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Module III Brand Positioning Faculty: J.

Rai

Brand Positioning: Differentiate or Die

“Act of designing the company’s offer or image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in
the target customer’s minds.”

 As the name implies positioning means finding the proper “location” in minds of group
of consumers or market segment.
 As a result the consumers can think about a product or service in the “right” or desired
way to maximize potential benefit to the firm.
 So the 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?

Understanding positioning better…….

“To succeed, the first step is to position or ‘situate’ the brand in the target consumers’ mind in
such a way, that in his/her perception of brand, it is distinctive and offers a persuasive customer
value that its competitors. This is called “competitive advantage”.

 Consumer’s Perpetual Space- core idea of positioning is

 The idea that the each brand(if at all noticed) occupies point or space in the individual
consumer’s mind, a point which is determined by that consumer’s perception of the brand
in question and in its relation to other brands.
 Its important to remember that “Only a Few ‘Vacancies’” are there in the consumers
mindset.

FIND A STRONG POSITION AND SIT ON IT – A story of Maggi Noodels

 In 1982 Food Specialties Ltd. (Nestle) launched Maggie Noodles.


 Maggie was positioned as a tasty, instant snack, made at home and initially aimed at
children. With a target market of home segment.
 This positioning decision automatically determined the competition would include all
snack products in general. Ranging from ready to eat snacks. Though all were bought
items.
 But such snacks were positioned distant from Maggie, they were no direct competition.
 Direct competition were with home made snacks
 Traditional pasta products were considered as competitors, but they would require
preparation time and good amount of garnishing.
 Maggie noodles were launched in 1983 and became an overnight success
 Maggie noodles, found a vacant, strong position and ‘sat on it’ as “the good to eat , fats to
cook” anytime snack.

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Module III Brand Positioning Faculty: J.Rai

THE ‘UN-COLA’ IDEA- 7-UP

 7 UP had a steady volume as a mixer with hard drinks.


 But coca cola wanted to present it as soft drink.
 So it was position in consumer’s mind as
o As a soft drink
o Differentiate from colas ( Pepsi, coke).
o Intriguing ( what’s an un cola?)

 This new ‘Un cola’ position worked for 7-UP and it became 3 largest selling soft drink in
USA.

Pitfalls of Brand Positioning-

Competitive brand positioning is hard work. Many brands falter sooner than they should; some
don’t even make it out of the gate. Here are five pitfalls to watch out for:

1. Awareness without positioning is waste-Companies sometimes try to build brand


awareness before establishing a clear brand position. You have to know who you are
before you convince anyone of it. Many dotcom companies know this pitfall well. A
number of them spent heavily on advertising without first being clear about what they
were selling.
2. Product attributes are of vital importance- Companies often promote attributes that
consumers don’t care about. The best e.g. for years companies sold analgesics claimed
their brands were long lasting than others. Eventually they noticed consumers wanted
quick pain relief more than sustained pain relief.
3. Companies sometimes spend too much on POD than can be easily copied. Positioning
needs to keep competitors out not draw them in.
4. Think and respond-Certain companies become so intent on responding to competition
that they walk away from their established positions. General Mills used the insight that
the consumers viewed honey as nutritious than sugar to successfully introduce the Honey
Nut Cheerios product- line –extension. A key competitor, Post decided to respond by
repositioning its Sugar Crisp brand, changing name to Golden Crisp and dropping Sugar
bear character as spokesman. But the repositioned brand didn’t attract enough new
customers, and its market share almost diminished.
5. Repositioning is not always possible – repositioning is not always easy. Although Pepsi-
Cola’s fresh youth appeal has been a key branding difference in its battle against Coke.the
brand has strayed from this force several times in past 2 decades. Perhaps adding to some
of its market share woes. Every attempt to reposition a brand has been followed by retreat
to the former successful positioning.

Brand positioning is a tough task. Once you have found one that works, you may need
to find the modern way to convey the position, but think hard before you alter it.

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Module III Brand Positioning Faculty: J.Rai

Positioning is made up of what?

There are four basic components of positioning concept:

1. Product Class or the structure of the market in which our brand will compete.
2. Consumer segmentation.
3. Consumer perception i.e Perpetual mapping
4. The benefits offered by the brand.
1. PRODUCT CLASS/MARKET- It can be defined as the set of products and brands
which perceived as substitutes to satisfy specific consumer needs.
• In India, low cost detergent powders would undoubtedly be grouped with higher-
priced in the category of ‘washing powders’. There is little doubt, however that
these low-cost powders such as ‘Hippolin’ ‘Nirma’ ‘Wheel’ have also been
positioned by consumers against the traditional(oil based) laundry soaps and bars
and have been perceived by them as substitutes for such laundry soaps.
• The product class of chocolates, Cadbury’s Nestle, Amul is clearly positioned
against one another. If we consider the ‘product class’ of festival season gifts,
consumers may position a decorative box of chocolates against branded halwa
and even perhaps, a pocket FM player

2. CONSUMER SEGMENTATION- positioning theory marks its departure by placing


emphasis on the target consumer’s perception of brands in relation to other brands. But its
main focus like all marketing theory and practices is on the target consumer’s
characteristics, needs, and expectations. Since we are inevitably faced with complex and
heterogeneous market, this means a multitude of consumer segments.
• The basic need for bathing soaps is what? Self cleaning and a sense of freshness
after bath. The marketers have various brands of soap with nearly similar
function to perform. Lux, Cinthol, Rexona, Lifebouy, Dove, Santoor etc. these all
are segmented according to consumers preference and choice also according to
the cost factor. We can well imagine the amount of jostling among these brands
to gain a loyal segment of users who would be attracted to a particular brand, for
its functional benefit and emotional values and give it a position in their minds,
as well as a place in their shopping list.

3. PERPETUAL MAPPING- perpetual mapping technique identifies the underlying


dimensions that differentiate consumer perceptions of product and the positions of
existing products on the dimension. Consumer’s perception of a brand in relation to
competitor’s, leads to perpetual mapping. It’s a graphical representation. Two techniques are
used
• Factor Analysis
• Multidimensional Scaling

Perpetual Map showing the benefits offered by different washing products. Robin
Liquid is trying to distinguish itself

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Module III Brand Positioning Faculty: J.Rai

4. BRAND ATTRIBUTES AND BENEITS- the physical existence of a brand is no


assurance that it has a position in the target consumers mind. The best way to explain is
with the below mentioned example Perpetual Map showing the benefits offered by
different washing products. Robin Liquid is trying to distinguish itself

Where we are –Where we should be

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Module III Brand Positioning Faculty: J.Rai

Perpetual Map shows the position of selected premium toilet soaps with regards to
Margo Neem Soap.

Points of parity and points of difference


These can be utilised in the positioning (marketing) of a brand for competitive advantage via
brand/product.

In essence:

Points-of-difference (PODs) – Attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand,


positively evaluate and believe they could not find to the same extent with a competing brand i.e.
points where you are claiming superiority or exclusiveness over other products in the category.

Points-of-parity (POPs) – Associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may be
shared by other brands i.e. where you can at least match the competitors claimed benefits.

The assessment of consumer desirability criteria for PODs should be against:

• Relevance
• Distinctiveness
• Believability

Whilst when assessing the deliverability criteria for PODs look at their:

• Feasibility
• Communicability
• Sustainability

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Module III Brand Positioning Faculty: J.Rai

These will help understand how successful these PODs are likely to be in the minds of the
consumer.

Kevin Keller and Alice Tybout[1] note there are three types of difference: brand performance
associations; brand imagery associations; and consumer insight associations. The last only comes
into play when the others are at parity. Insight alone is a weak point of difference, easily copied.
Putting these together, check their desirability, deliverability and eliminate contradictions.

Traditionally, the people responsible for positioning brands have concentrated on the differences
that set each brand apart from the competition. But emphasizing differences isn't enough to
sustain a brand against competitors. Managers should also consider the frame of reference within
which the brand works and the features the brand shares with other products.

Asking three questions about your brand can help:

1. Have we established a frame? A frame of reference signals to consumers the goal they
can expect to achieve by using a brand.
2. Are we leveraging our points of parity? Certain points of parity must be met if consumers
are to perceive your product as a legitimate player within its frame of reference.
3. Are the points of difference compelling? A distinguishing characteristic that consumers
find both relevant and believable can become a strong, favourable, unique brand
association, capable of distinguishing the brand from others in the same frame of
reference.

Rajesh Iyer and James A. Muncy[2] say that high parity perceptions inhibit a company's ability to
develop loyal customers. Whether that is good or bad depends on the type of competitive
strategy a firm has chosen. With a differentiation strategy, advertising should be used to fight
parity perceptions. However, with a low price strategy, parity perceptions should be fostered in
an attempt to discourage brand loyalty. Thus, a starting point for many advertising campaigns
should be a clear understanding of both the parity perceptions in the marketplace and the need to
either develop or fight brand loyalty.

Points of Difference & Points of Parity

Point of difference (POD) is a term used for an outcome of product differentiation. In business
economics, differentiation is seen as an important strategic move for companies to make.
Because of an overwhelming variety of products and services on the market, those that stand out
in some manner are better noticed by consumers. There are various (positive and negative) ways
of being different compared to competitors in the same market. Differentiation is the term given
to the positive way in which a company's product differs from its competitors. Points of
difference (PODs) describe the individual factors of differentiation.

The key points of difference of a company are synonymous with its unique selling proposition
(USP), and are critical in defining its competitive advantage and branding strategy. They must
be attributes or benefits that consumers strongly, uniquely, and positively associate with the
company's brand; and not with any competing brand. Once points of difference have been clearly

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Module III Brand Positioning Faculty: J.Rai

communicated to consumers, the company and its brand are set apart from its competitors. Brand
loyalty depends upon the ability of the company to establish and maintain clarity of
communication with the consumer regarding their brand; and to maintain and expand the points
of difference that defines the brand.

Points-of-parity (POP) are driven by the needs of category membership to create category of
POPs and the necessity of negating competitors’ Points of Difference (POD) to create
competitive POPs. In choosing points-of-difference, two important considerations are that
consumers find the POD desirable and that the firm has the capabilities to deliver on the POD.

NIVEA

Nivea became a leader in the skin cream category by creating strong POD on the benefits of
“gentle”, “protective” ,”caring”. As it leveraged its brand equity into categories such as
deodorants, shampoos and cosmetics, Nivea found it necessary to establish category POP before
it could promote its brand’s point of difference. There were of little vale unless consumers
believed that its deodorant was strong enough, its shampoo would provide beautiful hair and its
cosmetics would be colorful enough. Once points of parity were established, Nivea’s heritage
and other associations could be introduced as compelling point of difference.

There are three key consumer desirability criteria for PODs,

1.Relevance:
Target consumers must find the POD personally relevant and important. The Westin Stamford
hotel in Singapore advertised that it was the world’s tallest hotel, but a hotel’s height is not
important to many tourists.

2.Distinctiveness:
Target consumers must find the POD distinctive and superior. When entering a category where
there are established brands, the challenge is to find a viable basis for differentiation. Splenda
sugar substitute overtook Equal and Sweet ‘n Low to become the leader in its category in 2003
by differentiating itself on its authenticity as a product derived from sugar, without any of the
associated drawbacks.

3.Believability:
Target consumers must find the POD believable and credible. A brand must offer a compelling
reason for choosing it over the other options. Mountain Dew may argue that it is more energizing
than other soft drinks and support this claim by noting that it has a higher level of caffeine.
Chanel No. 5 perfume may claim to be the quintessential elegant French perfume and support
this claim by noting the long association between Chanel and haute coutre.

here are three key deliverability criteria.

1.Feasibility:

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Module III Brand Positioning Faculty: J.Rai

Can firms actually create the POD? The product and marketing must be designed in a way to
support the desired association. It is obviously easier to convince consumers of some fact about
the brand that they were unaware of or may have overlooked than to make changes in the
product and convince consumers of the value of these changes.

2.Communicability:
The key issue in communicability is the consumer’s perception of the brand and the resulting
brand associations. It is very difficult to create an association that is not consistent with existing
consumers knowledge, or that what ever reason, have trouble believing it. What factual evidence
or proof can marketer communicate as support so that the consumer will actually believe in the
brand and its desired associations?

3.Sustainability:

Is the positioning preemptive, defensive, or difficult to attack? Can brand association be


reinforced or strengthened over time? Sustainability depends on internal commitment and use of
resources as well as external market forces.

Marketers must decide at which level (s) to anchor the brand’s points–of-differences. At the
lowest level are brand attributes, at the next level are the brand’s benefits, and at the top are the
brand’s values.

Thus marketers of Dove soap can talk about its attribute of one-quarter cleansing cream; or its
benefit of softer skin; or its value, being more attractive. Attributes are typically the least
desirable level to position. First, the buyer is more interested in benefits. Second, competitors can
easily copy attributes. Third, the current attributes may become less desirable.

Research has shown, however, that brands can sometimes be successfully differentiated on
seemingly irrelevant attributes if consumers infer the proper benefit. Procter & Gamble
differentiates its Folger’s instant coffee by its “flaked coffee crystals, “created through a “unique
patented process. In reality, the shape of the coffee particles is irrelevant because the crystals
immediately dissolve in the hot water. Saying that a brand of coffee is “mountain grown is
irrelevant because most coffee is mountain grown.

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