RTB = Reason To BUY, not Reason to Believe

The new poster advert from Quantas, the Australian airline, got me thinking about "reasons to believe": those truths about a product or service on which you can build a positioning. Now, as Mr Sausage, I am a big, big fan of brand truth. Its at the very heart of our view that the best brands are built on substance not spin. BUT, the Quantas brand truth in their ad left me cold: "Quantas: The world's most experienced airline." Huh?

Does anyone really care that Quantas are the most experienced airline? What is the inferred benefit from this? We've been flying for a long time, so we are good at it, I guess. It left me cold, and gave me no desire to consider Quantas instead of BA on a future trip to Oz.

The only thing it made me think of was a scene in the movie Rainman. Dustin Hoffman, playing a guy with autism, pisses off his brother, played by Tom Cruise, by insisting that the only airline he will fly is Quantas, because "Quantas never crashed".

So, we should perhaps forget about "reasons to believe", and replace them with "reasons to buy".

Here are some good examples of Reasons to Buy:

- Pantene: Pro-Vitamin B5 => unique ingredient for shinier hair

- Apple iPod (at launch): 1000 songs in your pocket => convenience and portability

- Blockbuster Guarantee: rent the movie you want, or get it free next time => confidence, choice

- Singapore girls: unique on-board experience, a taste of Asia in the air

 BA: the world's favourite airline => be with the best, must have good service-

- Pret a Manger: made fresh on premises every day => will taste better, and have no artificial crap in it.

- Moleskin notebooks: used by famous artists => I'm a creative type. Or like to think I am.

So. The RTB is dead. Long live the RTB.

Comments

[David Taylor(from Where'sTheSausage)]

Brent,

Good push-back. You're right to focus on the content, not the jargon!

Your comment deserves a proper response, so I plan to do a post inspired by it.

David

[Brent Gosling]

Let's not get caught up in semantics here. Aren't you just talking about a benefit and its support. Of course where you choose to put the message depends on how obvious the implied benefit is, how credible your claim is and the mechanics of stimulus and response.

So your (great tasting) sausage is the reason to buy and the reason to believe is some evidence that helps get you there (made to a traditional recipe with no crap).

As your analysis suggests, both are useful:

RTBuy: Gives me shinier hair.
RTBelieve: Contains Pro Vitamin B5

RTBuy: 1000 songs in your pocket
RTBelieve: Breakthrough technology & design

RTBuy: Blockbuster has the video you want
RTBelieve: The promise that if you don't find it we'll give it to you free next time.

ETc..

Let's not start adding more confusion about three letter acronyms. It's the last thing this business needs.

Forget about what kind of 'TB' you call it, Quantas just need to come up with a decent 'R'.

[David Taylor(from Where'sTheSausage)]

David,
Good challenge.
Have scrubbed out BA, think you're right.. this was an ad slogan, not a reason to buy.

Have replaced it with a couple of others. See what you think!
David T.

[David MacGregor]

Interesting entry. By way of comparing apples with apples I think the BA claim is equally spurious and incredibly disingenuous. I am sure BA is not popular in lots of countries, Libya, Zimbabwe etc - which are part of the world (whether we like it or not). Therefore the claim is false - although I am sure some would suggest that some statistical interpretation validates the remark by shifting emphasis from 'world' to 'favourite' - torture statistics for long enough and the world surrenders. Maybe the days of advertising hyperbole should die with the RTB.