Us marketers, we all speak about positioning. The theory is drummed into us throughout our studies, and its practical application lives with us throughout our careers. But what is it, really, and why – of all the many, many things we do as marketers – is it The One Thing that seems to be undisputed in terms of its importance?

 

A brand’s positioning is that spot it occupies in the minds of consumers; the conceptual space you want to own. A best case scenario is one where your brand’s proposition is understood to be distinctive relative to other choices in the category, and is entirely relevant in the context of consumer needs. Bonus points if this take-out is fully in line with your brand’s communication intent.

 

It sounds quite effortless, but there’s that little thing called R-E-A-L-I-T-Y that can make brand positioning development quite a challenging endeavour.

 

Brand Positioning Frameworks

Hop over to Google and you’ll be delighted by how many choices you have to your query for a “brand positioning framework” (hint: there are even more if you go looking for a “brand positioning tool”). But oftentimes, less is more, which is why my positioning work usually begins and ends with the humble Venn diagram. 

 

Grab a pen, and draw yourself three overlapping circles, representing (i) your consumer (ii) the competitor context and (iii) the brand itself. We’re going to develop our hypothetical brand positioning by investigating each of these elements, one at a time, and understanding how they interact with one another.

 

Consumer Comes First

We’re going to put the consumer first. Not in the philosophical sense that was popularised in the 90s, seeking to drive a service culture. Literally; we’re going to address the consumer circle of our Venn before we get onto the other elements. Defining the target audience is Step One. We want to know not just who they are, but what makes them tick. Dig deep and understand their behaviours, their needs,  and what motivates their decisions in the category. Ask ‘why’. And then ask ‘why’ again, and again, until you’re sure you really have a handle on their relationship with this product or service category (remember to look beyond your brand).

 

For the sake of brevity, this is an oversimplified explanation. In reality, exploring this one circle can take anywhere between half a day and several weeks, depending on whether there is a pre-existing segmentation or it’s part of the analysis, and how much is actually known and understood versus requires research. This is not an area where you want to be making too many assumptions. Go out and observe, ask and learn about the consumer. Your curiosity will pay off.

 

Category Definition

Next, take a look at what’s going on in the category. Most critical is how you define the category: do it on the consumer’s terms. It sounds forward thinking and whimsical to say “we play in the thirst solutions category”, but I’ll pay your next year’s strategy bill if you can find me just one consumer who goes out shopping for a “thirst solution”! A category has relevance where it overlaps with a consumer need, so consider your understanding of categorisation in that context. Explore: is it a fiercely competitive space, or are there very few brands and therefore choices? Which other brands service consumers in a similar way to ours, and what territory are they claiming? Define the relative opportunity to carve out a spot for your own brand whilst resonating with consumer needs.

 

Brand Truth

Which brings us to the final circle; the brand. It seems counterintuitive to leave this bit for the end. As brand owners or managers, we have all the info about our brand at our fingertips, so surely it’s a better place to begin? The method in this madness is that were we to start, we’d end up with an egotistical view – a brand-centric proposition – and one which box-ticks against consumer needs without necessarily really understanding and truly meeting them. But let’s not digress. What are we looking for with this step? In a word, truth. Knowing everything about the brand, we need to ascertain that the brand’s truth allows it to really deliver against the gap offered by the competitive context, where it overlaps with a consumer need that we could meet. No tall stories, no candy-coated bull dust - just honest to goodness brand truth.

 

 

Brand Positioning Statement

And there it is: in that spot where there is a clear consumer need, that we have really have something of value to offer, and isn’t being adequately provided by our competitors. The beginnings of our brand’s positioning.

 

It’ll probably be a bit raw at this point, whereas you’ll want to craft it into a nice brand positioning statement that you can tie up with a bow. This is probably a good time to remind you that the brand positioning statement (internal document used to guide marketing decisions and helpful in briefing creative partners) shouldn’t be confused with a tagline or slogan (external statement used overtly in marketing efforts). Insights from the positioning can be useful in crafting the tagline, but they are not one and the same.

 

Why?

Possibly even importantly than what positioning is, is why it’s important. Quite simply: consumers don’t buy things if they’re not clear on why they’re useful. The brand’s positioning gives its consumers a reason to buy.

 

You see, the sad-but-true reality which very few brand managers like to admit is that consumers spend far (far, FAR!) less time thinking about our brand than we’d like them to.

 

So us crafty marketers get to spend all this time obsessing about it, ensuring that we give our brands a space to call their own; we help them build out an image and message that is memorable, likeable, credible, differentiated and – most importantly – motivating.

If your brand isn’t well defined, or you suspect your positioning is shaky owing to changing consumer trends or competitor shifts,  let’s talk. Jack Be Nimble has deep experience in the brand positioning development we’d love the opportunity to tell you about the work we do in this area. Why not consider one of our legendary positioning workshops?

Image by Jon Tyson on Unsplash.