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Colin, where does your particular interest in brand positioning come from?

It's because positioning a brand has become more difficult. One of the reasons is the incredible speed of technology. It is getting harder and harder for brands to position themselves with an innovative edge because the competition can copy such services in a short space of time. I keep hearing: "The competition is copying us! What can we do?"

Another reason: the markets have grown together. In the past, people in this country carried out their competitive analyses in German-speaking countries or in Europe. Today, you have to research worldwide, overseas, in South America, the USA, Asia and Australia. There may be competitors there that you have to deal with.

It sounds as if the new circumstances are forcing companies to constantly change their brand positioning. Isn't that a contradiction? A positioning should be a stable fixed point in brand management.

It sounds as if the new circumstances are forcing companies to constantly change their brand positioning. Isn't that a contradiction? A positioning should be a stable fixed point in brand management.
And it is. But that's the key point: these constant changes don't mean that you have to change your positioning every six months or throw it overboard. But you should ask yourself every year or every two years: What does my brand positioning mean against the new backdrop? If the market has changed, what do people want? How should I act then?

The solution is not to change, but to adapt to the slightly different circumstances. The aim is then to prove the relevance of the long-term positioning once again.

Not everyone understands the difference between self-similar adaptation and complete reinvention.
In order to achieve this, it is the task of brand management, marketing and management to fundamentally and constantly monitor changes in the competitive fields.

How might a company notice that something is no longer right with its brand positioning? Are there any clues?

Firstly, of course, you notice that business is not going as expected. Then you have to ask yourself: How has the competition become stronger? Has the clientele changed, is my positioning perhaps no longer relevant for them? Are there new shortages?

Another development that can cause a positioning to falter: If the brand essence changes, i.e. the brand's services. This can happen, for example, when a company is taken over.

Sometimes it's just a gut feeling that says: "We've been saying the same thing for ten years. Here and there we get strange feedback. We need to change something." I wouldn't underestimate this gut feeling. It's an important factor, provided you draw the right conclusions from it.

You have to decide based on all these questions: Is it time for an adaptation? Or perhaps for a new positioning? Or, another important question: Do we need to make more consistent use of the existing positioning?

What do you mean by "more consistent use of positioning"?

Sometimes a company realises: We haven't done a good job and have moved away from our original positioning. We haven't expressed, implemented and realised our brand well enough. Our customers miss it, they are irritated and lose their trust! If this is the case, a brand needs to refocus on its strengths and demonstrate these with its positioning.

How often does it happen that brands and customers grow apart?

It happens rather rarely. But it depends on the business model and the maturity of the company. It can happen more quickly with a start-up that has a smaller customer base or is still looking for the right business model.

For established, well-established companies, on the other hand, this is more of a gradual process that, ideally, can be corrected again and again. Such an adjustment can be made, for example, with a new tone of voice, with which I advertise an emotional scarcity more aggressively than before.

So I only adjust one nuance. In doing so, I adapt to the new reality, but retain my positioning.

Are there typical mistakes that occur again and again when positioning a brand?

There are actually several. For example, when the company attaches too much importance to the competition and reacts incorrectly. For example, when it realises: Crap, our USP is gone, the competition has caught up! Repositioning would then be a big mistake. Perhaps it is then a question of emphasising your own positioning - i.e. what the brand stands for - even more.

It hurts my heart when a brand flees from its competitors and from itself because things are getting tight in its segment.

It would be much better - and in my opinion this is done too rarely - to show attitude! If there are more competitors, you should stick to your positioning all the more and clearly show: Look, this field is mine, this is where I come from.

There are great examples of this, such as Volvo. The car manufacturer has been using "safety" as its guiding principle since 1927. Renault also wanted to position itself with this in 2007. In their advert, they showed crash tests of international foods - the crispbread broke, the sushi, the white sausage - only the French baguette was only crumpled a little.

And how did Volvo react? The Swedish car manufacturer didn't care at all! Because it knows that it is better than everyone else in this segment. If, on the other hand, Volvo had tried to change its positioning because of the new competition, for example in the direction of innovation - that would have been a fatal mistake.

Are there situations in which a brand has to confess? Posture, adaptation and adjustment make no sense in our case. Do we need a new positioning?

This is definitely necessary if the brand's core services have changed, for example due to a sale, new acquisition or the natural evolution of top performance. Then I would recommend it: Transfer the newly created strength into a positioning statement that makes your new self-confidence clear.

When the market changes - i.e. competitors or customer needs - I tend not to recommend repositioning. If your customers' needs have changed, you don't have to turn everything inside out straight away. Instead, you should consider how your positioning could respond to the new living conditions.

Milka, for example, is sticking with "delicate", although the management recognises that something is changing in society, it is becoming rougher. Nevertheless, it is not moving away from "delicate", but is asking itself: What meaning does "delicate" have for people today? The brand realises this very well.

On the other hand, I find the adaptation and "softening" of Fishermans Friend more negative. The sweet was known for its claim - it was the condensed expression of the positioning: "If it's too strong, you're too weak". The provocative, edgy note is now missing from the brand, it has been honed away. The reason: the change in society.

What would happen if a company did without brand positioning, according to the motto: the market will tell us where we belong?

I observe this new development and attitude with a certain amount of concern: "We're at the mercy of the customers anyway, so let's just put the product out there and see what happens." I understand what's behind this and the decision is also understandable to a certain extent - but: I can't express my position without positioning. That's dangerous because the services are becoming increasingly interchangeable.

A brand needs a genuine, authentic will so that it can differentiate itself from others in the future. However, this requires well thought-out positioning, which will make the difference in the future. Ideally, it will then be reinforced, perhaps even cemented, by customer activity: When they pass it on, for example on social networks.

As a brand, you have it in your own hands: if you have a positioning, you can control it, then you are not at the mercy of the market, customers and trends. If you don't have one, you are more or less helpless and the market powers determine your future.

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The conversation is also available in a more detailed form: as a podcast episode in "BrandTrust Talks Beyond"