COMM 150: USP, IMC, brand positioning and other stuff that may be on the final exam (capice?)

On pages 311 and 312 of "Media of Mass Communication" (our edition), John Vivian discusses the Unique Selling Proposition - USP for short - in terms of "lowest common denominator" advertising. I wish he wouldn't do that. Not that it isn't all too often true ... but it's not the way professionals ought to do business.) Vivian suggests it's about "Creat[ing] a benefit of the product, even if from thin air, and then tout[ing] the benefit authoritatively and repeatedly as if the competition doesn't have it." Well, OK, yeah. But you're maybe not going to stay in business long if you rely on that. But Vivian does acknowledge, "A unique selling proposition need be neither hollow nor insulting, however." And that's where I want us to start.

Integrated Marketing Communications, or IMC, is when you mix public relations, advertising and management decision-making processes to maximize the impact on consumers, according to Wikipedia.

Vivian also discusses something call "positioning," which he sees as a way of getting your message through all the "clutter" of competing products. The terms are technical; we'll look them up. Adds Vivian, "Ad clutter, as it is called, drowns out individual advertisements. With positioning, the appeal is focused and caters to audience segments, and it need not be done in such broad strokes." The discussion in Wikipedia adds:

Although there are different definitions of Brand Positioning, probably the most common is: identifying a market niche for a brand, product or service utilizing traditional marketing placement strategies (i.e. price, promotion, distribution, packaging,and competition).

Also positioning is defined as the way by which the marketer create an impression in the customer's mind.

How does this relate to USP? Here are notes from the discussion on unique selling propositions in Wikipedia:

Rosser Reeves of Ted Bates & Co.:

• Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising. Each advertisement must say to each reader: "Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit."
  
• The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique—either a uniqueness of the brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field of advertising.
  
• The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions, i.e., pull over new customers to your product.

An example of how it works in the real world:

Notes from Interactive Marketing, Inc., a website optimization and Internet marketing company of Bend, Ore. at http://www.interactivemarketinginc.com/unique-selling-proposition.html:

Your USP is the force that drives your business and success. It can also be used as a "branding" tool that deploys strategy with every tactical marketing effort you use such as an ad, a postcard, or web site. This allows you to build a lasting reputation while you're making sales. The ultimate goal of your USP and marketing is to have people say to you... "Oh, yes I've heard of you. You're the company who..." - And then respond by requesting more information or purchasing [boldface, italics and blue type in the original].

Vivian makes it sound like the USP is basically a gimmick, but it isn't. Notice what the advertising pros say: It has to be real, "Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising." Adds Interactive Marketing, "Think in terms of what your business does for your customer and the end-result they desire from a product or service like yours. So, what are the 3 biggest benefits you offer?" And this, "Consumers are skeptical of advertising claims companies make. So alleviate their skepticism by being specific and offering proof when possible."

In-class discussion, Friday. An organization's webpage often serves some of the same functions as an advertisement. Look at BP's at http://www.bp.com/ and Benedictine-Springfield's at http://www1.ben.edu/springfield/. How does each position itself in the marketplace? Does it use the homepage to state something like a unique selling proposition? If so, what would it be it for each?