Chapter
10
Crafting the
Brand Positioning
Learning Objectives
1. How can a firm develop and establish an effective
positioning in the market?
2. How do marketers identify and analyze
competition?
3. How are brands successfully differentiated?
4. What are some alternative approaches to
positioning?
5. What are the differences in positioning and
branding for a small business?
Developing a Brand Positioning
• Positioning
– The act of designing a company’s offering and
image to occupy a distinctive place in the
minds of the target market
– Value proposition
Value proposition
Value proposition
Competitive Frame
of Reference
• Competitive frame of reference
– Defines which other brands a brand competes with and which
should thus be the focus of competitive analysis
– Identifying and analyzing competitors
Competitive Frame
of Reference
Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• Points-of-difference (PODs)
– Attributes/benefits that consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand
• POD criteria
Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
Desirable
Deliverable
Differentiating
Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• Points-of-parity (POPs)
– Attribute/benefit associations that are not necessarily unique to
the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands
• POP forms
Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
Category
Correlational
Competitive
http://www.muji.com/http://www.ikea.com/
Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• Choosing specific
POPs and PODs
– Competitive
advantage
– Means of
differentiation
– Perceptual map
– Emotional
branding
• A brand mantra is a 3 to 5 word shorthand encapsulation of your brand position. It is not an advertising slogan and it won’t be something you use publicly.
• A brand mantra is at its most powerful when it becomes a deeply resonant piece of the DNA of the company and is used as a touchstone to return when making difficult decisions.
• The brand mantra can be your guide to decide in which business you should operate, how to handle a crisis or how to make a painful choice (darkmatters.com).”
Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
Brand mantra
Nike’s brand mantra
• “Authentic Athletic Performance”
– Huh?! Isn’t their brand mantra Just do it?’. Well, the answer is no. A brand mantra is not a slogan. Just do it is a tagline and not a brand mantra. It’s an external manifestation of ‘Authentic Athletic Performance’.
Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• Brand mantras
Communicate
Simplify
Inspire
Brand mantras
Emotional modifier
Descriptive modifiers
Brand functions
Authentic Athletic Performance
Fun Family Enterteinment
Fun Folks Food
Rich RewardingCoffee
experience
Brand-positioning
bull’s-eye
Positioning/Branding
for a Small Business
• Find compelling product
performance advantage
• Focus on building one or
two strong brands based
on one or two key
associations
• Encourage product trial in
any way possible
• Develop cohesive digital
strategy to make the brand
“bigger and better”
• Create buzz and a loyal
brand community
• Employ a well-integrated
set of brand elements
• Leverage as many
secondary associations as
possible
• Creatively conduct low-cost
marketing research
Storytelling
• Brand storytelling isn’t a new concept, but with the explosive growth of social media and content marketing, the opportunities to tell stories as part of direct and indirect brand marketing initiatives have become a strategic priority.
• A brand creative content director increases consumer emotional involvement in the brand through social media and content marketing stories as well as on weaving the brand storyline into offline brand experiences and marketing initiatives.