Brand Positioning – Comprehensive Exam Notes

Supermarket Bottled Water Vignette

  • Opening scenario: consumer faces myriad bottled-water choices.
  • Variations cited
    • Functional attributes: sparkling vs. still, vitamin-enriched, energy-boosting, zero-calorie, sweetened/flavored, package sizes, glass vs. eco-plastic.
    • Imagery/story differences
    • Fiji: equatorial trade-wind purification.
    • Perrier: bubbles originate when rainwater meets volcanic gases in Languedoc (France).
    • Poland Spring: Maine origin.
    • Crystal Geyser: alpine source near Mt. Shasta.
    • Dasani / Aquafina (Coca-Cola & Pepsi): conceal municipal source, emphasize tech processes (reverse osmosis, HydRO-7™) and eco-sensitive packaging.
  • Each brand vying for “mental real estate” by promising to be cleanest, freshest, purest, most natural/environmental/fashionable, etc.
  • Consumer choice depends on perceived fit with her need state: mother, dinner-party hostess, disaster prepper, global citizen…

Definition & Importance of Brand Positioning

  • Positioning = “staking out mental real estate” in consumer mind via a differentiated statement.
  • Generates roadmap for resonant communication amidst marketplace “cacophony.”
  • Ries & Trout: “Positioning is what you do to the mind of a prospect.”
  • Harry Beckwith: difference between a position (cold-hearted consumer perception) vs. positioning statement (managerial aspiration).
  • Brand’s location visualised on consumers’ mental maps of solutions.

Ted Levitt Sidebar

  • Argues no product is commodity; differentiation stems from understanding the customer “value proposition.”
  • Quote: “There is no such thing as a commodity, only people who act and think like commodities.”
  • Examples: Dole, Chiquita, Purdue differentiate fruit/poultry.

Crafting a Positioning Statement (PS)

  • Internal, strategic document (not slogan), guides 4 Ps.
  • Four essential components
    1. For whom / when / where? (Target segment, usage situation/location)
    2. What value? (Unique value claim from consumer view) – four value types:
      • Economic
      • Functional
      • Experiential
      • Social
    3. Why & how? (“Reasons-to-believe” evidence: logic, data, testimonials, endorsements, demos, seals.)
    4. Relative to whom? (Competitive frame of reference)
  • Generic template:
    • “For [target], Brand X is the only brand among all [competitive set] that [unique value claim] because [reasons-to-believe].”
  • Bottled-water PS examples for Voss, Perrier, Ethos.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

  • Concept by Rosser Reeves: product must offer single specific superior benefit competitors cannot match.
  • Famous USPs: FedEx (“absolutely, positively overnight”), Domino’s 30-min guarantee, M&M’s melting claim.
  • P&G brands exemplify: Bounty “quicker picker-upper”, Tide “If it’s gotta be clean…”, Pampers “driest”, etc.
  • Evolution: shift from purely rational 1940-50s to emotional “Creative Revolution” (Ogilvy, Burnett, Bernbach).
  • Positionings as cultural worlds: Vans/skate, Patagonia/climb, Tommy Hilfiger/urban, Harley/outlaw.

Positioning Absolut (Case)

  • 1979 US launch when vodka viewed as low-class.
  • Couldn’t leverage Russian heritage; instead used medicine-bottle design, no paper label.
  • TBWA campaign: 1,500+ ads, iconic bottle shape, 2-word headlines (“Absolut Perfection”).
  • Linked to contemporary art (Warhol, Haring). Became one of best-selling liquors.

The Three Cs Model

  • Analyze Consumer, Competition, Company to pick the single most powerful claim.
Consumer Analysis – Relevant · Resonant · Realistic
  • Relevance: address fundamental jobs-to-be-done (Christensen milkshake breakfast case). Importance of specifying target.
  • Resonance: ladder features → benefits → values (Exhibit 2). Requires insight into culture, ideologies, contradictions (Holt’s cultural branding). Iconic examples: Harley “freedom,” Apple “1984.”
  • Realism: claims must be believable; use evidence (demos, endorsements). Avis example: “We’re only #2, we try harder.” P&G demos for Tide, Gillette.
Competitive Analysis – Distinctive · Defensible · Durable
  • Distinctive: own unique attributes vs. points of parity.
    • Vertical positioning: shared attrs but superior performance (smaller, faster). Verizon coverage, Westin Heavenly Bed.
    • Horizontal positioning: add new attrs (Subway healthy fast food, Whole Foods organic).
    • Irrelevant attribute strategy (La Prairie gold, Certs Retsyn) – difference itself helps decision.
  • Perceptual mapping
    • Graphical depiction of consumer mental space.
    • Watch map: functional→fashion & affordable→luxury.
    • Text-mining map (Netzer et al.): clusters US vs. foreign luxury cars; reveals “white space.”
    • Nielsen Brand Association Map (Nike): visual of word correlations.
  • Strategic map questions (Exhibit 5) on real estate, gaps, threats.
  • Defensible: patents, first-mover (“the original”), authenticity, spending level.
    • Florida’s Natural asks “Where does your juice come from?”
  • Durable: debate between Keller (consistency) vs. Kapferer (adaptation). Heritage vs. evolving brands.
Company Analysis – Feasible · Favorable · Faithful
  • Feasible: can operations deliver? All 4 Ps must align (e.g., Seventh Generation supply chain).
  • Favorable: evaluate profit potential & cost. B2B volume discounts can erode margins vs. B2C.
  • Faithful (Authentic): brand behavior consistent with claims.
    • EILEEN FISHER case: apparel, in-store experience & staffing, minimal ads, supply-chain ethics.
    • Risks of hypocrisy: Chevy Tahoe “green,” Dove vs. Axe contradictions.
  • Co-creation dynamic (Exhibit 6): consumer reactions reshape brand.

Brand Repositioning

  • Necessitated by market changes or crises.
  • Pepsi timeline: health/economy/patriotism → “Pepsi Generation” → “Pepsi Challenge” blind-taste wins → Michael Jackson pop culture → 2010 “Pepsi Refresh Project” social-good (reallocated Super Bowl 20 M) → 2012 “Live for Now” return to entertainment.
  • BP disaster: beyond petroleum positioning destroyed by Deepwater Horizon; spoof social media, $BPGlobalPR; new safer-energy messaging.
Consistency vs. Change
  • Four PS levers to shift:
    1. Target/usage/location (Arm & Hammer: baking → cleaning platform).
    2. Value claim (Crest vs. Colgate cavity → gingivitis → whitening arms race).
    3. Evidence (Pampers Dry Max tech 20% thinner, same dryness).
    4. Competitive frame (Hyundai Genesis vs. BMW/Mercedes etc.).
  • Evolutionary vs. revolutionary: Gillette’s grooming expansion (razors → creams → after-shave → deodorant etc.; Exhibit 7 timeline).
Repositioning Identity Brands & Gender-Bending
  • Identity brands signal self (class, gender, etc.); repositioning can threaten consumer identity.
    • Risks: existing consumers leave, resist, or pay less; new consumers unconvinced.
  • Porsche Cayenne SUV (2003): male sports-car loyalists felt betrayed ("groceries after soccer").
  • Successful gender-bends: Harley women riders; Burberry & Hennessey with hip-hop.
  • Mitigation via brand architecture: Gillette vs. Gillette for Women; Marc by Marc Jacobs sub-brand; Coke Zero for men.

Alternative Positioning Strategies (Youngme Moon)

  • Reverse Positioning: remove expected attributes, add novel ones (JetBlue stripped seating classes/ meals, added Wi-Fi, seatback TV, low price).
  • Breakaway Positioning: leap to a new category (Swatch turned watch into fashion accessory; $\approx40$ price, collectability).
  • Stealth Positioning: hide true category to overcome stigma or low performance (Sony AIBO robot sold as “pet”).

Key Formulas / Notation Appearing

  • Water chemical shorthand: H_2O</li><li>GenericPSformula:</li> <li>Generic PS formula:\text{For [target], Brand X is the only brand among all [competitors] that [value claim] because [reasons\,-to-believe].}$$

Practical Implications, Ethics & Philosophy

  • Positioning must balance consumer insight with truthful capability; exaggeration undermines trust.
  • Commoditization is managerial failure—differentiation springs from customer-centric framing (Levitt).
  • Cultural branding requires continuous scanning; what’s iconic today may be outdated tomorrow.
  • Social media accelerates co-creation & watchdog effects (BP, Dove/Axe).
  • Repositioning decisions demand cost-benefit & identity sensitivity analysis.

Study/Revision Checklist

  • Recall 4 components of PS & 4 value types.
  • Understand 3 Cs model & nine adjectives (Relevant, Resonant, Realistic; Distinctive, Defensible, Durable; Feasible, Favorable, Faithful).
  • Differentiate vertical vs. horizontal vs. irrelevant attribute positioning.
  • Draw/interpret a perceptual map; identify white space.
  • Explain USP concept & give P&G or FedEx examples.
  • Describe laddering from features → benefits → values.
  • Summarize Reverse / Breakaway / Stealth strategies.
  • Cite at least two examples each of successful and failed repositionings.