Say hello to the Relevant Selling Point

Some 50 years ago old school mad man Rosser Reeves came up with the Unique Selling Proposition, or USP. A term now imprinted in our collective professional mind.

Reeves rightfully insisted that advertising should show off the value of a product, not the cleverness or humor of the creative team. In his ’61 book Reality in Advertising he defines 3 parts of the USP: It must convey a specific benefit, it must be a proposition the competition can’t offer and the proposition must be strong enough to move the masses. 

Few can argue Reeves’ logic, but there was one thing he was not yet able to take into account: the Internet, and the resulting interactivity between brands and people.
So who decides the ‘Unique’ in USP nowadays?

“The people of course”, would be a good answer. But the reality is far from it: The Unique Selling Proposition, or ‘Point’ these days, is often still the domain of business strategists and marketeers, who decide for you why you want their product. To put it mildly: they’re not humble. All still claim to be the fastest, the cheapest, the most effective and of course: the most reliable. In short: simply the best and better than all the rest. (Thanks Tina…) 

This is also a problem for advertising agencies, which often claim to be nothing more than the messenger. As a result agencies sometimes feel forced to develop creative campaigns based upon their client’s not-so-Unique Selling Points. The result: bad advertising. Even a great agency can’t sell a bad message, although some might proudly say they can.

Luckily advertising, and the entire creative industry for that matter, evolved since Reeves’ golden years. We are becoming increasingly aware of customer needs by monitoring the effects of our communication. It’s something, although in hindsight. Big data can also offer important new insights, but still interprets answers for our customers, without actually asking them a question.

So let’s give that good old USP a big shakeup. First, lets drop the ‘Unique’, because we can all agree it’s not for us to decide whether something is ‘Unique’ or not. Secondly, let’s replace it with something far more important: relevance. Not made up by companies, but derived from the actual added value as experienced by the people, validated with the use of data and insights. Thirdly: let advertising agencies become the customer’s ambassador, critically working with advertisers and brands, challenging them to make their proposition truly relevant.

Enter RSP: the Relevant Selling Point

Stanley Op ’t Root / Stanley@RLVNT.nl