Brand Positioning

Leroy J. Ebert DipM, MCIM, MSLIM,

Chartered Marketer

Diploma in Brand Management – “Strategic Brand Management – Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing

Identifying and Establishing Brand Positioning

• The CBBE is the blue print for marketers to build a strong brand.

• However in order to build the brand Marketers need to take several

important decisions

• Positioning is one such decision

Basic Concept

• Positioning addresses the Salience

requirement in the CBBE

• What you want to know about the brand

against what they already know

• Positioning “is the act of designing the

company’s offer and image so that it

occupies a distinct and valued place in the

target customers mind

O Positioning tells the consumer why your

brand is unique, how it is similar to

competitive brands and why consumers

should purchase it

O To decide on positioning strategy you need

to identify the frame of reference

O Identify the target market and the nature of

competition.

O Who the target consumer is

O Who the main competitor is

O How the brand is similar to the competition

O How the brand is different to the competition

Target Market

O A market is the set of all actual and potential buyers who have sufficient interest in, income for, and access to a product

O Market segmentation is dividing a market from being heterogeneous to homogeneous

O Marketing segmentation requires a trade off between cost and benefits

O The more finely segmented the more likely you are to meet the needs and wants of the target consumer

Bases of segmentation

Behavioural Demographic Psychographic Geographic B2b

User status Income Values International

Usage rate Age Opinions Regional

Usage

occasion

Sex Attitudes

Brand loyalty Race Activities

Benefits

sought

Family Lifestyle

Benefit Segmentation

O Makes it clear what should be the ideal POD

or desired benefit with which to establish

the positioning.

O Toothpaste market

O The Sensory Segment: flavour and product

appearance

O The Sociable – white

O The Worriers – decay

O Independent segment - Cost

Points of Difference

O POD’s are attributes or benefits that are strongly associated with the brand

O Consumers believe that competing brand’s cannot offer the same benefit

O USP is similar to that of POD

O USP is focusing on ‘what was said’ rather than ‘how it was said’, content vs creativity

O Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA

O How can a brand achieve SCA

O Consumers choice often determines on brand associations, brand positioning is also an association

Some POD’s

O Performance features volvo

O Imagery

O Cost

O Quality

Point’s of Parity

O Is POP good for a brand or not?

O Product life cycle

Positioning Guidelines

O Two key issues in arriving at the optimal

competitive brand positioning

O Define and communicating the competitive

frame of reference

O Choosing and establishing points of parity

and points of difference

Defining and Communicating the Competitive Frame of Reference

O Promote category membership i.e. Coke,

Commercial Credit,

O Inform customers of a brands category

membership before stating its point of

difference in relationship to other category

members

O i.e. BMW POD & POP in USA

O i.e. Sony laptops

Choosing POD

O POD’s should be desirable

O The firm should be able to deliver them

O The Desirability Criteria for PODs

O Relevance

O Distinctiveness

O Believability

O Deliverability Criteria i.e. hameedia

O Feasibility

O Communicability

O Sustainability

Establishing POP’s & POD’s

O POP’s and PODs are negatively co-related

i.e. Highest quality but very inexpensive?

Figure 2-4 PG 116

How to Manage Negativity in POP’s and POD’s

O Separate the attributes – head and

shoulders, costly affaire

O Leverage Equity on Another Entity –

Hameedia & Mango

O Redefine the relationship - Apple computers

Mac personal to Business – Easy to Use vs.

Powerful

Updating Positioning Over Time

O Required for established brands

O Competitive forces dictate shifts in positioning strategy

O Visa – from convenience to prestige

O Amex – from prestige to convenience

O Updating Positioning

O Laddering – deepen the meaning to tab into core brand associations

O Reacting – responding to competitive challenges that threaten an existing positioning

Defining & Establishing Brand Mantra's

O Core Brand Associations – Attributes & Benefits that

characterize the 5 to 10 most important aspects or

dimensions of a brand.

O How do you identify core brand associations? Mental

Mind Map (when you think of a brand what comes into

your mind?)

O Brand Mantra = The heart and soul of the brand

O BM is a short 3 to 5 word sentence that captures the

irrefutable essence or spirit of the brand positioning

O Similar to Brand Essence or Core Brand Promise

Brand Mantra

O Helps employees and external marketing partners understand what the brand most fundamentally is to represent to consumers

O BM guides as to what products to launch

O What ads to be run

O Where and how the brand should be sold

O BM’s act as a mental filter to block out any inappropriate marketing activities

O Helps marketers project a consistent image over time

Designing a Brand Mantra

O Brand Mantra must economically

communicate what the brand IS and IS NOT

Emotional

Modifier

Descriptive

Modifier

Brand

Function

Nike Authentic Athletic Performance

Disney Fun Family Entertainment

Content Extracted from “Strategic Brand Management” 3rd

Edition

Authors:

Kevin Lane Keller

M.G. Parameswaran

Issac Jacob

Presentation developed from SLIM Diploma In Brand

Management Students

Presentation developed by Leroy J. Ebert (22nd March, 2014)