BrandPositioning

Summary of Chapter 3 ofKevin Lane Keller

SBM

Positioning:

is at the heart of marketingstrategy. It is the ‘act of designing thecompany’s offer and image so that it occupies adistinct and valued place in the targetcustomer’s minds.

Position = Location (finding proper location of theproduct in the consumer’s minds)

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?

Market: is the set of all actual and potentialbuyers who have sufficient interest in, incomefor, and access to a product.

Market Segmentation: divided the market intodistinct groups of homogeneous consumerswho have similar needs and consumerbehavior.

Descriptive or customer-oriented: what kind ofperson or organization the customer is

Behavioral or product-oriented: how the customerthinks of or uses the brand or product

Nature ofgoods Kind Where used Type of buy

Buyingcondition Purchase

location Who buys Type of buy

• Demographic– Company Regn Code– Number of employees– Number of production

workers– Annual sales volume– Number of

establishments

1. The sensory segment: seeking flavor andproduct appearance

2. The sociables: seeking brightness of teeth3. The worriers: seeking decay prevention4. The independent segment: seeking low price

To determine category membership Which products does the brand complete? Different categories will lead to different points of

parity and points of difference Ex: PDA – smart phone, laptop, palm Ex: Coca cola – soft drink, carbonated drink, general

beverage Ex: Kellogg’s Corn Flakes – cereal, snack, morning

meal

Desirability criteria Relevance Distinctiveness Believability

Deliverability criteria Feasibility Communicability Sustainability

Separate the attributes Leverage equity of another entity Redefine the relationship

Laddering: how to deepen the meaning of the brandto tap into core brand associations or more abstractconsiderations

Reacting: how to respond to competitive challengesthat threaten an existing positioning Do nothing Go on the defensive Go on the offensive

Pick 2 big brands in the same category Evaluate the positioning of each brand. Who are the target markets? Who and how?

What are their main points of parity and points ofdifference? Both performance and imagery

Have they defined their positioning correctly? How might it be improved?

a good brand mantra shouldboth define the category of business to set thebrand boundaries and clarify what is uniqueabout the brand

an effective bran mantra should bememorable, short, vivid

the brand mantra should also stake outground that is personally meaningful andrelevant to as many employees and possible