I’m writing something I never thought I would ever write. If you want your business to succeed and develop, take a good look at the marketing behind Nigel Farage and the Brexit party.

Put your political persuasions to one side and hear me out. Because what Farage and the Brexit party is doing is textbook.

If you want your business to succeed it needs to be known for one thing. Forget how many things your business does, just concentrate on one thing, do it properly and be known for it. With the risk of using cliches, this is your unique selling proposition, your USP.

For example, despite all the products and brands in their portfolios: Dyson is predominantly known for bagless vacuum cleaners; Virgin is predominantly known for gently disrupting the establishment; Volvo is known for safety; Coke is known for cola; McDonalds is known for burgers; Ikea is known for being Swedish and the Brexit Party is known for Brexit, no matter what the consequences. These are their USPs and they are unwavering from them.

The other thing that the Brexit Party has going for it, is no policies to confuse the audience. It is known for one thing and one thing only. This makes it really easy for the public to buy into because there are no mixed messages. To succeed in marketing, you don’t want anything to distract from the main message.

Compare this to other political parties at this moment. What does the Conservatives or Labour party stand for? What is their one big thing, their unique selling point. The truth is (and I exclude the Greens and the SNP here), they don’t have one. Nobody is really sure what our political parties stand for. The message from them all is confusing and often contradictory.

Back in 1979, the Conservatives won a landslide general election being known as the party for employment. This was exemplified by their infamous ‘Labour Isn’t Working’ poster. The Labour party also had a landslide victory when they were the party of: ‘Education, Education, Education.’ In the USA, against all odds, Donald Trump won the presidential election by being known for making America great again by clamping down on immigration. If you want the public to engage with you, they need to know what you stand for.

Compare this to what the Conservatives wanted to be known for in the 2017 general election. ‘Strong and Stable,’ was uttered a dozen times in every interview, but it meant nothing and stood for even less. As a consequence, the electorate didn’t buy into it and it led to a minority government. Boy, did that slogan come back and bite them in the butt.

Not only is it important to be known for one thing, but everything you say and do has to promote that one message. But be careful, if you make a claim about your business, make sure it can be substantiated and be delivered upon. 

Leaving aside the above point on substantiation, let us again consider Nigel Farage. I watched him last week on both Question Time and the Andrew Marr Show and he was continually on message. It didn’t matter what question was thrown at him, there were only two responses:

  • We are the only party standing up for democracy and we will leave the European Union (The message)
  • You are either stupid, ignorant or biased (or all three) if you don’t agree with the message, and in case you missed it, and I may have to talk over you here, we are the only party standing up for democracy and we will leave the European Union

Now, I am not condoning Mr Farage’s style. I personally find him both aggressive and inflammatory and as mentioned earlier, it is easy to stand on a single issue and be able to make claims that are impossible to substantiate. However, from a marketing point of view, the principles still stand.

For your business to succeed, it needs to be known for one thing and everything you do to promote it should reinforce that message.

For more information on USPs and promotion, contact me via the form below, call me on 07887 853001 or check out this link. https://jabberwockycreative.co.uk/seven-ps-product