Beef up your RTBs

Had some good feedback from Brent on the post last week about "reasons to buy" being better than just "reasons to believe". This post was prompted by the under-whelming claim of Quantas to be "The world's most experienced airline".

Brent picked me up on the time-wasting that could go on from trying to change the meaning of the acronym RTB. Fair point guvnor. He also got me thinking about the real point of the post: what makes a good RTB?

Here are some suggestions:

1. Obvious benefit: In his comment Brent talked about asking "how obvious the implied benefit?" of an RTB. I think this is key. With a really strong RTB the benefit should be really obvious. In the Blockbuster Promise of "Get the film you want, or rent it free next time" the jump to the benefit of "confidence" is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.

In contrast, with Quantas' "the most experienced airline" I don't easily jump anywhere.

2. Ownable: the best RTBs are under-pinned by some unique brand assets or company competence. Tesco's "1 in front" service (new till opened if more than 1 person in front of you) required a major investment in people, training and technology. It was introduced in the 1990's, but further investment has made it even better, and harder to copy. Last year the company won the Retail Week Customer Service Initiative of the Year award for its use of thermal imaging cameras to improve the prediction of queue lengths!

3. Specific: I'm still a fan of Dove's "1/4 moisturising cream" claim, which seems much stronger than just saying "with moisturising cream".

4. True: seems obvious? Well, its not to L'Oreal. They claimed their Telescopic mascara made your lashes 60% longer, but then stuck false eye lashes on Penelope Cruz in the ad. They then clarified that it made your lashes appear 60% longer.

5. Memorable: using an ownable descriptor to name the RTB can help it stick in the mind. Examples include "The Heavenly Bed" from Westin Hotels and "1-Click" ordering from Amazon.

If you're interested, an earlier post had tips on where to look for brand truths that could make good RTBs.

And thanks again to Brent.