Chapter 8:

Brand positioning
 Contents
• Concept of brand positioning
• Brand values
• Brand positioning statement
• Crafting the positioning strategy
• Guiding principles for positioning
• Repositioning
 Introduction
• Organizations can communicate all the good things about a brand
but how the consumers perceive the brand depends upon a number
of variables including the customers own experience with the brand.
• The unique place the brand occupies in the minds of the customers
is positioning.
• A brand cannot be successful if it is not well positioned in the mind
of the consumers.
• Positioning a product is therefore integral to the success of a brand.
• The brand perceptions impact the business customer relationships
in the long term and are therefore of strategic importance.
 Definition
“Arranging for a product to occupy a clear, distinctive, and
desirable place in the market, and in the minds of the
target consumers”.
Kotler (1984)
• This definition thus specifies that
– first the brand needs to be distinguished or distinct from other
brands in the market and
– second that it is a desirable place in the minds of the consumers.
That is the brand is as good as what the customers think about it.
 Importance of Positioning
• Positioning is how the brand is unique and relevant for
consumers
• It is how the brand is different from the other brands in the
product category.
• It gives a raison d'être to the customers to buy the product.
• For services organizations, positioning also helps to
overcome the concept of intangibility.
• Further how the firm positions products also acts as a
guiding hand in the development of the marketing mixes.
 Brand values
• A brand has to compete at various levels in a given market. The task is
to develop a distinctive image that leads to competitive advantage for
the brand.
• The characteristics of the brand that are highlighted (by the
organization while positioning) leads the consumer to develop
various attributes specific to a particular brand.
• Over a period of time as the brands evolve and expand across
categories the core brand values help to define the five to ten most
important elements of the brand and what the brand stands for.
• The core brand values for a brand can be mapped by asking the
customers for ‘their top-of-mind brand associations’.
• These are then grouped into categories and each category
description then acts as a core brand value
 Positioning statement
Positioning statement is ‘the message that
communicates brand image to consumers… it conveys
to consumers how one firm’s offering are differentiated
from a competitors’ and signals how the firm wishes to
be seen or perceived. A strong and consistent
positioning statement is necessary to stand out against
competitors and should help sharpen and strengthen
the brand identity’
 Positioning statement (contd.)
• The template of choice of the positioning statement was authored
by Geoffrey Moore (cited in The Beaupre Buzz, 2003) and is as
follows:
– For (target customers)
– Who (have the following problem)
– Our product is a (describe the product or solution)
– That provides (cite the breakthrough capability)
– Unlike (reference competition),
– Our product/solution (describe the key point of competitive differentiation)
• Nirula’s positioning statement “Nirula's is warm, contemporary,
accessible, eating place for families including children and young
adults, serving the widest variety of Indian and International food,
beverages and desserts, at affordable prices. “
 Segmentation
•Consumer based
Buying situation based

TARGETING
•Evaluate market segment
Select Market segment

Positioning
Strategy Identification of brand benefits

CHANGING CONSUMER SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

TRENDS •Internal corporate analysis
Current positioning (if repositioning)
External market analysis
COMPETITOR
ANALYSIS

Analysis for differentiation

possibilities of the brand image
•POP
•POD

Selecting the strategy

 Guiding principles for positioning
• Product
– On basis of tangible attributes
• Product form, product ingredients, product attributes, product characteristics and
customer benefits, product use, product class
– On basis of intangible attributes
• Price quality
• Symbols
• Competition
• Personnel
– Employees
– Product user
– Demographics
 Guiding principles for positioning
• Channel
• Image
• Customer care and service
• Corporate identity
• Positioning by brand endorsement
• Positioning related to specific category of customers
• Usage occasion and time
• Corporate social responsibility
 Repositioning strategies

Changing demographic trends and lifestyles

• The young Indian consumer
• Rising household income
• Spending habits and brand behaviour
• Rise of the Indian women as a consumer
• Changing consumer expectations
• Changing lifestyle
• Regional differences
 Repositioning strategies
PRODUCT
Same Different

Same Image Product

repositioning repositioning
TARGET
MARKET

Intangible Tangible
Different repositioning repositioning
 Quick Recapitulation
• Concept of brand positioning
• Brand values
• Brand positioning statement
• Crafting the positioning strategy
• Guiding principles for positioning
• Repositioning
Questions?