It’s easy to think of examples of some of the best USPs in advertising history and draw the conclusion that all USPs must be contained in words alone. But…
This simply isn’t true. Some products offer unique benefits that cannot be as easily or quickly described in words as well as they can by a single photo or a video. A USP should be thought of as something intrinsic to the product that is extracted by the consumer in an exchange of information. You can’t write a USP that isn’t true. Your goal is to illustrate or demonstrate to the consumer your product’s USP in the clearest way possible that will best excite their desires.
A classic example would be the Band-Aid commercial that showed that their new adhesive makes a better Band-Aid that is less likely to come off. They show that even boiling water can’t make a Band-Aid un-stick from the shell of an egg.
Even though you may be able to describe that idea in words, it’s understandable that a reader might be skeptical of such a claim. The video proves the claim with a demonstration. It demonstrates that other brands of bandages don’t stick as well as the new Band-Aid does. It’s a powerful set of images contained in approximately 60 seconds of video.
A good recent example would be the Dyson Ball, a vacuum cleaner that is truly different from all other vacuum cleaners. Instead of rolling on four wheels and an axle, it is built upon a single giant ball-and-axle structure. What is its main benefit over traditional vacuums? Well, just watch this short commercial and see for yourself:
It’s one thing to write in print “With our vacuum you can now more easily turn corners and pivot anywhere you want.” But it might be much more effective to demonstrate that USP with a thirty-second video.