Dear Marketers,
Stop trying to be all the things!
It’s been said that there is no marketing strategy better than simply having a great thing to sell. And as a marketer myself, I’ll reluctantly admit that there is a lot of truth in that idea.
For many of us, when we’re given the chance to promote a truly amazing product, we giddily look at the long list of amazing attributes and benefits we have to work with, and in our minds we try to mash it all together into some sort of “offer you can’t refuse.”
The result however, does not always do our product justice. Just as we are overflowing with “great ideas,” our message quickly becomes bloated.
Hey! Check out this widget! It’s…
...the best…
...the fastest…
...the cheapest…
...the newest…
...American made…
...GMO Free…
...top safety rated....
...guaranteed…
...cutting edge…
...made from 100% recycled material…
Huh? You lost me somewhere around the 8th claim. Now don’t get me wrong, these may all be true statements about your product and in the eyes of your customers, they may all be good things. But imagine for a second you’re on a blind date and you ask your date for three words that best describe them. Imagine your date says, “smart, kind, loyal.” Now imagine your date says, “well I’m smart. I’m kind. I’m loyal. People say I’m really funny and I’m also really athletic. I’m respectful, polite, generous, caring, and friendly. At work, I think people would say I’m ambitious and driven, but I’m also pretty laid back. Did I mention I love to travel and can speak 3 languages?”
Put aside the fact that the second date seems really arrogant and also that they totally failed to stay within the parameters of your question. The second person just gave you way more positives, so then why, several hours after the date, would you have a stronger pull toward the first person? It’s because only picking 3 words, as opposed to 50, makes those 3 words seem so much more significant, authentic, and important.
As marketers, we often have to remind ourselves that really, truly exemplifying one great thing, is often better than kinda, sorta, half-heartedly being 15 things. Take Geico as an example:
Is Geico the best possible insurance? I don’t know. Do they cover cars, boats, and houses? Yeah, I think, maybe. Do they offer great online support? Probably. That sounds right. Can 15 minutes save you 15% or more on car insurance? YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT IT CAN. For the most part, Geico has determined the one thing they want to be and they won’t push other messages at the expense of reminding people of that core point.
When Halo Top Ice Cream launched they tried a pretty simple approach to their packaging. Let’s be three things. Let’s be about protein, calories, and net carbs. Not that complicated of a message. But Halo Top was able to figure out that there was actually one key demand from their target audience. One key priority. Calories per carton. So Halo Top rebranded and decided to loudly be one primary thing. They launched brand new packaging for 2016.
With their original packaging, in 2015, Halo Top did $1.4M in sales. With their new packaging, in 2016, they did $44M in sales. In 2017, they did $350M in sales.
It’s hard to identify the one key attribute that can best lift your brand, and it’s hard to resist the urge to shout about every great thing you do and to pursue every possible consumer preference. But you’ve gotta fight that urge. Unlike today’s television news and modern politics, in advertising, it’s often the brands that won’t stop shouting that become the least memorable and the easiest to ignore.