Take a look at the picture above.
It’s a photo of Charles Clyde Ebbets. It was taken on September 20th 1932.
You’ve probably never seen it before. But you probably have seen the photo that Ebbets was about to take.
The photo was called ‘Lunch atop a Skyscraper’. It’s a black and white photograph taken during the construction of the Rockefeller Centre in New York.
It shows eleven ironworkers sitting on a steel beam. Eating their lunch. Legs dangling off the beam. 850 feet above the ground.
Ebbets could have taken a photo of the steelworkers inside, eating their lunch. But anyone could have done that.
He could have taken a photo of the steel beam with the Manhattan skyline as the backdrop. But anyone could have done that.
Instead he found his angle. He got eleven workers to eat their lunch on the steel beam.
Thus creating one of the most iconic photographs ever taken.
Why are we talking about this? Competition in the FMCG world is huge. Within categories and across categories. Everyone is battling for shopper attention. Battling for this purchase. Then back into battle for the next purchase. Then the next. And the next.
But… for many shoppers, deciding what to buy is a big challenge.
Why? Because lots of brands say similar things in similar ways. Brand A says, “great taste.” Brand B says something similar. Brand A says, “best ever cleaning performance.” Brand B says something similar. Brand A says, “low in sugar.” Brand B says something similar.
This means that many shoppers just buy what they usually buy or whatever is on deal.
So, how can you change this?
Help shoppers make a better choice. A more differentiated choice.
You need to find your angle.
Say something that is important. Something that matters to shoppers.
AND say something that is distinctive. Something that only you can say (in a way that only you can say it.)
For instance…
In oral care, advocacy is very important. But Oral B don’t say “recommended by dentists.” They say, “most used by dentists.” Like being recommended. But much better.
In Drinks, Mixers were traditionally a secondary product. It didn’t really matter what you used – it was all about the Spirit. Fever Tree turned that on its head. Saying “if ¾ of your drink is the mixer, drink the best.” More recently they have been saying “a mixer so good, you can drink it neat.” Dramatising taste AND prompting a new usage occasion.
In produce, freshness and flavour is very important. Sunset don’t call their tomatoes “tomatoes.” Instead they call them “flavour bombs.” They don’t need to say they are tasty. Their name has already shouted it.
In Dairy Free (vegan, gluten free etc) replicating the experience of the traditional product is very important. Flora Plant Based could have just said they are “really creamy.” Instead they said “so creamy the dairy aisle let us in.” It must be if they got past the dairy aisle bouncers, right?
McVitie’s Digestives say they are “the navy seal of dunking.”
Mr Muscle (drain unblocker) say they are “cheaper than a plumber.”
Chiquita bananas say “it peels so good.”
You have very little time to capture shopper attention. To show them you are the best choice.
So, use it effectively.
Say something important. AND say something distinctive.
It can be risky. But not as risky as eating your lunch on a steal beam 850 feet in the air.
Or taking the photo.
Feel free to forward. Have a great weekend. Speak to you in a fortnight.