From the Problogger ‘How To…’ Group Writing Project, Kevin Price writes on “The language of differentiation”:
Only if we are correctly positioned can a difference have the desired effect. That is, a customer must perceive our position as being relevant to his or her needs, and different from that of our competitors. The desired effect of advertising is to bring our brand and a customer together and unite them; make a connection. This requires the twofold action of separating your customer from your competitor and separating you from your competitor. Says the good book: “one must separate things in order to unite them.”
Differentiation occurs in the attributes of a product or brand, not in the benefits. A difference is a character trait of the brand that is not applicable to a competitor’s brand. It occurs because you choose to do something different from your competitors, or to do the same things competitors do but do them differently. But there are a few catches.
The difference must to be able to be translated into a benefit that is desired by prospects. There’s not a lot of point in being different if no one wants what you’re offering and the difference is meaningless. The difference has to be able to be perceived so that it can be labelled. Correct positioning depends on this combination of perception and labelling. The difference has to have life, or at the very least the potential of life. The simple fact is you cannot have drama without life, and because customers expect your advertising to tell a story that is meaningful over a period of time. The difference has to be relative to competition, even if that competition is your own brand.
Good advertising comes from understanding exactly what forces drive your prospects; what the force of your differentiation is and exactly what the right positioning is. Positioning derives from the benefit that arises out of the differentiation. Differentiation is the effect of what it is you’re doing that is different. It is the effect because it results in an attribute that can be claimed or labelled. Positioning on the other hand is the nature of that force, how it is perceived. And that’s the subject of another discussion.
This article is tough sledding in places, seeming to me at least to get bogged down in the I Ching. But the ideas are worth considering, no matter how they come wrapped…
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jf.sellsius says:
Loyalty to a brand means identifying with it in some way. The key to widespread appeal, if that’s what you want, is to appeal to every consumer is “some” way. Instead of a USP you use a MSP. See USP Debunked (link below)
http://www.burkhardagency.com/msp.htm
September 26, 2006 — 3:45 pm