Consumer Perception:

Product Positioning

Prepared by:
Stanley Lee
Sam Weng Cham
Chloe Li
30th August 2010
 Perception
• The process by which an individual
selects, organizes, and interprets
stimuli into a meaningful and coherent
picture of the world
• How we see the world around us
• Perception through ‘Positioning” in
advertising
 Marketing Strategy

Segmentation
Segmentation

Targeting
Targeting

*Positioning*
*Positioning*
 Positioning
• Establishing a specific image for a
brand in the consumer’s mind
• Product is positioned in relation to
competing brands
• Conveys the concept, or meaning, of
the product in terms of how it fulfills a
consumer need
• Result of successful positioning is a
distinctive, positive brand image
 Why Develop Product Positioning
Strategies?

• Marketing concept: holds that the key to

achieving organizational goals consists
in determining the needs and wants of
target markets and delivering the
desired satisfactions more effectively
and efficiently than competitors.
• Sustainable competitive advantages
(SCAs) -- aka “differential advantages”
Developing and Communicating a
Positioning Strategy
• Positioning: The act of designing the
company’s offering and image to
occupy a distinctive place in the mind
of the target market.
• Value proposition: a cogent reason
why the target market should buy the
product.
Writing a Positioning Statement
– Positioning statement format: “To
(target market and need) our (brand) is
(concept) that (point of difference)”

BMW’s Website
Other examples of Positioning
Statements
• Technical Excellence: BMW – “The Ultimate
Driving Machine” & “Joy”
• Safety & Excitement: Volvo – “Volvo for Life”
• Prestige: Mercedes Benz – “Unlike any other”
• Performance: Jaguar – “Drive to Perform”
• Economy: Kia – “The car that cares”
• Futuristic: Infiniti – “Accelerating the future”
 Quotes
“ Positioning is not what you do to the product, but
what you do to the mind”
Jack Trout,
Positioning: The Battle for your Mind, 2000

• Can a product be successfully positioned in

customers’ minds as being more desirable than
the competition given the “level playing field”?
– Coke vs Pepsi
– BMW vs Mercedes
– Amazon vs Barnes & Noble
• Is the battle for the customers’ mind in
positioning strategy really only about
information?
Product - BMW
• Wide selection of
models
• Different styles to
meet the customers
needs
• BMW Universal
Bluetooth
• iPod with BMW
• BMW accessories
Six Approaches to Positioning

Product
Product Attributes
Attributes
user
user or
or benefits
benefits

CC
Competitor
Competitor Price
Price and
and quality
quality
AA

BB

Use
Use or
or application
application Product
Product class
class
Six Approaches to Positioning
• By Attribute or Benefit
 Associating the brand with a desirable
attribute to target audience
 Most frequently used positioning strategy
 BMW- uses continuous innovation. As an
example we have an innovation of a
completely redesign the 3-series model with
even better power than ever before, a stiffer
suspension, taillight lenses.

Consumer Perception: Product Positioning

Six Approaches to Positioning
• By Usage Occasions or Application
 A kind of positioning stresses when or how
your product is used by target audience
 BMW- Young urban professionals usually
drive these luxury cars. It is a question of a
status and is associated with it.

Consumer Perception: Product Positioning

Six Approaches to Positioning
• By Product User
 Focusing on the unique characteristics of
specific users can be effective
 Establishing the brand as the choice of
professional
 BMW- has maintained its leadership brand
positioning for many years. Its success is the
result of a consistent strategy and is oriented
towards meeting the needs of customers.

Consumer Perception: Product Positioning

Six Approaches to Positioning
• By Product or Service Class
 Comparing your product to a product in a
different category can be an effective way to
differentiate yourself
 BMW – cars communicate valued differences
and distinguish it from other competitors by
image (described as a premium brand),
quality (uses cutting edge technology) and
design (very sleek and unique)

Consumer Perception: Product Positioning

Six Approaches to Positioning
• By Competitor
 Against a Competitor
 Positioning your product directly against a competitor’s
typically requires a specific product superiority claim
 Away from a Competitor
 Positioning yourself as the opposite of your competitor
help you get attention in a market dominated by other
product.
 BMW- There is a sign of a little comparison
between BMW and her competitors but the
ads don’t usually show it. It is only in minds of
customers who tend to compare these two
cars quite often.
Consumer Perception: Product Positioning
Six Approaches to Positioning
• By Price or Quality
 A product to be priced at the right level to
reflect the quality offered
 BMW- In this case searching for the best
possible value is a little complicated because
cars like BMW has ranked on a high-end
price level and are relatively expensive and
therefore their customers are usually well off
people.

Consumer Perception: Product Positioning

 Referencing
• http://www.otmmarketing.com/Portals/42226/docs/product_positioni
ng.pdf
• http://tutor2u.net/business/presentations/marketing/productpositioni
ng/default.html
• http://ezinearticles.com/?Product-Positioning-Strategies&id=474245
• Jack Trout, Positioning: The Battle of your Mind, McGraw-Hill, 2000
• http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/technology/joy/bmw_joy.html

Consumer Perception: Product Positioning