Chapter

10
Crafting the
Brand Positioning

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 Learning Objectives
1. How can a firm develop and establish an effective
positioning in the market?
2. How do marketers identify and analyze competition?
3. How are brands successfully differentiated?
4. How do firms communicate their positioning?
5. What are some alternative approaches to positioning?
6. What are the differences in positioning and branding for
a small business?

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 Developing a Brand Positioning
• Positioning
– The act of designing a
company’s offering and
image to occupy a
distinctive place in the
minds of the target market
– Value proposition
– Positioning is the third
element of the marketing
strategy.

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Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education Ltd. 10-5
Value proposition

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 POSITIONING STEPS
Positioning requires that marketers define and
communicate similarities and differences between
their brand and its competitors
•Choose a frame of reference by identifying the
target market and relevant competition
•Identify the optimal points-of-parity and points-
of-difference brand associations given that frame
of reference
•Create a brand mantra summarizing the
positioning and essence of the brand
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 1-Competitive Frame
of Reference
• Competitive frame of reference
– Defines which other brands a brand competes with
and which should thus be the focus of competitive
analysis. It is highly related to target segment
selection.
– Identifying and analyzing competitors

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 Competitive Frame
of Reference

E : Excellent P :Poor G: Good F:Fair

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 Competitive Frame
of Reference
• Competitor A turns out to be well known and respected for
producing high-quality products sold by a good sales force, but poor
at providing product availability and technical assistance.
Competitor B is good across the board and excellent in product
availability and sales force. Competitor C rates poor to fair on most
attributes. This result suggests that in its positioning, the company
could attack Competitor A on product availability and technical
assistance and Competitor C on almost anything, but it should not
attack B, which has no glaring weaknesses. As part of this
competitive analysis for positioning, the firm should also ascertain
the strategies and objectives of its primary competitors.

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 2-Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• Points-of-difference
(PODs)
– Attributes/benefits that
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-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• POD criteria

Desirable

Deliverable

Differentiating

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 Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• Points-of-parity (POPs)
– Attribute/benefit associations that are not necessarily unique to
the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands
– A brand can “break even” in those areas where it appears to be
at a disadvantage and achieve advantages in other areas

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 Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• POP forms

Category

Correlational

Competitive

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 Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• Category points-of-parity are attributes or benefits that
consumers view as essential to a legitimate and credible
offering within a certain product or service category.
They represent necessary—but not sufficient—
conditions for brand choice.
• Correlational points-of-parity are potentially negative
associations that arise from the existence of positive
associations for the brand.
• Competitive points-of-parity are associations designed to
overcome perceived weaknesses of the brand in light of
competitors’ points-of-difference.

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 Pop vs. pod
• Multiple Frames of
Reference
• Starbucks could define very
distinct sets of competitors,
suggesting different possible
POPs and PODs
• Straddle Positioning
• A company will be able to straddle two
frames of reference with one set of
points-of-difference and points-of-parity.
Straddle positions allow brands to
expand their market coverage and
potential customer base.
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 Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• Choosing specific
POPs and PODs
– Competitive
advantage
– Means of
differentiation
– Perceptual map
– Emotional
branding
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 Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity
• Brand mantras

Communicate

Simplify

Inspire

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 BRAND MANTRAS
– Brand Mantras: three- to five-word articulations of the
heart and soul of the brand
• Closely related to other branding concepts like “brand essence” and
“core brand promise”
• Ensures that all employees within the organization and all external
marketing partners understand what the brand is most
fundamentally to represent with consumers so they can adjust their
actions accordingly
• They provide guidance about what products to introduce under the
brand, what ad campaigns to run, and where and how to sell the
brand by highlighting PODs
• They create a mental filter to screen out brand-inappropriate
marketing activities or actions of any type that may have a negative
bearing on customers’ impressions.
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3-Establishing a Brand Positioning
• Communicating category membership

Announcing category benefits

Comparing to exemplars

Relying on product descriptor

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3-Establishing a Brand Positioning
• When a product is new, marketers must
inform consumers of the brand’s category
membership. Sometimes consumers may
know the category membership but not be
convinced the brand is a valid member of
the category. Brands are sometimes
affiliated with categories in which they do
not hold membership.

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 EXAMPLE
• When Toyota introduced LEXUS, the
company had a series of ads comparing
LEXUS to other luxurious brands such as
Mercedes to establish category membership

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Brand-positioning
bull’s-eye

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 Communicating
POPs and PODs
• Negatively correlated attributes/benefits

 Low price vs. high quality

 Taste vs. low calories
 Powerful vs. safe
 Ubiquitous vs. exclusive
 Varied vs. simple

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 MONITORING COMPETITION
• Variables in assessing
potential competitors
– Share of market
– Share of mind
– Share of heart

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 ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
TO POSITIONING
• Brand narratives and
storytelling
– Setting
– Cast
– Narrative arc
– Language
• Cultural branding

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 Positioning/Branding
for A Small Business
• Find compelling product
performance advantage
• Focus on building one or two
strong brands based on one or
two key associations
• Encourage product trial in any
way possible
• Develop cohesive digital
strategy to make the brand
“bigger and better”
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• Create buzz and a loyal brand
community
• Employ a well-integrated set
of brand elements
• Leverage as many secondary
associations as possible
• Creatively conduct low-cost
marketing research
10-27
 The Scope of Branding
• Branding
– The process of
endowing products
and services with
the power of a
brand

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 Defining Brand Equity
• Brand equity
– Added value endowed to products with
consumers

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 Defining Brand Equity
• Customer-based brand equity
– The differential effect brand knowledge has on
consumer response to the marketing of that
brand

 Differences in consumer response

 Brand knowledge
 Perceptions, preferences, and behavior

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 Brand Equity Models
• Brand Resonance Pyramid

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 Building Brand Equity
• Brand element choice criteria

Memorable Meaningful

Protectable Likable

Adaptable Transferable

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 Measuring Brand Equity
• Brand audit

• Brand-tracking studies

• Brand valuation

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 Figure 11.7
Interbrand Brand Valuation Method

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 Managing Brand Equity
• Brand reinforcement
– Requires the brand
always be moving
forward
• Brand revitalization
– Almost any kind
starts with the
product

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 Branding Decisions
• Alternative branding strategies

Individual or separate
family brand names

Corporate umbrella or company

brand name

Sub-brand name

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 Branding Decisions
• House of brands

• A branded house
– Flagship product

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