“These uncertain times.”

“The new normal.”

“Stay safe.”

“We’re here for you.”

“We’re all in this together.”

Sound familiar? It should do – the pandemic phrases that have infiltrated our vocabulary from the early Covid-19 response campaigns are set to stay. Whilst it’s obvious that the pandemic has changed the advertising and marketing industry dramatically, we’ve heard the same things, listened to the sombre piano music and seen the same home video-style camera footage from numerous brands across the world.

The pandemic has shown us quite how easily brands can start to sound the same and stand for the same thing. Kantar has recently conducted some research that suggests “people are starting to get fed up with ads that look and feel the same and that don’t have anything specific to say about themselves.”

Marketing through a pandemic is challenging to say the least, but this isn’t a time to be complacent and repetitive. Whilst these communications may have addressed the initial need for reassurance and consumer comfort, it’s safe to say that the dial has shifted and it’s time to shun a generic message about staying together.

With that in mind, as the Covid-19 situation evolves, brands now have a great opportunity to provide consumers with creative, distinctive and memorable content, built on real insights and truths that actually resonate. Marketing teams should now be thinking about how they can make their communications more effective by showing consumers that their brand is here to help them.

Easier said than done? Well not necessarily. That’s where a good single-minded proposition comes in. Single-minded propositions can really help brands define what they stand for and what they believe in. The ultimate springboard to creating campaign communications that cut through the noise is effective and will set your brand apart from the competition. When looking for a proposition, it’s worth remembering that you don’t necessarily need to be differentiated from your competitors, the SMP will help develop campaign creative that differentiates your brand.

Take Persil as a great example. In the late 90s/early 00s, they completely disrupted a low-interest category – no-one is ‘inspired’ to buy laundry detergent, it’s a need to have. But at the time, every detergent on the market had the same proposition – ‘keep clothes whiter than white’ meaning adverts were generic and delivered little or no brand association. Persil needed to act drastically in order to remain relevant and compete for market share amongst parents. They developed a brand purpose which focused on the belief that ‘Dirt is good’ and were successfully able to champion dirt and outdoor play. They ultimately made it their mission to get kids playing outside more. The proposition and the purpose were so strong that it still lives on in (albeit in a different guise) two decades later.

So, what is an SMP?

Not to be confused with a tagline or strapline, a single-minded proposition is the one compelling reason that a consumer would want to buy your product or use your service. It should be viewed as the most important thing that you can say about your brand. It sits at the heart of a great marketing story as we talked about with Persil. It can also be known as a Key Message or One Important Thing or Key Takeaway or Point of Differentiation.

It is a simple statement and it’s never more than a sentence. It’s about ditching the all the waffle and cutting to the chase.

Here are a couple of great examples of SMPs from campaigns that you may recall:

Why is a Single-Minded Proposition so important?

The marketplace is crowded with competitors offering similar products with comparative benefits, targeting the same customers.  But being completely frank, telling customers what you do isn’t actually that important. What you do for your customers is the most important. This is truer than ever, given the top-down communication approach is pretty much redundant in today’s world and most brands are now fighting to find new and engaging ways to encourage participation with their products and services.

The very best communications focus on one thing; Simple-Minded Proposition. Of course, your product has many great features and benefits that will endlessly enrich lives and are worth shouting loud and proud about. But if you try and cram as many messages as possible into your communication strategy, you risk meaning nothing to anyone. The campaign message quickly becomes diluted.

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