The Concentration Technique
Destroy confidence in competitor solutions while positioning your product as the answer
Concentration is the process of destroying alternate ways for the prospect to satisfy their desire, then proving that your product eliminates the weaknesses found in alternatives. It differs from ignoring competition because it directly attacks competitor weaknesses -- but only when simultaneously showing how your product provides what competitors lack. Never attack a weakness without providing the solution to that weakness at the same time.
The technique combines all previously learned methods: Intensification to show penalties of the old product, Gradualization to build logical cause-and-effect, Mechanization to prove your product removes weaknesses, and Identification to show the prospect belongs with your product. The most effective structure is interweaving contrast: weakness of the old, strength of the new, weakness of the old, strength of the new -- bad-good-bad-good.
Concentration is most effective when your budget is smaller than the competitor's, when the bulk of your prospects are already their customers, and when your first problem is cracking their image before you can redirect desire to your product.
- Never attack a weakness unless you can provide the solution to that weakness at the same time
- The prospect knows your attack is biased -- but if the attack serves his interest, he will accept it
- The underlying structure is bad-good, bad-good -- interweaving contrast between competitor weakness and your strength
- Concentration combines all other techniques: intensification, gradualization, mechanization, and identification
- Use parallel sentence structure and word repetition to sharpen the contrast between old and new
- Identify Genuine Weaknesses in Competitor SolutionsResearch the actual limitations, drawbacks, and failure points of competing products or approaches. These must be real, verifiable weaknesses that the prospect has experienced or can easily verify. The attack must be truthful to maintain credibility.Pro tipThe best weaknesses to attack are ones the prospect has already suspected or experienced but could not articulate. Your ad crystallizes their vague dissatisfaction into specific, named problems.WarningIf you can only attack without offering a genuine solution, say nothing at all. Pure attack without an alternative produces skepticism and dislike.
- Map Each Weakness to Your Product's Corresponding StrengthFor every competitor weakness you plan to highlight, identify the specific feature or mechanism in your product that eliminates that weakness. Create a parallel: their flaw mapped to your advantage, their limitation mapped to your capability.Pro tipThe most powerful contrast comes when the same feature that causes the competitor's weakness is the exact feature your product has redesigned or eliminated.
- Interweave the Contrast in Your CopyStructure your body copy as an alternating pattern: competitor weakness, your corresponding strength, competitor weakness, your corresponding strength. Use parallel sentence structures and repeated words to make the contrast as sharp as possible. Sell each comparison with emotion, not just facts.Pro tipUse deliberate word choices to sharpen contrast: 'A spark plug gives you a thin skimpy spark' vs 'A fire injector gives you a heavy powerful flame.' The adjective pairs create visceral contrast.
The fire injector ad systematically dismantled confidence in spark plugs through parallel contrast. 'A spark plug jumps a spark -- the most wasteful way to get electricity' vs 'A fire injector fires on the surface -- the most efficient way.' 'Spark plugs accumulate filth and carbon' vs 'Fire injectors never need cleaning and actually break in.' Each pair used identical sentence structures with contrasting adjectives to create maximum contrast.
Schwartz documented this technique from studying ads that needed to displace entrenched competitors. The fire injector vs. spark plug ads demonstrated the most sophisticated interweaving contrast he had seen, using parallel sentence structure, word repetition, and systematic redefinition to dismantle confidence in spark plugs while simultaneously building confidence in injectors.