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10
Crafting the
Brand Positioning
 Chapter Questions

 How can a firm develop and establish an

effective positioning in the market?
 How do marketers identify and analyze
competition?
 How are brands successfully differentiated?
 What are the differences in positioning and
branding with a small business?

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 What is Positioning?

 Positioning is the act of

designing a company’s
offering and image to
occupy a distinctive
place in the minds of
the target market.
 The goal is to locate the
brand in the minds of
consumers to maximize
the potential benefit to
the firm.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education 10-3

 Value Propositions

 Perdue Chicken
 More tender golden chicken at a moderate

premium price
 Domino’s
 A good hot pizza, delivered to your door

within 30 minutes of ordering, at a moderate

price

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 Competitive Frame of Reference

 The competitive frame of reference defines

which other brands a brand competes with and
therefore which brands should be the focus of
competitive analysis.
 A good starting point in defining a competitive
frame of reference for brand positioning is to
determine category membership
 the products or sets of products with which

a brand competes and which function as

close substitutes
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 Table 10.2 Customer Ratings
of Competitors

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 Defining Associations
Points-of-difference
Attributes or benefits
consumers strongly
associate with a
brand, positively
evaluate, and believe
they could not find to
the same extent with a
competitive brand
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Points-of-parity
Associations that are
not necessarily unique
to the brand but may
be shared with other
brands
10-7
 Point-of-Difference Criteria

Desirable

Deliverable

Differentiating

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 POP versus POD

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 Figure 10.1a
Perceptual Map:
Current Perceptions

Perceptual maps are

visual
representations of
consumer
perceptions and
preferences.

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 Figure 10.1b Perceptual Map:
Possibilities

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  Nike’s “authentic athletic
Brand Mantras
performance”
Brand mantras are short,
three- to five-word
phrases that capture the
irrefutable essence or
spirit of the brand
positioning.

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 Designing a Brand Mantra

Communicate

Simplify

Inspire

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 Constructing a
Brand Positioning Bull’s-Eye

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 Conveying Category Membership

 Announcing category benefits

 Comparing to exemplars
 Relying on the product descriptor

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 Examples of Negatively Correlated
Attributes and Benefits
 Low-price vs. High  Powerful vs. Safe
quality  Strong vs. Refined
 Taste vs. Low  Ubiquitous vs.
calories Exclusive
 Nutritious vs. Good  Varied vs. Simple
tasting
 Efficacious vs. Mild

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 Means of Differentiation

Employee

Channel

Image

Services

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 Emotional Branding

Strong culture

Communication style

Emotional hook

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 Market Share, Mind Share,
and Heart Share

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 In general, the firm should monitor three variables
when analyzing potential threats posed by
competitors:

1. Share of market—The competitor’s share of

the target market.
2. Share of mind—The percentage of customers
who named the competitor in responding to
the statement, “Name the first company that
comes to mind in this industry.”
3. Share of heart—The percentage of customers
who named the competitor in responding to
the statement, “Name the company from which
you would prefer to buy the product.”
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education 10-20
 Brand Narratives and Storytelling

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 There are five elements of narrative
branding:

(1) the brand story in terms of words and metaphors,

(2) the consumer journey in terms of how consumers
engage with the brand over time and touch points
where they come into contact with it,
(3) the visual language or expression for the brand,
(4) the manner in which the narrative is expressed
experientially in terms of how the brand engages the
senses, and
(5) the role/relationship the brand plays in the lives of
consumers.
 For Review

 How can a firm develop and establish an

effective positioning in the market?
 How do marketers identify and analyze
competition?
 How are brands successfully differentiated?
 What are the differences in positioning and
branding with a small business?

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education 10-23