Session

BRAND POSITIONING
AND
VALUES
 Brand Positioning

“act of designing the

company’s offer and image
so that it occupies a distinct
and valued place in the target
customer’s minds”. Philip Kotler
 Optimal Brand Positioning

Identifying the optimal location of a brand

vs. its competitors – in the mind of
consumer/market segment – to maximize
potential benefit for the firm.
Deciding a ‘positioning’ requires:
 Identifying the target segment(s)
 Nature of competition
 How the brand is ‘similar’ to competitors?
 How the brand is ‘different’ from competitors?
 TARGET MARKET

Identifying the target consumer– based on

similar perceptions/preferences – in the

market.
Dividing the market into ‘distinct’ groups of

homogeneous consumers with similar needs,

likes/dislikes, opinions – requiring similar
marketing mix – customized marketing programs –
standardization/cost effectiveness – better profits in
future
 Basis of Segmentation
 Behavioural
 Nature of
User Status, Usage Rate, Usage Product
Occasion, Brand Loyalty,
 Kind of product
Benefits Seeked. CONSUMER
 Where to be
 Demographic SEGMENTATIO used?
Income level, Age, Gender, N
 Type of buy
Family size etc.
 Buying
 Psychographic
Conditions
Values, Opinions, lifestyle and INDUSTRIAL
Attitude.
(B2B)  Purchase
SEGMENTATIO
location
 Geographic N
 Who buys
International, regional,
national and local.  Demographic
 Sales volume
 Criteria for Segmentation
Identifiability
Can segment(s) identified are easily determined?
Size
Is there adequate sales potential in the segment?
Accessibility
Are distribution networks & communication mediums
available to reach the segment?
Responsiveness
How favourable will be segment to the tailored
marketing program?
 Guidelines for Brand Positioning
Defining the competitive frame of reference:
 Determining ‘Category membership’: Set of products with
which brand competes.
 Determining ‘Point-of-parity’ (POPs) and ‘Point-of-
Difference’ (PODs).
Choosing Point-of-Parity & Point-of-Difference:
Desirability criteria
 Deliverability criteria

Establishing POPs and PODs:

Low price vs. high quality; Taste vs. low calories; Nutritious vs.
good taste; strong vs. refined; range vs. exclusive etc.
Updating the Positioning over time.
 Point-of-Parity (POPs)
Category:

associations that consumers perceive

necessary – to be a offering within a product/
service category – generic product level. May
change over time due to techn. advancements, legal
formats and consumer trends etc.
e.g. Nivea become leader in Skin cream category – by
creating strong POD on the benefit “gentle”, “protective” and
“caring”. They leveraged brand equity into other categories
like deodorants, shampoos and cosmetics.
 Point-of-Parity (POPs) cont…

Competitive:

associations designed to negate the competitor’s

point-of-difference (POD).

† To achieve POP on a particular attribute/ benefit –

sufficient number of consumers must believe that the

brand is a suitable substitute on that dimension.

 Point-of-Difference (PODs)
Strong – favourable – unique brand associations.
Concept of POD is similar to the Unique Selling
Proposition (USP) – proposed by Rosser Reeves & Ted
Bates in 1950s.
Reason to buy a product/ service that a
competitor could not achieve.
Communicating a distinct – unique product
attribute/benefit. (ad message)
e.g. Anacin’s ‘fast, fast, fast relief’ ad – message got
effectively in consumer’s mind – brand gained
considerable market share.
 Choosing Points of Difference

Desirability Criteria:
 Relevance: Target customers must find the POD relevant
and important. E.g. in categories like toothpaste a new
ingredient like herbal content added into the attribute mix, but
without proper research, may not be able to find desired market.
 Distinctiveness: Target customers must find POD
distinctive and superior. E.g. Emami ‘fast relief’ ad position on
fast relief rather than long-lasting relief, as many perceive long-
lasting as slow acting.
 Believability: Brand must offer compelling and credible
reasons for customer choice. E.g. Mountain Dew may argue
that it is more refreshing and energizing than other soft drinks
through its series of ad campaigns
 Choosing Points of Difference

Deliverability Criteria: If the three key deliverability

criteria are satisfied, the positioning will be effective.
Feasibility: Before making brand promise through
their ads, companies need to do a feasibility study.
Communicability: Key issue in communicability is
consumers’ perceptions about the brand and the brand
associations. Brand association need to be build to align
with the perceptions i.e. factual and verifiable evidence/
“proof points” are used to support the communication.
Sustainability: Bigger question--> Can the Brand
Association be reinforced and strengthened over time?
 BRAND MANAGEMENT

CUSTOMER-BASED BRAND

EQUITY (CBBE) &

RESONANCE PYRAMID
 Making a brand strong:
Brand knowledge

Characterized in terms of:

Brand awareness
Brand image

Brand awareness - strength of the ‘brand node’/ trace in

the memory – reflected by – consumer’s ability to identify
the brand under different conditions.

Brand image – perceptions about the brand – reflected by

– ‘brand associations’ in the consumers memory.
 Brand Association

A brand association is any mental linkage to the brand.

Brand association may include, e.g., product attributes,

customer benefits, uses, life-styles, product classes,
competitors and countries of origins.
The association not only exists but also has a level of

strength. The brand position based upon association how

they differ from the competition.
Brand association can be classified into three major types 1)

attributes, 2) benefits, and 3) attitudes.

 Brand Association

 The first type of brand associations are brand attributes.

Attributes are those descriptive features that
characterize a product or service. Brand attributes may
be product related or Non-product related:
 Product-related attributes are defined as the ingredients
necessary for performing the primary product or service
function sought by consumer.
 Non-product-related attributes are defined as external
aspects of the product or service that relate to its purchase or
consumption. Non-product-related attributes may affect the
product performance. The four main types of non-product-
related attributes are price information, packing or product
appearance information, usage imagery.
 Brand Association
The second type of brand associations is brand benefits.
Benefits are the personal value and meaning that
consumers attach to the product or service. The
benefits may be:
 Functional benefits are the more intrinsic advantages of product or
service consumption and usually correspond to the product-relate
attributes.
 Experiential benefits relate to what is felt, when the product or
service is used and they usually also correspond to both product-related
attributes as well as non-product-related attributes such as usage
imagery.
 Symbolic benefits are the more extrinsic advantage of product or
service consumption. They usually correspond to non-product-related
attributes and relate to underlying needs for social approval or personal
expression.
 Brand Association

The third types of brand association are brand

attitudes.
Brand attitudes are defined in terms of consumers’

overall evaluations of a brand.

Brand attitudes are important because they often

form the basis for actions and behaviour that

consumers take with the brand (e.g. brand choice).
 Customer-based Brand Equity
Pyramid

4. Brand Relationships
Resonance What about you & me?
(Loyalty)

3. Brand Response
Judgments Feelings What about you?
(Credibility) (attributes)

Performance Imagery 2. Brand Meaning

(Primary & Secondary (Personality & What are you?
characteristics) Experiences)

Salience 1. Brand Identity

(awareness – depth & breadth - about the product Category &
specified ‘needs’) e.g. Tropicana (orange juice) Who are you?
Brand Resonance Pyramid