Crafting the Brand Positioning 10

What is Positioning?
•Positioning is the
act of designing th
e company’s offerin
g and image to occ
upy a distinctive pl
ace in the mind of t
he target market.
• When positioning a product, the marketer wants to convey the benef
it most desired by the target market.

• Example of successful positioning is the original Head & Shoulders

shampoo. As the first shampoo positioned as a "dandruff‟
remedy, the product‟s name implied the benefit, the medicinal fragra
nce suggested its potency, and the colour (blue-green) and consiste
ncy (a paste rather than a liquid) indicated that it was not an ordinar
y shampoo.
 Developing a Brand Positioning
• All marketing strategy is built on STP (Segmentation,Targeting an
d Positioning). A company discovers different needs and groups in
the marketplace,targets those needs and groups that it can satisfy in
a superior way, and then positions its offering so that the target mark
et recognizes the company's distinctive offering and image.

• The goal is to locate the brand in the minds of consumers to maximi

ze the potential benefit to the firm.
Understading Positioning and Value Prop
ositions

Positioning Requires:
1.Choosing a frame of reference by identifyi
ng the target market and relevant competitio
n.
2.Identifying the optimal points-of-parity and
points-of-difference brand associations give
n the frame of reference
3.Creating a brand mantra summarizing the
positioning and essense of the brand.
• Value Proposition
s captures the way
a product or servic
e's key benefits pro
vide value to costu
mer's by satisfying
their needs.
Value Propositions
• Domino’s Pizza
– A good hot pizza, delivered to your door within
30 minutes of ordering, at a moderate price
 What market am I competing to?
• Competitive Frame of Reference defines which other brands comp
etes with and which should thus be focus of competitive analysis.
• Frames of reference help us deal with the overwhelming number of c
hoices we have to make every day.
• A brand's frame of reference is the context in which consumers view i
t. The first thing consumers will try to figure out is the category the br
and belongs to.
• Identifying and Analyzing Competitors
Example:
Defining Associations
• Points-of-difference Points-of-parity
(PODs) (POPs)
• Attributes or benefits • Associations that are
consumers strongly a not necessarily uniqu
ssociate with a brand, e to the brand but ma
positively evaluate, an y be shared with other
d believe they could n brands
ot find to the same ext
ent with a competitive
brand
 Criteria for PODs to determine a brand associ
ation can truly function.

Desirable to consumer

Deliverable by the
company

Differentiating from
competitors
Attributes for POPs that are not necessarily unique t
o the brand but may in fact be shared to other brand
s.

Category of POPs

Correlation POPs

Competitive of POPs
• Straddle Positioni
ng is one of the po
sitioning strategy a
dopted by the mark
eters to position th
eir product in two c
ategories simultan
eously.
Example:
• When BMW entered the market, gave a stiff competition to other lux
urious cars because at that time, all the luxury cars focused on its lu
xury and overlooked the performance factor. BMW came with the du
al positioning as luxurious (POP) as well as performance (POD) and
substantiated this by its slogan “the ultimate driving machine”.
Choosing Specific POPs and PODs

Competitive advantage

Means of Differentation

Perceptual Map

Emotional Branding
• Competitive advantage is a favourable position a busin
ess holds in the market which results in more customers
and profits. It is what makes the brand, product, or servic
e to be perceived as superior to the other competitors.
• Means of Differentat
ion is the process of
distinguishing a comp
any's product/service
from those of its comp
etitors and from its ow
n products in order to
make it more attractiv
e to a particular target
audience.
• Perceptual Maps are visual representati
ons of consumer perceptions and prefere
nces. They provide quantitative pictures o
f market situations and the way consumer
s view different products, services, and br
ands along various dimensions.
Example:
• Emotional Branding is a term used within ma
rketing communication that refers to the practice
of building brands that appeal directly to a consu
mer's emotional state, needs and aspirations.
• Brand Mantra is a three to five-word artic
ulation of the heart and soul of the brand a
nd is closely related to other branding con
cepts like “brand essence and “core brand
promise.”
 Designing a Brand Mantra

• Communication
• Simplify
• Inspire