1 brand positioning
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Brand Positioning
by
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Positioning and Differentiation strategies
Positioning refers to the process of putting the
product in the predetermined orbitAs the competition intensifies & brands proliferate
consumers tend to differentiate between brands intheir own way. Positioning is a conscious attempt on
the part of the marketer to accelerate this naturaltendency and in the process impart a distinct identityto his own brand to make it stand out among thecompetitors.
BrandIdentity
PositioningBrandImage
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Positioning Strategies
Positioning by specific product attribute
Highlight certain specific product features orattributes e.g. LG Flatron, Fair & Lovely-Multivitamin, Godrej Pentacool
Positioning by distinct benefits to users Providing specific benefits or problem
solutions e.g. Vicks Vaporub
Positioning by specific kind of uses orusages
A finer ramification of benefits is to position theproducts on specific usages e.g. Dabur Honey,Roohafza 3
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Positioning Strategies
Positioning by Price/Quality
When the basic plank of positioning the product isits attractive pricing strategy e.g. Chota Coke,
Maggi (Rs 5) or Wheel
Positioning by Lifestyle of users
In case of items of conspicuous consumption,Positioning by lifestyle is a popular method e.g.Louis Phillipe (The upper crest), Wills (Made for
each other),Four Square King (Live Life King Size)Positioning by reference groups
Using celebrities for influencing customers to buyproduct or service e.g. Shahrukh Khan (Santro)
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Differentiation Strategies
Product features as differentiating strategy
Companies can create additional versions byadding extra features or can offer new features tohighlight its superiority over its competitors e.g. LG
Golden Eye, Whirlpool Agitator system
Performance quality as a differentiating strategy
Basic performance refers to the levels at which the
products primary characteristics operate.Differentiating on the basis of quality ofperformance even enables corporates to charge apremium price e.g. Bajaj Pulsar
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Differentiation Strategies
Exclusivity and style as a differentiating
strategy Style has the advantage of creating product
distinctiveness which is difficult to copy e.g.Nakshatra Jwellery, TAG Heuer watch
Product Range and variety as a differentiatingstrategy
Despite a number of players existing in the sameproduct category, the marketer can differentiate hisproducts on the basis of product range and varietyoffered : Flavors of Rasna, Lux variants, Ray Ban
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Differentiation Strategies
Service quality as a differentiating strategy
In addition to product features marketers can alsodifferentiate on the basis of accompanying services
and can capitalize on them e.g. Modi Xerox,Samsung etc.
Packaging as a differentiating strategy
Well designed packages can create an image of
convenience or quality for the consumer andpromotional value for the producer e.g. Maggi Rs 5,Clinic Plus(Re 1 Sachets)
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Brand Positioning
Brand position is the part of the brand identity and
value proposition that is to be actively communicatedto the target audience and that demonstrates anadvantage over the competing brands
BrandPosition
TargetAudience
-Create Advantage
-Points ofsuperiority
-Points of parity
-Activelycommunicate
-Augment the image
-Reinforce the image-Diffuse the image
-Subset ofidentity
-Core identity
-Points of
leverage overother brands
-Key benefits
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The Ws of Brand Positioning
CadburysPerk
Against whom:Other Snacks(Nestle Kitkat)
For Whom:Young, 20-30 yrs
M or F
When: Any time(Kabhi bhi)
Where:Any where(Kahin bhi)
Why: To satisfyin between
meals hunger
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The Ws of Brand Positioning
CadburysDairy Milk
Against whom:No competitivereference
For Whom: Ageno bar
Old, Adults,Young adults,
Children
When: Any timeWhere: Any place
(during movies, ondining table)
Why: To eat asdessert (after
meals)
(Kuch meetha hojaye)
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Positioning a brand means emphasizing the distinctive
characteristics that make it different from its competitors
and appealing to the public.
It results from an analytical process based on the four
following questions: A brand for what benefit? This refers to the brand
promise and consumer benefit aspect: Real Juice has
real fruit juice, and Maruti is reliable.
A brand for whom? This refers to the target aspect.
Pepsi for young (Yeh hai Youngistan!).
Brand Identity and Positioning
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Reason? This refers to the elements, factual or
subjective, that support the claimed benefit.
A brand against whom? In todays competitive
context, this question defines the main competitor(s),
i.e. those whose clientele we think we can snatch. Positioning concept reminds us that all consumer choices
are made on the basis of comparison.
Thus, a product will only be considered if it is clearly part
of a selection process. Hence the four questions that help
position the new product or brand and make its
contribution immediately obvious to the customer.
Brand Identity and Positioning
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Positioning a brand
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Positioning is a two-stage process:
First, indicate to what competitive set the brand
should be associated and compared.
Second, indicate what the brands essential difference
and raison dtre is in comparison to the otherproducts and brands of that set.
Choosing the competitive set is essential. While this may
be quite easy to do for a new toothpaste, it is not so for
very original and unique products because no worthy
reference is available.
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A brands positioning is a key concept in its
management. It is based on one fundamental
principle: all choices are comparative.
Remember that identity expresses the brands
tangible and intangible characteristics everythingthat makes the brand what it is, and without which it
would be something different.
Identity draws upon the brands roots and heritage everything that gives it its unique authority and
legitimacy within a realm of precise values and
benefits.
Why Brands need Identity and Positioning
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Positioning is competitive: when it comes to brands,
customers make a choice, but with products, they make a
comparison.
This raises two questions.
First, what do they compare it with? For this, we need tolook at the field of competition: what area do we want to
be considered as part of?
Second, what are we offering the customer as a key
decision-making factor?
A brand that does not position itself leaves these two
questions unanswered and it is a mistake.
Why Brands need Identity and Positioning
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Products increase customer choice; brands simplify it.
This is why a brand that does not want to stand for
something, stands for nothing.
The aim of positioning is to identify, and take possession
of, a strong purchasing rationale that gives us a real orperceived advantage. It implies a desire to take up a long-
term position and defend it.
Brand identity is more stable and long-lasting, for it is tied
to the brand roots and fixed parameters.
Why Brands need Identity and Positioning
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How is positioning achieved? The standardpositioning formula is as follows:
For (definition of target market)
Brand X is (definition of frame ofreference andsubjective category)
Which gives the most (promise or consumer
benefit) Because of (reason to believe)
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The target specifies the nature and psychologicalor sociological profile of the individuals to be
influenced, that is, buyers or potential
consumers.
The frame of reference is the subjective definition
of the category, which will specify the nature of
the competition. What other brands or products
effectively serve the same purpose? This is astrategic decision: it marks out the field of
battle.
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The third point specifies the aspect of difference
which creates the preference and the choice of a
decisive competitive advantage: it may be expressed
in terms of a promise (for instance, Volvo is the
strongest of all cars) or a benefit (such as, Volvo isthe safety brand).
The fourth point reinforces the promise or benefit,
and is known as the reason to believe. For example,
in the case of the Dove brand, which promises to be
the most moisturizing, the reason is that all of its
products contain 25 per cent of moisturizing cream.
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In marketing, perception is reality.
Positioning is a concept which starts with
customers, by putting ourselves in their place:
faced with a plethora of brands, are consumers
able to identify the strong point of each, the
factor that distinguishes it from the rest?
This is why, ideally, a customer should be capable
of paraphrasing a brands positioning: Only
Brand X will do this for me, because it has, or it is
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The tool called brand platform will comprise, first, the
brand identity, that is to say, brand uniqueness and
singularity throughout the world and whatever the
product.
Brand identity has six facets, and is therefore larger thanthe mere positioning. It is represented by the identity
prism. At its centre one finds the brand essence, the
central value it symbolises.
Second, the brand platform comprises brandpositioning: choosing a market means choosing a
specific angle to attack it. Brand positioning must be
based on a customer insight relevant to this market.
Brand Positioning
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Marlboro presents its smoker as a man a real man,
symbolised by the untamed cowboy of the Wild West.No support is offered for this proposition; no proof is
necessary. It is true because the brand says so. And the
more often it is repeated, the more credible it becomes.
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In this way the brands proposition, which forms the basis
of the chosen positioning at a given moment in a
particular market, may be fuelled by various edges
contained within the brands identity:
a differentiating attribute (25 per cent moisturizingcream in Dove);
an objective benefit: an iMac is user-friendly, Dell offers
unbeatable value for money;
a subjective benefit: you feel secure with IBM;
an aspect of the brands personality: the mystery of the
Bacardi bat;
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The realm of the imaginary, of imagery
and meaning (the American Wild West for
Marlboro, Old New England for Ralph
Lauren);a reflection of a consumer type: successful
people for Honda City;
deep values (Nikes sports mentality,Nestls maternal love)
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What is the connection between identity,essence and positioning?
Clearly, for existing brands, positioning
derives from identity.
But it exploits a specific aspect of identity at
a given point in time in a given market andagainst a precise set of competitors.
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It is this degree of freedom between identity, essence
and positioning that enables a brand to change over
time while still remaining itself.
What is the connection between the positioning of the
brand and the positioning of its products? It is true that todays brands are increasingly based on
multiple products.
Dove was born as a soap in the United States, but now
encompasses shampoos, shower gels, moisturising
cream, deodorants and so on.
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The essence of Dove is Femininity restored. But Dove is
being launched in a market via one or more productsthat have to fight for their own space amid a host of
competitors
Hence when Dove soap was launched, its positioningwas: Dove is a premium beauty bar for the mature
women, worried about their skin, which wont dry your
skin like soap because it contains one quarter
moisturising cream.
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When a brand consists of multiple products, care should
be taken to ensure that their respective positioningconverges on attaining the same core value (that of the
parent brand).
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Brand Positioning
Is at the heart of the marketing strategy
. . . the act of designing the companys offer
and image so that it occupies a distinct andvalued place in the target customers minds.
Philip Kotler
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Determining a frame of reference
What are the ideal points-of-parity and points-
of-difference brand associations vis--vis the
competition?
Marketers need to know:
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
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Target Market
A marketis the set of all actual and potentialbuyers who have sufficient interest in, incomefor, and access to a product.
Market segmentation divides the market intodistinct groups of homogeneous consumerswho have similar needs and consumerbehavior, and who thus require similarmarketing mixes.
Market segmentation requires makingtradeoffs between costs and benefits.
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Example of the toothpaste market
Four main segments:
1. Sensory: Seeking flavor and product appearance
2. Sociables: Seeking brightness of teeth
3. Worriers: Seeking decay prevention
4. Independent: Seeking low price
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Criteria for Segmentation
Identifiability: Can we easily identify the
segment?
Size: Is there adequate sales potential in the
segment?
Accessibility: Are specialized distribution outlets
and communication media available to reach the
segment? Responsiveness: How favorably will the segment
respond to a tailored marketing program?
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Nature of Competition
Deciding to target a certain type of consumer
often defines the nature of competition
Do not define competition too narrowly
Ex: a luxury good with a strong hedonic benefit
like stereo equipment may compete as much with
a vacation as with other durable goods like
furniture
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Points-of-Parity
and Points-of-Difference
Points-of-difference (PODs) are attributes or
benefits that consumers strongly associate
with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe
that they could not find to the same extentwith a competitive brand.
Points-of-parity associations (POPs), on the
other hand, are not necessarily unique to thebrand but may in fact be shared with other
brands.
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Brand Positioning Guidelines
Two key issues in arriving at the optimalcompetitive brand positioning are:
Defining and communicating the competitive frame
of reference
Choosing and establishing points-of-parity and
points-of-difference
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Defining and Communicating the
Competitive Frame of Reference
Defining a competitive frame of reference for
a brand positioning is to determine category
membership.
The preferred approach to positioning is to
inform consumers of a brands membership
before stating its point of difference in
relationship to other category members.
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Choosing POPs & PODs
Desirability criteria (consumer perspective)
Personally relevant
Distinctive and superior
Believable and credible
Deliverability criteria (firm perspective)
Feasible
Profitable
Pre-emptive, defensible, and difficult to attack
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Attribute and Benefit Trade-offs
Price and quality Convenience and quality
Taste and low calories
Efficacy and mildness
Power and safety
Ubiquity and prestige
Comprehensiveness (variety) and simplicity
Strength and refinement
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Strategies to Reconcile
Attribute and Benefit Trade-offs
Establish separate marketing programs
Leverage secondary association (e.g., co-brand)
Re-define the relationship from negative topositive
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Core Brand Values
Set of abstract concepts or phrases that
characterize the five to ten most important
dimensions of the mental map of a brand
Relate to points-of-parity and points-of-
difference
Mental map Core brand values Brand mantra
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Brand Mantras
An articulation of the heart and soul of thebrand
similar to brand essence or core brand
promise Short three- to five-word phrases that capture
the irrefutable essence or spirit of the brandpositioning and brand values
Considerations Communicate
Simplify
Inspire 3.45
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Designing the Brand Mantra
The term brand functions describes the nature
of the product or service or the type of
experiences or benefits the brand provides.
The descriptive modifierfurther clarifies its
nature.
The emotional modifierprovides another
qualifier
how exactly does the brand providebenefits, and in what way?
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Designing the Brand Mantra
Emotional
Modifier
Descriptive
Modifier
Brand
Functions
Nike Authentic Athletic Performance
Disney Fun FamilyEntertainment
Fun Folks Food
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Brand Audit
Externally, consumer-focused assessement
A comprehensive examination of a brand
involving activities to assess the health of the
brand, uncover its sources of equity, and
suggest ways to improve and leverage that
equity
It includes brand vision, mission, promise,
values, position, personality, and performance
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Importance of Brand Audits
Understand sources of brand equity
Firm perspective
Consumer perspective
Set strategic direction for the brand
Recommend marketing programs to maximize
long-term brand equity
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Brand Audit Steps
Brand inventory (supply side)
Brand exploratory (demand side)
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Brand Inventory (Cont.)
Suggests the bases for positioning the brand Offers insights to how brand equity may be
better managed
Assesses consistencyin message amongactivities, brand extensions, and sub-brands in
order to avoid redundancies, overlaps, and
consumer confusion
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Suggested Brand Audit Outline
Brand audit objectives, scope, and approach Background about the brand (self-analysis)
Background about the industries
Consumer analysis (trends, motivation, perceptions,needs, segmentation, behavior)
Brand inventory
Elements, current marketing programs, POPs, PODs
Branding strategies (extensions, sub-brands, etc.)
Brand portfolio analysis
Competitors brand inventory
Strengths and weaknesses 3.55
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Brand Audit Outline (Cont.)
Brand exploratory Brand associations Brand positioning analysis
Consumer perceptions analysis (vs. competition)
Summary of competitor analysis
SWOT analysis
Brand equity evaluation
Strategic brand management recommendations