Brand Positioning

The object of positioning a brand is to cause people to feel that there is no completely satisfactory substitute for the brand.

To position a brand requires that you make choices. Having a position means that the brand will appeal to some people and not others. A brand can be positioned in several ways: offering a specific benefit, targeting a specific segment, price, or distribution.

Benefit positioning can be used if the brand perceivably differs in its ability to deliver a specific benefit. The power of a benefit position will depend on how many people care about the benefit and how different the brand is in delivering it.

Target positioning requires that all a brand’s marketing be focussed on a specific segment. The target may be defined demographically, economically, geographically, ethnically or attitudinally. To work, a target position should cause the people in the target to perceive the brand as superior in meeting their particular needs.

Price positioning puts the brand either at the top or bottom of the category. By being the most or least expensive brand in the category the brand takes on a specific identity. Obviously the size of the customer franchise, brand image and profit margins will be affected by this strategy. It is difficult to defend a price position.

Positioning by distribution is an often overlooked, but effective strategy. Placing a brand in a channel that is not used by competitors can effectively differentiate it and establish a unique identity. Being the first product of its kind sold in a channel of distribution can cause people to perceive it differently.

The importance of a strong brand position is not to be underestimated. It can last for years, even, as in the case of Ivory, for over a century. It may sound like heresy but I believe that neither innovation or quality are, by themselves, sufficient to guarantee that a brand will achieve all that it is capable of in the market place. What makes a position right is difficult to define. Bob Cox, chairman of the Cox group and creator of the long lasting, “ We make it simple” campaign that helped position Honda, says that positioning occurs when a “truth in the product” is connected to a “need of the consumer” by compelling communications. Every product has certain “truths” about it. Not every product has unique truths or truths that are very different from competition.

There are seven qualities that help to make a successful position:

1. Relevance

Positions that do not focus on benefits that are important to people or reflect the character of the product will fail. Often in their search for differentiation, marketers seize upon some attribute in their product which is different but in reality is of little concern to customers. This is a waste of time and money. The lonely Maytag repairman, who symbolizes reliability, is an example of a powerful position based on the quality built into the appliances.

2. Clarity

A position should be easy to communicate and quick to comprehend. Difficulty in either suggest that a position is to fuzzy to be of value to the brand. “We try harder because we are #2” established Avis as a major league competitor quickly and simply.

3. Distinctiveness

People have few needs that are unfulfilled, and they have many choices to fill the needs they have. If a brand’s position lacks distinctiveness it will be forced to compete on the bases of price or promotion; expensive strategies that will not build brand equity in the long term.

4. Coherence

Speak with one voice through all the elements of the marketing mix if you wish to create a strong position. If, for example, a brand that is positioned as premium quality and price appears in an end-aisle “sale” display, its quality image will suffer. The shipping cartons, freight pallets, envelope franking, packaging, advertising, promotions, shelf displays etc. should all reflect and translate the brand’s position into the appropriate form for the media.

5. Commitment

Often people will get nervous when a strong position threatens to ignore or even alienate some segment of the population as a price of clearly communicating to the desired target. Once a position is adopted, it takes commitment to see it through, in the face of criticism and pot shots.

6. Patience

Crest has dominated its market for over thirty years. When it was first introduced positioned as a cavity fighter its share never rose above 13% for three years. The ADA approval was the key to launching the brand to over 40% of the market. Had P&G lost patience after two or three years, someone else would be enjoying the profits of this powerful brand position.

7. Courage

It goes without saying that adopting a strong brand position requires bravery. It is much easier to defend an appeal to everyone with a rather generic sales pitch. You must believe that the position makes strategic sense for the brand and then stick to your guns.

Adopting a strong position is not a passive act; rather it is a deliberate attempt to influence events. It requires ignoring certain business targets in favor of others, and if successful, will yield growth in sales and profits and a consumer franchise who believe that your brand has no adequate substitute, even if it costs more.