Copywriting Q&A: Make Your Client’s Product Epic

In every client’s mind, their own product or service is legendary. But how can you convey that same momentousness to prospective purchasers, so that they just can’t resist buying it? Well, that’s what today’s article is all about. Read on…

Today’s question comes from Chris S. who asks, “My new clients are really obsessed with setting their product apart from the competition. (In a good way.) Aside from the USP and conveying the benefit, is there anything I can do to really set it apart?”

As you already know, conveying a product’s (or service’s) USP and benefit to consumer are crucial to helping your target audience understand why they should make the purchase.

But, at the same time, there’s also another way to help make that product so irresistible and so aspirational that the audience will be all but chomping at the bit to buy it. You need to make this product epic.

Now, the work “epic” is used slangily to mean, essentially, “really super awesome.” And, yes, you’ll be conveying that the product is really super awesome. But the main reason that I use it is for the word’s more classic definition, that of a story of a hero and that hero’s journey.

To make your client’s product stand out, tell a story about it—and not just any story. An epic.

You’re going to tell the story of how this product came into being and they problems in the world that it fights against. You need to set it up as the hero, railing against a villain or conflict with a goal and a moral.

But wait, before you think I’m looking for an Aesop fable or a Marvel movie (though I kind of am), let me give you an example.

All of the Apple products aren’t just products: They’re heroes. Remember that classic ad from 1984 with the all of the grey-clad, conformist people sitting on benches and listening to propaganda about being “the same” and a woman runs in and throws a sledgehammer to smash the screen?

That’s how Apple positions all of its products. They are fighting a war against conformity and malaise. (Whether you believe this is the case or not, that’s their positioning.) Apple urges people to “think different” and rail against sameness. Their hero is their company and their products, the villain is those people (and companies) who would try to lull you with unoriginal, uninspiring technology, and their implied goal is to free the world from that tyranny.

A pretty epic story right?

But in the end, it’s just the marketing story for a computer company! It’s a little hard to imagine Dell or Hewlett Packard taking on such an epic story, but they’ve also never tried. Apple’s epic story works because they stand behind it 100%.

So what’s your client’s (or your client’s product’s) epic story? What is it fighting against? How is it determined to change the world? Telling this story with passion and with complete faith and sincerity can be the key to unlocking a whole new way to set the product apart—and earn unprecedented loyalty from customers.

Is it easy? Of course not. But greatness never is. Tell the epic story and reach for the epic results.

Your turn! What are some of your favorite epic marketing stories for products? Or what are some that have fallen short for you? Let us know in the comments below.