Identifying and Establishing

Brand Positioning and

Values: Brand Positioning
Identifying and Establishing
Brand Positioning
• Basic
Concepts
Cont.

Good brand positioning helps to guide marketing

programmes by clarifying what the brand is all
about, how it is unique and how it is similar to
competitive brands, and why consumers should
purchase and use it

Deciding on a positioning requires determining a

frame of reference (by identifying the target
market and the nature of competition) and the ideal
points-of-parity and points-of-difference brand
associations.
 Deciding on a Positioning
Requires Marketers need to know;

1.Who the target consumer is

2.Who the main competitors are

3.How the brand is similar to these competitors

4.How the brand is different from them

Activity

For your brand, decide;

1.Who the target consumer is

2. Who the main competitors are

3.How the brand is similar to these competitors

4.How the brand is different from them

 Target Market

• Identifying the consumer target is important

because different consumers may have different
brand knowledge structures and thus different
perceptions and preferences for the brand
 Market segmentation
• Market segmentation: Divides the market into
distinct groups of homogeneous consumers who
have similar needs and consumer behavior and thus
require similar marketing mix
• Involves identifying segmentation bases and criteria.
Criteria
• Identifiability
• Size
• Accessibility
• Responsiveness
Consumer Segmentation
Bases
 Business to Business
Segmentation Bases

• Kind • Purchase • Number of

• Where used location
• Type of buy • Who buys employee
s
• Number of
production
workers
Nature Buying • Annual
Condition Demographi
of sales
Good c volume
Nature of Competition
Deciding to target a certain type of consumer
often defines the nature of competition, because
other firms have also decided to target that
segment in the past or plan to do so in the future,
or because consumers in that segment already
may look to other brands in their purchase
decision.
Indirect Competition
One lesson stressed by
many marketing
strategists is not to
define competition too
narrowly.
 Points-of-Parity and Points-of-
Difference
• Arriving at the proper positioning requires
establishing the correct points of difference and
points of parity associations.
 Points-of-Difference (POD)
Associations

Similar Concepts,
• Unique Selling Proposition
• Sustainable Competitive
Advantage
• Unique Selling Proposition – advertising should give
consumers a compelling reason to buy a product that
competitors could not match
• Sustainable Competitive Advantage – Firm’s ability to
achieve an advantage in delivering superior value in the
marketplace for a long period of time.
 Points-of-Parity (POP)
Associations

• Category Points of Parity: Represent necessary - but

not necessarily sufficient - conditions for the brand
choice. They exist minimally at the generic product level
and are most likely at the expected product level.
POP (Cont.)
• Competitive Points of Parity: Those associations
designed to negate competitors’ point of difference. If
a brand can ‘break even’ in those areas where its’
competitors are trying to find an advantage
POP (Cont.)
• Correlational Points-of-Parity: Those potentially
negative associations that arise from the existence of
other, more positive associations for the brand.

• A challenge for marketers is some attributes or benefits

that make up their POPs or PODs are inversely related.
Points-of-Parity versus Points-of-
Difference
• There is a “zone” or “range of tolerance or
acceptance” with POPs.
• Brand does not have to be seen as literally
equal to competitors, but consumers must feel
that it does sufficiently well on particular
attribute or benefit
• Points-of-parity are thus easier to achieve than
points-of-difference, where the brand must
demonstrate clear superiority.
 Positioning Guidelines
Two key issues in arriving at the optimal
competitive brand positioning are,
1.Defining and communicating the
competitive frame of reference
2.Choosing and establishing points-of-
parity and points-of-difference
01)Defining and Communicating
the Competitive Frame of
Reference
• A starting point in defining a competitive frame of
reference for a brand positioning is to determine
category membership.

• With which products or set of products does the brand

compete?
Cont.
• Choosing to compete in different categories
often results in different competitive frames of
reference and thus different POPs and PODs.

• For highly established product/ services

category membership is not a focal issue.
Cont.
• Sometimes, consumers knows brand category membership
but may not be convinced the brand is a true, valid member
of the category.

• Brands are sometimes affiliated with categories in which

they do not hold the membership rather than with the one in
which they do.
• Prefer approach to positioning is to inform consumers of
a brand’s membership before starting its point of
difference in relation to other category members.

• Some companies will undertake two frame of reference

Ex: BMW
 How to Convey a Brand’s
Category Membership
• Communicating category benefits

• Comparing to exemplars

• Relying on the product descriptor

 02. Choosing Points-of-
Difference
• Most important considerations in choosing PODs are
that customers find the POD desirable and that the firm
has the capabilities to deliver on it.

• If both considerations are satisfied, POD has a potential

to become a strong, favorable and unique brand
associations.
Desirability criteria
• Relevance- Target consumers find the POD personally
relevant and important
• Distinctiveness- Target consumers find the
POD distinctive and superior
• Believability- A brand must offer a compelling
and credible reason for choosing it over the other
options.
Deliverability criteria
• Feasibility- Can the firm actually crate the POD?
• Communicability- Verifiable evidence or ‘proof
point’
that can communicate
• Sustainability- positioning should be preemptive,
defensible and difficult to attack. Brand associations
should reinforced and strengthened
 Establishing Points of Parity
and Points of Difference
• The key to branding success is to establish both points-
of-parity and points-of-difference.

• In creating both POPs and PODs, one of the challenges

in positioning is the inverse relationships (negatively
correlated POPs and PODs) that may exist in the minds
of many consumers.
Examples of Negatively
Correlated Attributes and
Benefits
Ways to Address Negatively
Correlated POPs and
PODs
Apple has worked hard through the years to convince
consumers that its computer products are powerful and
easy to use.
BMW’s “Ultimate Driving Machine” slogan
nicely captures the brand’s dual features of
luxury and performance.
 Updating Positioning
Overtime
• As a general rule, positioning should be fundamentally
changed very infrequently, and only when circumstances
significantly reduce the effectiveness of existing POPs
and PODs.

• Updating Positioning Raises Two Main Issues

• 1.Laddering

• 2.Reacting
Developing a Good
Positioning
1.A good positioning has a “foot in the present” and a
“foot in the future.”
2.A good positioning is careful to identify all relevant
points-of-parity.
3.A good positioning should reflect a consumer point of
view in terms of the benefits that consumers derive from
the brand.
4.A good positioning contains points-of-difference and
points-of-parity that appeal both to the “head” and the
“heart.”
Defining a Brand
Mantra
• As brands evolve and expand across categories, marketers
will want to craft a brand mantra that reflects the essential
“heart and soul” of the brand.

• Purpose is to ensure that all employees and external

marketing partners understand what the brand most
fundamentally is to represent to consumers.
Designing a Brand Mantra
• Brand mantras are powerful devices
• Brand mantras must economically
communicate what the brand is and what it is
not.
• Characteristics of a good brand mantra
Brand function
Descriptive modifier
Emotional modifier
Implementing a Brand
Mantra
• Considerations in the Final Brand
Mantra
• Nike’s brand
mantra “authentic
of athletic
performance” is
exemplified by
athletes such as
Roger Federer
Disney’s brand mantra of “fun family
entertainment” gave marketers “guard rails” to
help avoid brand-inconsistent actions.
Internal Branding
Activity 01
• Develop a Brand Mantra for your brand.