The purpose of the positioning concept headline is to summarize the main idea of the product or service. While simple in purpose, sometimes it can be tricky to craft it just right. Here are a couple of tips to keep you on track.
- Write the concept headline last. The purpose of the headline is to summarize. It actually is particularly difficult to summarize a concept you haven’t written yet! As school students, we often learn to start writing at the beginning of the page until we get to the end. While this is great for many types of writing, it is not the case with the concept. Once you’ve crafted your concept, then jump to the top of page. You’ll find it easier and a much more natural output from the full concept.
- Keep the headline focused on the primary benefit. The headline sets the tonality of the concept. It gives the reader a small snippet of what to expect. As such, it must focus on the primary benefit – the purpose of a positioning concept. In other words, how does this product or service make my life better in some way? Often clients are tempted to add additional benefits to the headline, but this adds confusion rather than clarity. You may get false positives on concept appeal driven by the benefit in the headline instead of the primary benefit of importance.
- Treat the headline as the only statement remembered. The typical person can remember up to three things at a time. If you have kids, you know when you send them off to brush their teeth, wash their faces, and get on their PJs you’re often lucky if even one of the things actually gets done! Well, the same is true of a consumer. If you ask respondents to tell you what a concept is about an hour after seeing it, they’ll likely only remember a short snippet. Thus, making a memorable headline communicate the main idea is of key importance.
- Headline doesn’t need to be provocative or attention getting. Remember the concept comes before copy (or advertising). The purpose of the concept is to solidify the most important benefit offered to the consumer. It does not need to be flashy or catchy. You leave that to your copywriter once you’ve identified the winning positioning. Think about it: advertising may use creative approaches such as a play on words or a memorable, ownable phrase. Out of context from an ad, it might be meaningless. Imagine Betty Crocker brownies using the headline “Just do it!” What are we just doing?
So, when you embark on positioning concept development, keep these four tips in mind to have focused, testable concepts that will hopefully drive your brand to winning results.
