Brand Positioning: The art of never being out of pocket

“This town ain't big enough for the both of us…”

One of the most iconic lines about competition ever written was first used in a film in the early 1930s - a film called The Western Code. I’ll be honest, I’ve never even seen the film or even heard of it until I started to write this article about positioning. But the moment I began looking for an apt metaphor to begin to drive home the point of this crucial lever of branding, I could not think of a better one!

Just like there cannot be two equally badass, swashbuckling, cigar chewing sheriffs who are going to save the town from the bad guys, there cannot be two exactly identical companies who do the same thing for the same target market.

Lets review that again - there is only one Apple and only one Microsoft. Yes they both make computers, operating systems, tablets, service bundles and phones, but they are far from being the same company. Going deeper still, one can say that logos, employees, fonts and web UX is not the only thing that differentiates both the companies. They are fundamentally different in the way they run their businesses, the quality standards they set for the areas they prioritize, the customers they serve, the products and services they create to serve those customers. Which is why one of my favorite brand campaigns ever run was the mac vs PC series. The differences between the two brands were so clear that they damn near spawned a cult following for each company respectively.

While this may be an extremely popular example, it is far from being the only one. If you look close enough, there are hundreds, if not thousands of companies that ‘on the surface’ do exactly what their competitors do.

• Uber and Lyft both are ride sharing services. However Uber is perceived more as a functional, luxurious brand while Lyft is seen as your friend with a car.

• Ikea and Herman Miller both sell furniture. You probably can buy 20 Ikea office chairs for the price of one HM Striad Lounge Chair.

• Audi and Porsche both make ‘premium luxury cars’, but are extremely different approaches and philosophies to chassis, engine, aero etc. Porsche is know for its ‘performance’ and ‘race pace’ while Audi would be your luxury daily driver. What’s funnier is that both of them are children of the same auto behemoth (Volkswagen) and both run Porsche engines. Driven by dreams indeed!

The Positioning Sweet Spot

What you see in action is brands positioning themselves in a way that maximizes the surface area of overlap of the following things:

• Target market needs

• Intrinsic value drivers and competitive edge

• Competition’s perception viz your target market

A sound positioning strategy allows you to ensure that you do not waste any valuable sales and marketing dollars barking up the wrong tree (approaching the wrong market or using the wrong tactics in the right market). A positioning decision and commitment fundamentally influence your business strategy, growth, risk profile, and oftentimes completely different audiences than what the brand may have initially perceived as its target market. An example is the incredible Torches of Freedom Campaign designed by Edward Bernays which coopted the liberation of women to help create virtually overnight a whole new market of consumers for cigarettes. The 1980s was a time that repressed women in the US and subjugated them to practically unpaid domestic helpers. Bernays’ campaign had women stroll New York’s iconic 5th Ave. with lit cigarettes next to the press box during the Easter Parade - overnight doubling the women smoker market. Positioning their product not by the attribute of their product (sun-dried, safe, tasty, strong, light, etc), but rather by the user of their product(Marlboro man vs the “everyday lady”), allowed American Tobacco Company to be the leaders in penetrating a whole new market.

Simply put, 3 key reasons to know how to position:

• Brand strategy is the ongoing, active management of the perception of value that your company holds in the mind of the user. Positioning is a key lever to this management.

• Sound business strategy implies sound brand strategy - the real problem that branding solves for a customer is that of reducing the time it takes for them to make a purchasing decision.

• Brand Positioning (aside from/in conjunction with Brand Hierarchy) often sets the context for a brand strategy to emerge. If you want to make a sound business work, you have to invest in positioning as much as the core product/service you are developing.

So, let’s learn about the chicken, 6 ways you can pluck this chicken and how you actually do it.

Characteristics of a Good Brand Positioning Statement

• Brand positioning statements are target-audience-oriented

• Brand positioning statements are inspiring, stimulating and motivating.

• Brand positioning statements are grounded in the unique offering of a company.

• Brand positioning statements have a long-term focus.

Now that we know what we are going for, let’s learn about the approaches one has at their disposal while trying to articulate the positioning.

This framework, popularized by Aaker & Shansby, in 1982 hypothesizes that a company could be positioned by fundamental truths that any product/service is subjected to in the real world. How a product gets used. Who uses a product? What is so special about this product? Et al.

Turns out there are about 6 of these fundamental truths for positioning:

Position by attribute

Red Bull: An excellent example of positioning by attribute - Redbull took the word ‘energy’ from the drink and ran miles with it. As a brand it feels like it has a sponsorship presence in almost all sports:

• Football: RB Leipzig, RB New York - Check

• Motorsports: F1, DTM, Rally - Check

• Cycling: Vout Van Aert - Check

• Triathlon: Sebastian Kienle - Check

• Stratosphere diving: Stratos - Felix Baumgartner - Check

Source: The Generalist

If you think energy, crazy, extreme, fast, bravery to the point of being insane - because that’s how they position themselves. Energy can be temporarily gained by any old energy drink - but if you are about to do big, ambitious, crazy things you better go for a red bull. After all - red bull gives you wings.

Position by product category/product class

Source: x

Most alcohol companies use this really well. For regulatory and health concerns, no alcohol company can advertise its actual revenue-driving product - spirits, wines, and beers. So they would often rely on soft promotion tactics like promoting music CDs, club soda, or non-alcoholic beer. Ever wondered why it's usually CDs and club soda, never tee shirts? Because these items are more closely related to the class of products that gets a company like Bacardi the lion’s share of the revenue. Kingfisher in India got around these constraints by owning the category of ‘good times’ and fun. They sponsored calendar shoots, fashion weeks, and mineral water - all complementary product categories to their actual revenue driver - beers and a good time.

Position by product use

So many good examples for this one, but let’s begin with a few common ones.

Lululemon - once known culturally as a lifestyle company and for making women’s yoga pants, has now expanded its coverage to include activewear and athleisure for all. They made my most used running top. They made my wife’s most used comfortable work pants. They also sponsor the Canadian national Olympic contingent. And all of this, Lululemon Athletica relies on rapid marketing feedback through popups and variety as a key differentiator. It is one of the most agile companies in recent history IMHO.

Apple, Garmin, Suunto, Coros, and Fitbit - all make smartwatches with various features and functionality that on the surface may look similar. Looks closely and you will see them be as distinct as apples and motor oil. I got into cycling, and running long distances during the pandemic. At first, I was using my phone to track my rides, but soon graduated to Whoop as I got serious and that gave me RHR, recovery rates, in ride/run HR zones and sleep data. It was great except for the fact that it was just a slim sensor with no other functionalities. So I started looking at smartwatches and considered Apple - which does all of it with a fantastic touchscreen and would mesh well with my iphone - except for the fact that it probably will cost me twice that in repairs, and it would not last more than 8 hrs on one charge. So it is for the casual workout enthusiast, but for me - who was preparing for 6 hrs rides over multiple days, some days with activities that cut across disciplines (run/paddleboard/bike) I chose garmin. Battery life of 6 days. No touch, but strong enough to survive a couple of road cycle near-misses and close shaves. And even within Garmin there are segments for the type of multi-sport athlete you want to become. PS: As of three weeks before this post was published, Apple has announced the Apple watch Ultra which is taking a shot at occupying a category that for years had been Garmin’s home ground. Push further, Ruin wilder I say:

Position by product user

Ferrari: An iconic brand almost enmeshed with the history of motor racing. If you ask a child to draw a car, they will colour it red. And no matter who you are, how deep your knowledge or passion for motorsport is, you know Ferrari. You may love it, or hate it - but you know of Ferrari. Because as Sebastian Vettel once said:

For most luxury car companies - if you have the cash then you can drive the car off the lot, no problem. But if you desire a Ferrari - you may be rejected and not be sold the car. That is simply because Ferrari sells cars to fund their racing across multiple competitions whereas other car makers race to market and sell cars. So when you buy a Ferrari, you don’t just buy the car, you join the Ferrari team. You are an ambassador of the team. This is why every Ferrari comes with a clause that prevents you from reselling your car within the first year of purchase and use. In a lot of ways, you can see that they have honed in on a certain type of buyer. A buyer that not only has oodles of cash but more importantly, one that has the passion and drive that resonates with the Ferrari brand.

Position by price

Kmart vs Gucci: Kmart and Gucci both sell apparel but prices differ vastly. Kmart commits to the ‘Everyday Low Prices’ strategy - making it almost a utility. A set of two cotton tee shirts may set you back about 20 dollars. Gucci on the other hand is a Veblen good - a product whose demand has an inelastic relationship with price:

Gucci focuses on the premium/luxury market and the price matches their supply chain costs with an added multiplier for their brand value. This multiplier is dictated by the brand equity that Gucci has garnered over the decades being marketed and perceived as the pinnacle of haute couture. Gucci and brands similar to them have found a very deep stronghold in the culture, where they are now as ubiquitous as Xerox and Google. There are songs that mention Versace 50 times before the verse even starts (RIP Takeoff 🕊️), and who can forget GuWop AKA Gucci Mane who literally put the brand on his stage name.

Competitive positioning

Source: Medium

Apple V Spotify. Marvel V DC. Google V Bing. Coke V Pepsi. The world is full of competitive brands looking to occupy similar markets. This is also a way to position yourself - positioning in context with of your immediate competitor and their most well-known characteristic. In my opinion this is a positioning strategy that every brand has to run up against at some point of their life or another. You could do it consciously or be volun-told into it when a competitor decides to join that position/segment and references you. As a competitive move this might not be the best approach as it ties in your brand strategy too closely to the competitor thereby distracting you from what you had to offer in the first place. Another reason why this is not ideal is because just like Price, it is easier to replicate.

Conclusion and key takeaways

• Competition’s perception viz your target market Brand Positioning is a critical business growth and consolidation lever for businesses of all sizes. Good brand positioning is always an overlap of the following factors:

  • Target market needs

  • Intrinsic value drivers and competitive edge

  • Competition’s perception viz your target market

• Characteristics of a good positioning statement are:

  • Target Audience

  • Unique Selling Point

  • Inspiring, Motivating

  • Focussed on the long term

• Positioning can be done by any of the following methodologies

  • Product/Service Attribute

  • User

  • Product/Service Use

  • Category

  • Competitor

  • Price

Coming in Part 2

• Steps to Position your brand

  • Identify Competitors

  • Determine Competitor Perception

  • Determine Competitor Position

  • Analyse target audience and segment

  • Select and articulate position

  • Propagate positioning cross channels

• How to monitor brand positioning