On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the moon. Nineteen minutes later, Buzz Aldrin joined him. Aldrin was wearing an Omega Speedmaster wristwatch. Since then, the watch has been known simply as the Moonwatch.
Every July, Omega takes out an ad celebrating the anniversary. It shows the famous photo of Buzz Aldrin where the lunar module is reflected in his helmet. He’s wearing the watch. The tagline is short, simple and descriptive. It reads:
“The first watch worn on the moon.”
In one sentence, Omega differentiates the watch from its competition. In one sentence, the brand tells a story that speaks to its history and reliability. The Speedmaster wristwatch was introduced in 1957. In 1964, NASA performed tests on several chronograph watches to see how they held up under extreme conditions such two days in 160-degree heat and 250 hours in 95 percent humidity. The Omega Speedmaster was the only one to survive the tests.
When the first astronauts stepped foot on the lunar surface, an eight-year-old boy was looking up at the moon and, like every eight-year-old boy that day, dreamt of becoming an astronaut. He became a famous actor instead. In his ads for the Omega Moonwatch, George Clooney says, “Omega was the watch that went to the moon.” One sentence tells a story and differentiates the product. Omega builds on the story by devoting an entire website to the history of the watch and the Apollo moon missions. The details are interesting, but one sentence speaks volumes.
In a noisy digital landscape where consumers are bombarded by advertising and marketing messages at every turn, Omega differentiates its product with one story that it tells in a sentence.
Focus on the one thing
Products don’t stand out by highlighting twenty features; they stand out by focusing on one.
“Every time you attempt to communicate more than thing, you’re splintering the attention of those you’re talking to… Remember that a sea of choices is no choice at all,” writes former Apple creative director Ken Segall in the book, Insanely Simple. Segall, who worked with Steve Jobs for over a decade, says the power of one image or once concept can galvanize an audience. “In a world where complexity abounds, those who stand up for simplicity will always stand apart.”
Apple, like Omega, markets to its consumers by focusing on the one thing that differentiates a particular product. In 2008, Steve Jobs introduced a thin, lightweight notebook computer. There were other thin, lightweight notebooks on the market. But Jobs said, “In a sentence, it’s the world’s thinnest notebook.” Jobs would fit right in at Omega.
I once created this video for Forbes.com about a coffee shop in Los Angeles. The owners knew they had to differentiate themselves from their larger and more recognizable competitors. They began to carry exotic coffees, including “the world’s most expensive cup of coffee.” It was a cup that cost me $80 (the fee is now $95). Few people buy the coffee, but the business generates buzz by featuring the one thing—the rarest, most expensive cup of coffee.
Every person and every company has a story. The secret to standing out is to find the story that’s uniquely yours to tell. If you can tell it in a sentence, even better.