Every few years, some marketer discovers that the term "unique selling proposition" is broken.
The principle is not, of course, broken; the need to communicate the value of a product has existed more or less forever. The term gained prominence in the 1940s, but not because human nature had randomly shifted, causing differentiation and value to suddenly matter to people buying stuff.
Even so, marketers are convinced the unique selling proposition is dead.
It died in 2012 and was replaced with unique story proposition.
It died again in 2014 and was replaced with unique brand perspective.
It also died in 2022 and was replaced with minimum viable audience.
It died three times in 2025, becoming compelling value proposition, and market dominating position, and — my personal favorite — single most important truth (SMIT).
You’ll see that none of the above links are to especially prominent or industry-changing sources, but they also weren’t hard to find. Just search your favorite marketing term with “is dead” on the end and you’ll see this obsession marketers have with repackaging, renaming, or rebranding basic, proven principles.
Is it any wonder why marketing’s reputation is the way it is?
These gimmicks might initially win over a few hearts and minds, but people quickly realize nothing has actually changed. But for the marketer, the thrill of faux innovation is enough of a reward in and of itself.
I can't tell you the number of meetings I've been in where someone (a marketer or otherwise) is clearly on a mission to establish a new three-letter something because they’re convinced that will be what unlocks success. Or they just know that if the first letters of the product's five main features also spell something, the money will just start rolling in.
Renaming sliced bread doesn’t suddenly create the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Your customers don't care. They want to know what problem you’re solving and what value you’re bringing. No current or potential customer is going to be won over by the fact that you were able to use a thesaurus.
Customers will, however, notice a pattern of empty, meaningless communication.
What they want to know is the problem your product or service solves. What's the gap between where they are and where they want to be, and how do you close it? They want clarity. They want a reason to believe you. And, more often than not, they will appreciate if the product or service, and corresponding marketing, takes an approach closer to "does exactly what it says on the tin" and "what you see is what you get."
This doesn’t mean there’s no place for creativity or for clever turns of phrase or even for renaming things. But when all you’re offering is a new name, you've made it clear that you have nothing else to offer.
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