands, it is usually easy to spot the USPs that they have developed over years of advertising. And remember that a product or service may have different USPs for different target audiences. Notice also that the USP is not a feature, although it may be related to features in the product or service. To find the USP, ask: ‘Why should I want one of these products/services?’ Then turn your answer into an emotion or a feeling. Getting this feeling across is the key to your message.