Brand Positioning

• Positioning:
• “An act of designing the company’s offering and
image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of
target market.” (Kotler & Keller, 2008)

• “Me too” positioning strategy~

• Why should any one buy your product??
• Deciding on positioning requires
determining a frame of reference by
identifying the target market & the
competition and identifying the ideal
points-of-differences and points-of-
parity brand associations
• The attributes and factor communicating
POP should only be used as a defense to
allow you attack from the POD - (Kotler)

• POP are the need to identify category

membership and to negate competitors
PODs
 Brand Concept Management
• Park et al (1986) categorized brands into
two categories:

• functional

• symbolic
• Two schools of thought:
– Economic model
– Hedonic consumption
The Economic Model
Need
recognition/problem
awareness

Information
search

Evaluation
of alternatives

Purchase

Post-purchase
evaluation of
alternatives
9
• Functional brands satisfy immediate & practical needs
• Symbolic brands satisfy symbolic need such as those for
self expression & prestige.
• According to Park et al (1986)
• Brand concept must be selected at the introduction
phase and use marketing mix to support it over the
brand’s life.

• Brands should be positioned to either appeal

functional needs or symbolic needs. Brand concept
which is both functional & symbolic possess
problems for the consumers.
• According to Park et al (1986)
• In a research (1991):

– functional extension of functional brand was more

favorable than the prestige extension of functional brand.

– Similarly, prestige extension of prestige brands was

more favorable than the functional extension of prestige
brands.
• According to Bhat &
Reddy (1998):
• Consumers don’t have
any trouble accepting
brands that have both
symbolic and functional
appeal, as consumers
see them as separate
phenomena.
• Bhat & Reddy (1988):

– “We can position a brand to have several

brand concepts and still have it widely
accepted”
•
• Important questions to address before deciding
the positioning:
• What are the functions of the brands? Do they relate to every
day mundane parts of people’s lives OR are they prestige or
fashion functions.
• What positioning does the pricing of the brand signal? Does
the packaging reflects the desired positioning in terms of
personal expression or prestige?
• Do we want brand to imply functional superiority or
exclusivity?
• What is the balance of rational decision making & emotional
choice?