The first time I read about Crest Whitestrips 1 Hour Express was in Allure magazine in their annual Best of Beauty award issue.

I’m skeptical of these lists because I know what goes into them on the brand-side and publication-side. But I still love seeing which products are trending and what was voted up by readers or editors.

If you’ve ever whitened your teeth, you know how terrible the gel tastes and how badly your teeth hurt afterwards. I’ve had my teeth hurt for days and that “mild sensitivity” should really be called pain.

Also, the commercials that show people running errands and living life with those teeth strips on are just LIES. You can’t do anything except sit close to the bathroom sink in case you need to spit. It’s always a highly unpleasant experience no matter how beautiful the iridescent packaging is. 

So the idea of doing a treatment in one hour and getting it over with was pretty appealing.

But the 1 Hour Express was $49.99. Every other kit on the shelf was half that price. I even found one from the same brand, Crest, for $18. Why would I ever spend $50?

Then after thinking about the cost-benefit of my time, I thought:

“I could either spend $25 and have to use those terrible strips for 10-12 days, or I can do it ONCE for an hour and be done with it.”

The messaging on the packaging really only focuses on one thing: the product only takes one hour.

The focus on that messaging really gets the customer to think about the value of her time.

If you can get the experience over with in 1 hour versus 10-12 hours, then it seems reasonable to pay at least twice as much.

But the customer doesn’t naturally think that. You have to build that positioning in from the beginning. The name of the product is “1 Hour Express” and the only line of messaging on there is about removing stains in “just one hour.”

Find that one strong idea and focus all of your messaging firepower behind it.