Brand positioning

Module III

The name of the game is positioning

And only better players are going to survive

Positioning
Positioning is vital to brand management because it takes the basic tangible aspects of the product and actually builds the intangibles in the form of an image in peoples mind

Positioning got its attention when in 1972 Jack Trout and Al Ries wrote a series of articles entitled The Positioning Era for the trade paper Advertising Age. Positioning starts with a product .A piece of merchandise ,a service ,a company ,an institution or a person. Perhaps yourself. But it is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect. that is ,you position the product in the mind of the prospect.
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GOOGLE. SEARCH

BMW. DRIVING

INDIA. DIVERSITY

1/15/2013

Definition.
Positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect. Positioning is ,how you differentiate yourself in the mind of your prospect.
e.g. Mysore Sandal -Purity and natural fragrance. Margo- Herbal(neem). Lifebuoy-Hygiene.
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Proper Positioning
Proper positioning Clarifies what the Brand is all about How it is both unique and similar to competitive brands Why customers should purchase and use the Brand

Positioning how the core brand values are projected to the outside world

 AMUL has positioned itself as " Taste of India " and have ensured that their communication is in line with their positioning strategy.

How these companies positioned themselves

Mercedes-Benz prestige. BMW driving. Volvo.. Safety. Starbucks high-end coffee.. Rolexhigh-end watches. Google .Search. Red bull energy drink. FedEx overnight (delivery)

Why positioning?
The mind rejects much of the information offered to it due to over-communication In general , the mind accepts only that which matches with its prior knowledge or experience. In todays communication jungle out there, the only hope to score big is to be selective, to concentrate on narrow targets, to practice segmentation. In a word positioning

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Why positioning?
You narrow the focus
Starbucks narrowed its focus to high-end coffee and became the world's largest coffee chain.
Dell Computer narrowed its focus to personal computers "sold direct" and became the world's largest PC manufacturer. BMW narrowed its focus to "driving" and became the largest-selling European luxury car in the U.S. Focus is the key to successful brand building in today's ultra-competitive marketplace
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The Oversimplified Message

Today the best approach to take, in our over communicated society is to simplify the message. You simplify the message, then simplify it some more if you want to make a long lasting impression.
-Al Ries and Jack Trout

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Volvo owns a single word in the minds.

Volvo Safety

Volvo has successfully simplified and Communicated this message.

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 Brand Positioning: is at the heart of marketing strategy. It is the act of designing the companys offer and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customers minds. Position = Location (finding proper location of the product in the consumers minds)

How it is different?

And why consumers should purchase and use it?

Proper Positioning
Proper positioning Clarifies what the Brand is all about How it is both unique and similar to competitive brands Why customers should purchase and use the Brand

Positioning how the core brand values are projected to the outside world

BMW over the years

1991
1985 1975 1971
Affluence, exclusivity Fun to drive Affluence, exclusivity Fun to drive Fun to drive Economical

International Desirability

The Ultimate driving machine

Elements of Positioning
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Who the target consumer is? Who the main competitors are? How the brand is similar to these competitors? How the brand is different from them? Communicating the differential advantage to customers

Target Market
Market: is the set of all actual and potential buyers who have sufficient interest in, income for, and access to a product. Market Segmentation: divided the market into distinct groups of homogeneous consumers who have similar needs and consumer behavior.

Segmentation Bases
Descriptive or customer-oriented: what kind of person or organization the customer is Behavioral or product-oriented: how the customer thinks of or uses the brand or product

Consumer Segmentation Bases

Behavioral
User status Usage rate Usage location Brand loyalty Benefit sought Income Age Sex Race Family

Psychographic
Value, opinions,attitudes Activities and lifestyle

Demographic

Geographic International regional

Toothpaste Segmentation
Four main segments Sensory segment
Flavor and product appearance

Sociables
Brightness of teeth

Flavor, Brightness

Worriers
Decay Prevention

Independent
Low Price
Decay Prevention 3 stripes, one for each of the 3 main segments

Target Market Segmentation

Which works better? Behavioral Easier to match perceptions (right/wrong) or beliefs (right/wrong) with strategy (reinforce/change). Many times, behavior and descriptive go hand in hand Demographics may be basis of targeting, but tend to represent some underlying behavioral reason In some cases, demographics may mask underlying differences

Who the main competitors are?

The Competition
Market Segments define competitors They are targeting the same segments Dont be too narrow in your definition of competitors Consider Sprite Product Type (non-cola soft drinks) Product Category (all soft drinks) Product Class (all beverages)

Baskin-Robbins Competitive analysis

Original Tagline: 31 Flavors 100 M$ facelift in late 1990s Expanded from Ice cream Frozen coffee drinks Fruit Smoothies Perceived competitors Starbucks Jamba Juice TCBY (and still Dairy Queen)

How the brand is similar to these competitors? How the brand is different from them?
Points of parity: associations that are not unique to the brand but may be shared with other brands. Points of difference: attributes or benefits that consumers strongly associate with a brand and they believe that they could not find from a competitive brand

POP and POD

POD (Point of Difference) Strong, favorable, unique brand associations May be any kind of attribute or benefit Two types of PODs Attribute Based Functional, performance related differences Image Based Affective, experiential, brand image related differences

POP and POD

POP (Point of Parity) Associations that are shared with other brands Two types Category: attributes that are required to include your product as a member of that category Competitive: POP that negate your competitors PODs POPs can be good enough, but PODs should be superior

Power positioning strategies

(Ref : Advanced brand management by Paul Temporal)

1. Features and attributes

Most frequently used strategy which focuses on those brand attributes that can be used to endorse the perception that here is something that is different or better or both Eg: Volvo positioned its vehicles as safest on road Ritz-Carlton hotel group advertises its uncompromisingly high service quality standards

 Ritz Carlton launched a $10 million advertising campaign to spread awareness of its new brand positioning. The Marriott-owned hotel chain created the effort, which includes direct mail, email, social media and banner ads, with Los Angeles-based agency Team One. The luxury hotel chain's new tagline, Let Us Stay with You. Ritz-Carlton replaced its previous It's Our Pleasure slogan, which the brand launched in 2004.

 The Ritz-Carlton has positioned itself within the hotel industry as a brand that provides something more than other hotel chains. They have done well to identify and communicate their brands uniqueness, differentiation and verifiable value which is the definition of brand positioning. The Ritz is known for its gold standard that is expected of their service and therefore from their employees. Their ad campaign, Let Us Stay With You, communicates that it is your vacation, your time, your experience and to let them be there with you to make it better.

 Holiday Inn, positioned itself in a different way. Their campaign, Stay You, provides a comfortable hotel with friendly service (Stay You Holiday Inn & Resorts, 2012). This only tells a customer that you can be you, but not how they are going to go above and beyond to help make your experience one of enjoyment. When searching Holiday Inns website, customers will not find a mission, credo, or value page. Stay You and Best Price Guaranteed are the only two things professed on their page.

 Let us take your eyelids back in time. Let us re-create the recipe from your favorite meal in Paris. Let us help you unwind without leaving the city. Let us turn a weekend of pampering into a memory youll be reminded of

2. Benefits
This strategy describes what benefits the customer will receive as a result What is in it for me?

3. Problem solution
This strategy focuses on providing a solution to a problem that can be provided by the product or company Problem: What happens to my family if something happens to me? Solution: Life Insurance Emotional benefit: peace of mind if a disaster occurs

4. Competition
Based on competitors strategy changing the position reactive strategy It is possible to be proactive and change your position and thus disadvantage the competition Oracle claimed: Thats why SAP customers choose Oracle over IBM 10 to 1

5. Corporate credentials or identity Some companies rely on the strength of their corporate name to endorse products, positioning them by the house brand reputation eg: Sony, IBM, Nestle The power of the corporate name can make a strong position even for an average product It can also create global product positions Sony moving into entertainment industry from consumer electronics

6. Usage occasion, time and application This strategy can be an effective differentiator and it is more appropriate for products and services Oreo cookies for a between meal snack (time usage) A nutritious chocolate drink is used by some people before going to sleep(time usage) and by others as food supplement at various times of day (application usage) Cadbury Celebrations being used for gifting on special occasions (occasion usage) Strategy is flexible as the products are capable for different usage situations

7. Target User Companies who know their target audience well can be effective in positioning a generic product to many customer groups eg: Nike The strategy relies on accurate segmentation and therefore, research Strategy can be limiting and user profiles may change over time

8. Aspiration Aspirational positioning is very popular with lifestyle brands and the two common ones are: Status and prestige eg: Rolex and Rolls Royce Self improvement eg: adidas forever sport When combined with other strategies this can be immensely powerful This strategy could turn off under achievers

9. Causes
This positioning strategy is also linked to emotion and focuses on peoples beliefs hierarchies and on their need to belong Benetton targets a customer group whom they believe will subscribe to a certain philosophy Shell is focusing on environment and conservation of resources Companies can own a strong position through this strategy

10. Value
Two main elements of value positioning: Price/quality that is value for money Emotional value the associations people have when they own the brand Trying to bring back those memories fighting on a nostalgic platform Eg: Volkswagens Beetle

11. Emotion
This positioning strategy is often used as adding value and strength to other strategies Eg: Haagen Dazs icecreams The key concept of its success was the creation of unique positioning around the concept of sheer luxury and enjoyment of the moment Advertisements portrayed romantic imagery Emotional positioning strategies creates desire and is very powerful Do not affect calculating, careful planning people

12. Personality
Brand building strategy based on personality creation Some of the personality characteristics extremely attractive are: Caring Modern Innovative Honest Successful Inspiring Energetic Fun loving

13. Claiming number one

This strategy generates perceptions of leadership In hi tech field this strategy works wonders The company will need to invest in research and development to maintain constant innovation and to own the leader position Eg: Amazon.com Andersen consulting was the first firm to position itself as a technology specialist But its change of name to Accenture eroded its position as people where confused with the identity of the brand

Choosing a positioning strategy

The position must be salient or important to the target audience The position must be based on real strengths The position has to reflect some form of competitive advantage Finally, the position must be capable of being communicated simply so that everyone gets the message

Building competitive advantage for a brand

Product differentiation Promotional Differentiation Distribution differentiation Price differentiation

What are positioning statements?

Positioning statements are internal documents not meant for public consumption They summarize strategy and act as a guide for strategic marketing It should understand the following areas: Your brand Target audience Competitors you are against Why you are different and better than the competition The desired perception you would like people to have

Template
Brand X Is better than COMPETITIVE SET For TARGET MARKET Because it STRATEGIC COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE With the result that KEY POSITION

Brand Mantras
To provide further focus as to the intent of the brand positioning and how firms would like consumers to think about the brand, it is often useful to define a brand mantra. A brand mantra is highly related to branding concepts such as brand essence or core brand promise. A brand mantra is an articulation of the heart and soul of the brand. Brand mantras are short, three- to five-word phrases that capture the irrefutable essence or spirit of the brand positioning.

 An example of a brand mantra for Nike would be authentic, athletic performance Brand mantra of Disney Fun Family Entertainment

Designing a Brand Mantra

Here are the three key criteria for a brand mantra. Communicate: A good brand mantra should define the category (or categories) of business for the brand and set the brand boundaries. It should also clarify what is unique about the brand. Simplify: An effective brand mantra should be memorable. As a result, it should be short, crisp, and vivid in meaning. Inspire: Ideally, the brand mantra would also stake out ground that is personally meaningful and relevant to as many employees as possible.

Summary of Brand Positioning

A few final comments - First, a good brand positioning has a foot in the present and a foot in the future. It needs to be somewhat aspirational so that the brand has room to grow and improve. Second, a good positioning is careful to identify all relevant points-of-parity. Too often marketers concentrate only on areas of strength and ignore crucial areas where the brand is potentially disadvantaged. Finally, it is important a duality exists in the positioning of a brand such that there are rational and emotional components. In other words, a good positioning contains points-of-difference and points-of-parity that appeal both to the head and the heart.

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