Unique Value Proposition

When people talk about brand positioning, they often talk about the brand's promise and its relevant differentiated benefits. A brand should promise relevant differentiated benefits. These benefits can be functional, emotional, experiential or self-expressive. Further, the brand could promise shared values instead of a benefit, though shared values often result in a self-expressive benefit. Then the brand promise requires proof points and "reasons to believe." Finally, and most importantly, the brand needs to deliver on these benefits.

However, there is a term I like equally as much as brand promise. That is the brand's "unique value proposition." Why do I like this term? It is succinct and captures the three most important parts of a brand's promise. Proposition is equivalent to promise, so it is the first two words that modify the third word that make all of the difference. The promise or proposition must be of value to its target consumers. "Value" says everything. If it is not valued, it is inconsequential. Value implies relevance. Next, the valued promise or proposition must be unique. Contrary to common usage, there are not degrees of uniqueness (such as mostly unique or totally unique). Something is either unique or it is not. That is a high standard but anything less may not be enough to create a strong brand. 

So whenever you think about your brand, be sure you know exactly what its unique value proposition is. If you don't, it's time to get to work. 

Writing the Agency Brief

The marketing objective and the brand promise with its proof points are key elements of the agency brief, a document that communicates the strategic direction of a new advertising campaign. Once you have completed the agency brief, your ad agency will use the brief to develop campaign ideas/concepts (e.g., storyboards, print ads). They will likely show you several different campaign ideas.

Elements of An Agency/Creative Brief

Background/Overview: (history, context, and a general overview of the competitive environment and the problem)

Marketing Objective: (desired tangible result, usually in target customer’s attitude or behavior; intended effect with quantifiable success criteria)

• Current State: (what the customer thinks today)
• Desired State: (what we want them to think and what we want them to do)

Assignment: (deliverable, timing, and budget)

Product or Service: (if product/service-specific)

Target Customer: (be as specific as possible)

Brand Essence: (the “heart and soul” of the brand expressed as “adjective, adjective, noun”)

Brand Promise: (only [brand] delivers [relevant differentiated benefit or shared value])

Proof Points: (reasons to believe)

Brand Archetype: (choose and elaborate on one or two archetypes that explain the brand’s motivation and drive its behavior)

Brand Personality, Voice, and Visual Style: (from the positioning statement, list adjectives that describe the brand; for instance: voice: down-to-earth, assertive, confident, warm, sarcastic, witty, reassuring, eloquent, simple, etc.; visual style: bold, bright, energetic, soft, textured, ornate, understated, nostalgic, futuristic, etc.)

Mandatories: (those items that are givens). It is best to provide as few constraints as possible. I usually specify the brand identity standards and system as the only mandatories. There may be legal or regulatory mandatories as well.

Excerpted from Brand Aid, second edition, available here.