Brand Positioning

A concept so simple,people have difficulty understandinghow powerful it is!

What… Positioning is owning a

piece of consumer’s mind

Positioning is not what you do to a product It’s what you do to the mind

of the prospect

You position the product in the prospect’s mind ‘It’s incorrect to call it

Product Positioning’ – Ries & Trout

Positioning Statement Format

The language of a well crafted positioning usually takes this general form:

“To (target market), Brand X is the (definition of business) that provides you with (stated point of difference/key benefit)”

Examples

ColgateColgate is ProtectionProtection

Lux Lux is GlamourGlamour

Pond’s Dream Flower TalcPond’s Dream Flower Talc isConfidenceConfidence

AxeAxe is Sexual AttractionSexual Attraction

GilletteGillette is QualityQuality

Why…The assault on our mind… The media explosion

The product explosion

The advertising explosion

How… The easy way to get into a person’s

mind is to be first Xerox, Kodak, Polaroid, Sun TV

If you didn’t get into the mind of your prospect first, then you have a positioning problem Better to be first than be best

In the positioning era, you must, however, be first to get into the prospect’s mind

How…

The basic approach is not to create something new or different, but manipulate what’s already in the mind

To find a unique position, you must ignore conventional logic

Conventional logic says you find concept inside product Not true; look inside prospect’s mind

You won’t find an uncola idea inside 7-up; you find it inside cola drinker’s head

‘You concentrateon the perceptions of the prospect, not the reality of the product’- Al Ries & Jack Trout

‘It’s difficult to change behavior, but easy to work with it’- Paco Underhill

What you need… Understand the role

of words and how they affect people Turtle vs. Lexus

Be careful of change Disney

Need vision Long term / Not on

technology or fad

What you need…

Courage To slug it out when others watch and wait

Objectivity You need a backboard / a springboard

Simplicity Not complicated or convoluted

What you need… Subtlety

Unique position and appeal that’s not narrow

Willingness to sacrifice Rexona wooing male and female

Patience Geographical roll out / Demographic /

Chronological

Global outlook Taj Mahal tea

Guidelines

Start by looking not at the product but at the position in the market that you wish to occupy, in relation to competition

Think about how the brand will answer the main consumer questions What will it do for me that others will not? Why should I believe you?

Try to keep it short and make every word count and be as specific as possible Vagueness opens the way to confused

executions

Guidelines Keep the positioning up-do-date

Give as careful consideration to change as you did to the original statement

Look for a Key InsightKey Insight!

An ‘Accepted Consumer Belief’‘Accepted Consumer Belief’

What is key insight?

Key Insight is ‘seeing below the surface’ / ‘seeing inside the consumer’

Insight expresses the totality of all that we know from seeing inside the consumer

An insight is a single aspect of this that we use to gain competitive advantage

By identifying a specific way… That the brand can either solve a problem or Create an opportunity for the consumer

Key InsightKey Insight

‘‘I wish to get married I wish to get married to a handsome prince’to a handsome prince’

Key InsightKey Insight‘‘Fragrance of my current talc does not last long Fragrance of my current talc does not last long and I miss opportunities to enjoy life’and I miss opportunities to enjoy life’

Key InsightKey Insight‘‘Soap leaves my skin Soap leaves my skin feeling dry and tight’feeling dry and tight’

Key Insights?

Key Insights?

Key Insight?Key Insight?

Key Insight?

Key Insight?

Key Insight?

Key Insight?

Key Insight?

Key Insight?

Key Insight?

Key Insight?

More on key insight…

It will require two separate thoughts to be related to each other in a new and fresh way

Insight will generally be enduring

Often the process will lead to several insights

The one to use is the one that offers to be the source of greatest competitive advantage

More on key insight…

No need for insight to change if you have identified the higher-order needs of consumers

Keep asking ‘why’ to find the real need behind the obvious insight

Remember, the insight is always the basis for a brand’s positioning

How to find one? What are the ways in which the category /

brand can improve someone’s life?

What are the conflicting needs that people face and that the brand can solve?

How important is it that the product delivers? Who will notice?

What is standard of excellence in the category?

With every answer you get, you need to probe deeper: ‘Why is that?’

The 3C’s of positioning Be Crystal clear

Be Consumer-based Be relevant and credible to the consumer Write in consumer language and from consumer’s view point

Be Competitive Be distinctive Focus on building brand elements into powerful discriminator Be persuasive Be sustainable

And then…

The brand name!

The name is the first point of contact between the message and the mind

‘‘The brand name is a knife that cuts the mind to The brand name is a knife that cuts the mind to let the brand message inside’let the brand message inside’

– Ries & TroutRies & Trout

Guidelines

It’s not the goodness or badness of the name in an aesthetic sense that determines effectiveness It’s the appropriateness of the same

Name begins the positioning process, tells the prospect what the product’s major benefit is Fair & Lovely Close Up Krack Head & Shoulders Vaseline Intensive Care Body Lotion

Checklist: Brand name Should be simple

Should be acceptable in all key languages

Should be appropriate when geographically spread

Should be amenable for easy registration