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Brand Positioning

The core of a brand strategy is brand positioning. With it, companies record what they want to express with a brand: What does it stand for? What meaning does it give to people?

This is the path to successful brand positioning 

For brand positioning to be successful, it must be developed from within the brand. Only then can the necessary credibility be created. It must be aligned in such a way that it creates the necessary brand attractiveness in the target groups. In addition, it serves the purpose of maximum differentiation, i.e. setting the brand apart from the competition.

 

 

How brands achieve a number 1 position

A brand should strive to achieve or maintain a number 1 position. An example of why this is so important: We all know the highest mountain in the world, but the second highest? Only a few know it. Apple used this principle to position its Macbook Air as "the thinnest notebook in the world".

Brands need ingenuity when the number 1 position is already taken. They arrive at a solution by combining three elements: criterion, category and frame of reference.

Example: Not all mountain fans want to climb the highest mountain in the world - but maybe the highest mountain outside Asia? The elements in this case would be:

  • Criterion: "the highest"
  • Category "mountain
  • Reference system "Asia".

The use of these three elements is a suitable tool for companies to discover a suitable number 1 position for their brand.

Brand positioning must always be put to the test

Is the positioning of my brand still up-to-date? Companies have to ask themselves this question again and again and carefully adapt their brand to new circumstances. It is important to note that even if changes are made, the positioning must always be based on the top performance that the company provides.

In a repositioning - also called brand relaunch - the brand is charged with fresh energy by means of a revised or even completely new brand strategy. Such changes can succeed in positioning the brand on the market in a more targeted and target group-specific way.

Brand positioning shapes the entire company

It is the responsibility of brand and corporate management to ensure that brand positioning succeeds. They must ensure that it is implemented and managed without contradiction at all brand touch points. The brand managers make sure that all measures pay off on the brand positioning.

All corporate activity must be aligned with the positioning. Only then can it be successful. This means: it must not be equated with the advertising slogan. The advertising slogan is merely the communicative implementation of the positioning.

Brand positioning is often only used for internal company purposes, as a superordinate target image. In brand communication, however, and by means of its promotional translation - by means of a claim or a slogan - the positioning becomes publicly visible.

Many tourism brands have a weak brand positioning

A positioning must be solid and pointed, after all, all further decisions depend on it. If the wrong direction is taken, there will be long-term consequences.

The importance of finding a precise positioning can be seen in the example of tourism: Most regions and cities try their luck with a broad positioning. This was the finding of our study "Worth a trip in the future too? How destinations need to take action now". Such tourism brands fear that a highly sharpened profile might scare off travellers and not do justice to what they have to offer.

The problem: if a brand addresses everyone, no one really feels addressed. Travellers do not develop a clear image of the destination. This has a negative impact on business success in the long run.

A positioning must therefore be specific. The city of Vienna shows that this is not a limitation: it offers travellers a great variety, from imperial heritage to culinary delights. Nevertheless, most people associate Vienna with culture and music. The "world capital of classical music" therefore has a clear No. 1 position - and conveys all other values and offers just as successfully.

Especially young financial service providers score with strong brand positioning

The financial services market also shows that many established brands lack uniqueness - in contrast to the new players in the market: payment providers such as Paypal, Visa and Google Pay stand out with their strong positioning.

Consorsbank is noteworthy for its focus on "independent", because this conceals its founding idea: to give everyone the opportunity to trade directly and independently on the stock exchange. This means: brands can derive their positioning power well from their founding story, as long as they keep interpreting it in a contemporary way.

Many water brands have unimaginative positioning

The majority of water brands are stuck in mediocrity. They offer the same thing and that makes them interchangeable. This is the reason for the constant price war in the market. Three quarters of the German mineral water companies engage in pure product marketing. Only a few water brands have a unique positioning that they consistently pursue.

Moreover, there seem to be only two positioning routes for water brands: Lifestyle or Nature & Region. German water brands leave the lifestyle route almost entirely to the competition from abroad.

Packaging is important for brand positioning

The importance of packaging for the success of a brand is still underestimated. This is a mistake, because this brand touchpoint is very suitable for charging the brand with meaning. Companies need to consider how they can use their packaging to express their brand positioning in a credible, attractive and differentiating way. Read our analysis "Packaging 3.0 - What comes after function and emotion?".

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