Crafting the Brand Positioning

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In this chapter we will address the following questions:
1. How can a firm develop and establish an effective positioning in the market?
2. How do marketers identify and analyze competition?
3. How are brands successfully differentiated?
4. What are the differences in positioning and branding with a small business?
SUMMARY
1. To develop an effective positioning, a company must study competitors as well as
actual and potential customers. Marketers need to identify competitors’ strategies,
objectives, strengths, and weaknesses.
2. Developing a positioning requires the determination of a frame of reference—by
identifying the target market and the resulting nature of the competition—and the
optimal points-of-parity and points-of-difference brand associations.
3. A company’s closest competitors are those seeking to satisfy the same customers and
needs and making similar offers. A company should also pay attention to latent
competitors, who may offer new or other ways to satisfy the same needs. A company
should identify competitors by using both industry- and market-based analyses.
4. Points-of-difference are those associations unique to the brand that are also strongly
held and favorably evaluated by consumers. Points-of-parity are those associations not
necessarily unique to the brand but perhaps shared with other brands. Category pointof-
parity associations are associations consumers view as being necessary to a
legitimate and credible product offering within a certain category. Competitive pointof-
parity associations are those associations designed to negate competitors’ points-ofdifference
or overcome perceived weaknesses or vulnerabilities of the brand.
5. The key to competitive advantage is relevant brand differentiation—consumers must
find something unique and meaningful about a market offering. These differences may
be based directly on the product or service itself or on other considerations related to
factors such as employees, channels, image, or services.
6. Emotional branding is becoming an important way to connect with customers and
create differentiation from competitors.
7. Although small businesses should adhere to many of the branding and positioning
principles larger companies use, they must place extra emphasis on their brand
elements and secondary associations and must be more focused and create a buzz for
their brand.
C H A P T E R 10 CRAFTING THE BRAND
POSITIONING

OPENING THOUGHT
A barrier to effective learning that can be experienced by students in this chapter comes
from the concept of “positioning.” Students will be familiar with different products or
services, but having them realize what the products and services “positions are” within
their frame of references is challenging to verbalize. The instructor is encouraged to use a
number of examples of products or services familiar to the students to get this concept
fully across.
Secondly, the understanding of the terms point-of-differences (PODs) and points-of-parity
(POPs) can easily be confused. The instructor is encouraged to use a number of similar
products (computers, cell phones, pens, PDAs for example) and ask students to differentiate
these products in terms of the product’s POPs and PODs; and why these concepts are so
important to the marketing of products. A key example of a new product with a pronounced
POD is Apple’s iPhone.
The third challenge presented in this chapter is an understanding that products and markets
have a life cycle and undergo changes throughout that process. Again, the use of product or
service examples familiar to the students is encouraged to communicate the different stages of
a product’s life cycle.
TEACHING STRATEGY AND CLASS ORGANIZATION
PROJECTS
1. At this point in the semester, student projects should be completed to include their
fictional product or service’s brand positioning. In relationship to the material
contained in the chapter, students should have delineated and designed a
differentiated brand positioning for their project.
2. Relevant to the opening vignette of the chapter concerning The Public Broadcasting
Service’s positioning and differentiation, students are to devise a positioning and
differentiation strategy for their own local PBS system (radio or television). Students
should arrange to meet with local PBS management to elicit information on what
challenges their local station(s) is/are having in increasing their viewership/listeners.
What stage in the product’s life cycle (PBS is the product) does your local station
fall? What level of competitive advantage, if any, commensurate with the position in
the life cycle, does your local PBS station(s) command? What can be done to reverse
or continue these trends?
3. Sonic PDA Marketing Plan: The third part of STP is to select and communicate an
effective positioning to differentiate your offering from competitors’ offerings. The
marketer must also plan for appropriate marketing strategies for each stage of the
product life cycle. As you continue your work to develop Sonic’s marketing plan for
launching Sonic 1000, consider these questions about positioning and life-cycle
strategies:

• Which of the differentiation variables related to product, services, personnel,
channels, and image are best suited for Sonic’s situation, strategy, and marketing
objectives? Why?
• Write the positioning statement for Sonic 1000.
• Knowing the stage of the product life cycle for Sonic 1000, what are the
implications for the marketing mix, product management strategy, service
strategy, and R&D strategy?
Record your answers in a written marketing plan or type them in the Positioning section
of Marketing Plan Pro. Note any additional research you may need in the Marketing
Research section of Marketing Plan Pro.
ASSIGNMENTS
The Web site www.allaboutbranding.com lists a number of articles and books about
branding products today. Assign students the objective of reading four articles from the
Web site and commenting in class about the information contained in the articles and
what new information about branding they learned.
Most campus communities have their own radio and/or television broadcasting stations.
If one is present on your campus, students are to define the college or university’s
station(s) in terms of positioning and differentiation strategy. What stage in the product’s
life cycle are the station(s)? What can be done to reposition the station(s) to attract more
viewership? What is the competitive advantage present in their operations?
Determining the proper competitive frame of reference requires understanding consumer
behavior and the consideration sets consumers use in making brand choices. For a set of
three products or services (selected by the students) students should research these
companies and provide the companies (and its products) value proposition in a matrix
similar to Table 10.1.
Consultants Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema, in their book, The Disciplines of Market
Leaders (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1994) proposed a positioning framework called
value disciplines. Within its industry, a firm could aspire to be the product leader,
operationally excellent firm, or customer intimate firm. Choosing an industry, each
student is to identify one or more firms operating within that industry that fits each of
these three value disciplines. Students should define their reasoning for selecting each
firm and its placement as either the product leader, operationally excellent or customer
intimate.
Points-of-differences and points-of-parity are two important concepts of brand
development and are driven by two differing strategies—inclusion and differentiation.
Students should devise a list of at least five other products/services that they believe
demonstrate points-of-differences and points-of-parity in their brand positioning. Student
must include their reasoning behind the inclusion of these products/services into a

category. Good students will present “proof” of their correct selection by including
advertising copy supporting the product or services POD or POP.
Styles, fashions, and fads fall nto special categories when talking about product life
cycles. Some may have a product life cycle measured in weeks, others in months, and yet
others in years. Ask the students to list the current fads, fashions, and styles prevalent
around campus today. Do any of these fashions, styles, or fads meet or satisfy a strong
need? If so, can they predict the length of the life cycle of the ones that satisfy a strong
need? Which of the fashions, styles, or fads do the students predict will have longevity?
Why or why not?
In Marketing Memo: Writing A Positioning Statement, the author crafts the exact form
that a positioning statement should make. Using that form as a template, craft a
positioning statement for yourself in the job market. Your target market is ? , you are the
brand, and your point-of-difference is ?
END-OF-CHAPTER SUPPORT
Marketing Debate--What Is the Best Way to Position?
Marketers have different views of how to position a brand. Some value structured
approaches such as the competitive positioning model described in the chapter, which
focuses on specific points-of-parity and points-of-difference. Others prefer unstructured
approaches that rely more on stories, narratives, and other flowing depictions.
Take a position: The best way to position a brand is through a structured approach
versus the best way to position a brand is through an unstructured approach.
Suggested Answer: Student answers will vary but good students will cite as either for or
against this statement that companies must:
1) study competitors as well as actual and potential customers; optimal point of parity and
points of differentiation; that points of differences are associations and are strongly held
and favorably evaluated by consumers; the key to competitive advantage is relevant
brand differentiation; emotional branding is becoming a way to create product and brand
differentiation: brand stories are growing in importance as are brand journalism, and
cultural branding.
Marketing Discussion
Identify other negatively correlated attributes and benefits not described in the chapter
above. What strategies do firms use to try to position themselves on the basis of pairs of
attributes and benefits?
Suggested Response:
Some additional negatively correlated attributes and benefits include:
• Functionality and price: products and/or services with many features but at a low price—
computers, automobiles, home appliances.
• Ease and completeness: products that are easy to use and contain everything the consumer
wants in the products—computers, home entertainment products.

• Fun to drive and good gas mileage: for cars, this is an ongoing challenge along with safe
and good gas mileage and “large” and good gas mileage.
• Safe and scary—amusement rides, movies, television shows, books.
• Choices and convenience: variety in our shopping but sized for convenience (has the right
mix of products but is not too big—convenience stores).
• Close but not too close—shopping centers and large mega-stores close enough but “not in
my backyard.”
• Simple to use yet not complicated—computer and game programs.
A firm may use dual strategies to communicate these negatively correlated attributes and
benefits. Although more expensive to use dual marketing strategies, for a product or service
consisting of negatively correlated attributes, such strategies will appeal to both sets of
consumers for the product.
Additionally, the marketer may anchor the PODs and POPs, with other brands or other
associations that emulate the desired characteristics or communicate the desired emotional
appeals.
Marketing Excellence: LOUIS VUITTONi
Questions:
1) How does an exclusive brand such as Louis Vuitton grow and stay fresh while
retaining its cachet?
Suggested Answer: Louis Vuitton can increase its emotional branding and its associated
mystery, sensuality, and intimacy with its customers, its service differentiation in its
stores and it could increase brand narratives and storytelling.
2) Is the counterfeiting of Louis Vuitton always a negative? Are there any circumstances
where it can be seen as having some positive aspects?
Suggested Answer: No counterfeiting of LV products increases the brand’s emotional
branding and appeals to the consumer’s heart. As long as the counterfeiting does not
substantially impact LV’s potential marketing and sales to its target market, the
counterfeiting increases the mystery, sensuality, and intimacy of the brand.
Marketing Excellence: PHILIPS
1) Evaluate Philip’s “Sense and Simplicity” strategy. What are the risks the company
faces in using this tagline?
Suggested Answer: Philips sells their equipment in many countries, so it is important to
develop a global marketing strategy that can be modified to fit local conditions. However,
the “Sense and Simplicity” tagline—intended to promote Philips’ products in local

markets—is somewhat problematic. The terms used in the tagline are vague and
ambiguous. Does simplicity refer to simplicity of design, or of use? What exactly is
‘sense’? Because the consumers are unable to understand exactly what Philips wishes
them to understand, there is a risk of consumer expectations being different to what the
company is offering. Consumer dissatisfaction could result from this.
2) What strategies can Philips follow to ward off competition from Japanese
manufacturers of consumer electronics?
Suggested Answer: The major advantage that Japanese manufacturers have over Philips
is their ability to keep their prices lower. If Philips were to emphasize adherence to
quality, simplicity of design, the multi-lingual instructional manuals, and the sense that
their products provide more value for money, they would have an advantage. The ‘Sense
and Simplicity’ campaign is all well and good, but Philips should take care to ensure that
advertisements are designed in such a way as to ensure that customers understand the
products in exactly what the company wants them to.
DETAILED CHAPTER OUTLINE
No company can win if its products and offerings resemble every other product and offering.
As part of the strategic brand management process, each offering must represent a compelling,
distinctive big idea in the mind of the target market.
Creating a compelling, well-differentiated brand position requires a keen understanding of
consumer needs and wants, customer capabilities, and competitive actions. It also requires
disciplined but creative thinking.
DEVELOPING AND COMMUNICATING A POSITIONING STRATEGY
All marketing strategy is built on STP—Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning.
A company discovers different needs and groups in the marketplace, targets those needs
and groups that it can satisfy in a superior way, and then positions its offering so that the
target market recognizes the company’s distinctive offering and image.
A) Positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a
distinctive place in the mind of the target market.
B) The goal is to locate the brand in the minds of consumers to maximize the potential
benefit to the firm.
C) A good brand positioning helps guide marketing strategy by clarifying the brand’s
essence, identifying the goals it helps the consumer achieve, and showing how it does
so in a unique way.
D) A good positioning has a “foot in the present” and a “foot in the future.” It needs to be
somewhat aspirational so the brand has room to grow and improve.
E) The result of positioning is the successful creation of a customer-focused value
proposition, a cogent reason why the target market should buy the product.

F) Positioning requires that marketers define and communicate similarities and
differences between their brand and its competitors. Specifically, deciding on a
positioning requires:
a. determining a frame of reference by identifying the target market and
relevant competition
b. identifying the optimal points-of-parity and points-of-difference brand
associations given that frame of reference
c. creating a brand mantra to summarize the positioning and essence of the
brand
Deciding on positioning requires determining a frame of reference by identifying target
markets and competition and identifying the ideal points-of-parity and points-of-difference
brand associations.
Determining a Competitive Frame of Reference
A) The competitive frame of reference defines which other brands a brand competes with
and therefore which brands should be the focus of competitive analysis.
B) Decisions about the competitive frame of reference are closely linked to target market
decisions. Deciding to target a certain type of consumer can define the nature of
competition, because certain firms have decided to target that segment in the past (or
plan to do so in the future), or because consumers in that segment may already look to
certain products or brands in their purchase decisions.
Identifying Competitors
A) A good starting point in defining a competitive frame of reference for brand
positioning is to determine category membership – the products or sets of products
with which a brand competes and which function as close substitutes.
B) The range of a company’s actual and potential competitors, however, can be much
broader than the obvious.
C) For a brand with explicit growth intentions to enter new markets, a broader or maybe
even more aspirational competitive frame may be necessary to reflect possible future
competitors. And a company is more likely to be hurt by emerging competitors or
new technologies than by current competitors.
D) We can examine competition from both an industry and a market point of view.
E) An industry is a group of firms offering a product or class of products that are close
substitutes for one another.
F) Marketers classify industries according to number of sellers; degree of product
differentiation; presence or absence of entry, mobility, and exit barriers; cost
structure; degree of vertical integration; and degree of globalization.
G) Using the market approach, we define competitors as companies that satisfy the same
customer need.

H) Marketers must overcome “marketing myopia” and stop defining competition in
traditional category and industry terms.
I) The market concept of competition reveals a broader set of actual and potential
competitors than competition defined in just product category terms.
Analyzing Competitors
Chapter 2 described how to conduct a SWOT analysis that includes a competitive
analysis. A company needs to gather information about each competitor’s real and
perceived strengths and weaknesses.
A) Once the competitive frame of reference for positioning has been fixed by
defining the customer target market and nature of competition, marketers can
define the appropriate points-of-difference and points-of-associations.
Identifying Optimal Points-of-Difference and Points-of-Parity
Once marketers have fixed the competitive frame of reference for positioning by defining
the customer target market and the nature of the competition, they can define the
appropriate points-of-difference and points-of-parity associations.
Points-of-Difference (PODs)
Are attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and
believe that they could not find the same extent with a competitive brand.
Three key criteria determine whether a brand association can truly function as a point-ofdifference—
desirability, deliverability, and differentiability. Some key considerations
follow.
1. Desirable to consumer. Consumers must see the brand association as personally
relevant to them.
2. Deliverable by the company. The company must have the internal resources and
commitment to feasibly and profitably create and maintain the brand association
in the minds of consumers. The product design and marketing offering must
support the desired association.
3. Differentiating from competitors. Finally, consumers must see the brand
association as distinctive and superior to relevant competitors.
Any attribute or benefit associated with a product or service can function as a point-ofdifference
for a brand as long as it is sufficiently desirable, deliverable, and
differentiating.
The brand must demonstrate clear superiority on an attribute or benefit, however, for it to
function as a true point-of-difference.
Points-of-Parity
POPs on the other hand are attributes or benefits associations that are not necessarily
unique to the brand buy may in fact be shared with other brands.
A) These types of associations come in two basic forms: category and competitive.

1) Category points-of-parity are associations consumers view as essential to be a
legitimate and credible offering within a certain product or service category. They
represent necessary conditions but not necessarily sufficient for brand choice.
2) Category points-of-parity may change over time due to technological, legal, or
consumer trends.
B) Competitive points-of-parity are associations designed to negate competitors’ pointsof-
difference.
1) If a brand can “break-even” where the competitors are trying to find an advantage
and can achieve advantages in other areas, the brand should be in a strong
competitive position.
Points-of-Parity Versus Points-of-Difference
A) To achieve a point-of-parity on a particular attribute or benefit, a sufficient number of
consumers must believe that the brand is “good enough” on that dimension.
B) There is a “zone” or “range of tolerance or acceptance” with points-of-parity.
C) The brand does not literally have to be seen as equal to competitors, but consumers
must feel that the brand does well enough on that particular attribute or benefit.
D) With points-of-differences, the brand must demonstrate clear superiority.
E) Often the key to positioning is not so much achieving a point-of-difference as in
achieving points-of-parity.
MULTIPLE FRAMES OF REFERENCE
It is not uncommon for a brand to identify more than one actual or potential competitive
frame of reference, if competition widens or the firm plans to expand into new categories.
There are two main options with multiple frames of reference.
1) One is to first develop the best possible positioning for each type or class of
competitors and then see whether there is a way to create one combined positioning
robust enough to effectively address them all.
2) If competition is too diverse, however, it may be necessary to prioritize competitors
and then choose the most important set of competitors to serve as the competitive frame.
3) One crucial consideration is not to try to be all things to all people—that leads to
lowest-common-denominator positioning which is typically ineffective.
4) Finally, if there are many competitors in different categories or sub-categories, it may
be useful to either develop the positioning at the categorical level for all relevant
categories.
Straddle Positioning
Occasionally a company will try to straddle two frames of reference.
A) BMW’s positioning of luxury and performance is an example.

Choosing POPs and PODs
A) Marketers typically focus on brand benefits in choosing the points-of-parity and
points-of-difference that make up their brand positioning.
B) Brand attributes generally play more of a supporting role by providing “reasons to
believe” or “proof points” as to why a brand can credibly claim it offers certain
benefits.
C) For choosing specific benefits such as POPs and PODs to position a brand,
perceptual maps may be useful.
D) Perceptual maps are visual representations of consumer perceptions and
preferences. They provide quantitative portrayals of market situations and the way
consumers view different products, services, and brands along various
dimensions.
E) By overlaying consumer preferences with brand perceptions, marketers can reveal
“holes” or “openings” that suggest unmet consumer needs and marketing
opportunities.
Brand Mantras
To further focus the intent of the brand positioning and the way firms would like
consumers to think about the brand, it is often useful to define a brand mantra.
A) A brand mantra is an articulation of the heart and soul of the brand and is closely
related to other branding concepts like “brand essence” and “core brand promise.”
B) Brand mantras are short, three- to five-word phrases that capture the irrefutable
essence or spirit of the brand positioning.
C) Their purpose is to ensure that all employees within the organization and all
external marketing partners understand what the brand is most fundamentally
trying to represent with consumers so they can adjust their actions accordingly.
D) Brand mantras are powerful devices. They can provide guidance about what
products to introduce under the brand, what ad campaigns to run, and where and
how to sell the brand.
E) Their influence, however, can extend beyond these tactical concerns. Brand
mantras may even guide the most seemingly unrelated or mundane decisions,
such as the look of a reception area and the way phones are answered. In effect,
they create a mental filter to screen out brand-inappropriate marketing activities
or actions of any type that may have a negative bearing on customers’
impressions of a brand.

F) Brand mantras must economically communicate what the brand is and what it is
not. What makes for a good brand mantra?
Designing a Brand Mantra
Brand mantras are designed with internal purposes in mind. A brand slogan is an external
translation that attempts to creatively engage consumers.
Here are the three key criteria for a brand mantra.
1. Communicate: A good brand mantra should define the category (or categories) of
business for the brand and set the brand boundaries. It should also clarify what is
unique about the brand.
2. Simplify: An effective brand mantra should be memorable. For that, it should be
short, crisp, and vivid in meaning.
3. Inspire: Ideally, the brand mantra should also stake out ground that is personally
meaningful and relevant to as many employees as possible.
A) Brand mantras are typically designed to capture the brand’s points-of-difference, that
is, what is unique about the brand. Other aspects of the brand positioning—
especially the brand’s points-of-parity—may also be important and may need to be
reinforced in other ways.
B) For brands facing rapid growth, it is helpful to define the product or benefit space in
which the brand would like to compete, as Nike did with “athletic performance” and
Disney with “family entertainment.”
C) Words that describe the nature of the product or service, or the type of experiences
or benefits the brand provides, can be critical to identifying appropriate categories
into which to extend.
D) For brands in more stable categories where extensions into more distinct categories
are less likely to occur, the brand mantra may focus more exclusively on points-ofdifference.
E) Brand mantras derive their power and usefulness from their collective meaning.
F) Other brands may be strong on one, or perhaps even a few, of the brand associations
making up the brand mantra. But for the brand mantra to be effective, no other brand
should singularly excel on all dimensions.
Establishing Brand Positioning

Once they have determined the brand positioning strategy, marketers should
communicate it to everyone in the organization so it guides their words and actions. One
helpful schematic to do so is a brand-positioning bullseye. Constructing a bullseye for the
brand ensures that no steps are skipped in its development. “Marketing Memo:
Constructing a Brand Positioning Bullseye” outlines one way marketers can formally
express brand positioning.
Points-of-parity are driven by the needs of category membership (to create category POPs)
and the necessity of negating competitors’ PODs (to create competitive POPs).
Marketers must decide at which level(s) to anchor the brand’s points-of-differences.
A) At the lowest level are the brand’s attributes.
B) At the next level are the brand’s benefits.
C) At the top level are the brand’s values.
D) Research has shown that brands can sometimes be successfully differentiated on
seemingly irrelevant attributes if consumers infer the proper benefit.
Marketing Memo: Constructing a Brand Positioning BULLSEYE
To communicate a company or brand positioning, marketing plans often include a
positioning statement. The statement should follow the form: To (target group and need),
our (Brand), is (the concept) that (what the POD is or does).
Communicating Category Membership
There are three main ways to convey a brand’s category membership:
1. Announcing category benefits. To reassure consumers that a brand will deliver on
the fundamental reason for using a category, marketers frequently use benefits to
announce category membership.
2. Comparing to exemplars. Well-known, noteworthy brands in a category can also
help a brand specify its category membership.
3. Relying on the product descriptor. The product descriptor that follows the brand
name is often a concise means of conveying category origin.
Communicating POPs and PODs
One common difficulty in creating a strong competitive brand positioning is that many of
the attributes or benefits that make up the points-of-parity and points-of-difference are
negatively correlated.
A) If consumers rate the brand highly on one particular attribute or benefit, they also
rate it poorly on another important attribute.
B) Unfortunately, consumers typically want to maximize both attributes and benefits.
C) The best approach is to develop a product and service that performs well on both
dimensions.

DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES
To build a strong brand and avoid the commodity trap, marketers must start with the
belief that you can differentiate anything. The obvious means of differentiation, and often
most compelling ones to consumers, relate to aspects of the product or service.
A) Competitive advantage is a company’s ability in one or more ways
B) Leverageable advantage is one that a company can use as a springboard to new
advantages.
C) A company hopes to continuously invent new advantages.
D) Customers must see any competitive advantage as a customer advantage.
E) Companies can use other forms of differentiations to their advantages like:
a. Personnel differentiation
b. Channel differentiation
c. Image differentiation
Marketing Memo: How to derive fresh consumer insights to differentiate products and
services
Lists a series of questions that marketers can ask to help them identify new consumer-based
points of differentiation.
Means of Differentiation
The obvious means of differentiation, and often the ones most compelling to consumers,
relate to aspects of the product and service (reviewed in Chapters 12 and 13).
A) Employee differentiation. Companies can have better-trained employees who
provide superior customer service.
B) Channel differentiation. Companies can more effectively and efficiently design
their distribution channels’ coverage, expertise, and performance to make buying
the product easier and more enjoyable and rewarding.
D) Image differentiation. Companies can craft powerful, compelling images that
appeal to consumers’ social and psychological needs.
E) Service differentiation. A service company can differentiate itself by designing a
better and faster delivery system that provides more effective and efficient
solutions to consumers. There are three levels of differentiation.
a. The first is reliability. Some suppliers are more reliable in their on-time
delivery, order completeness, and order-cycle time.
b. The second is resilience. Some suppliers are better at handling
emergencies, product recalls, and inquiries.
c. The third is innovativeness. Some suppliers create better information
systems, introduce bar coding and mixed pallets, and help the customer in
other ways.

Emotional Branding
Many marketing experts believe a brand positioning should have both rational and
emotional components. In other words, a good positioning should contain points-ofdifference
and points-of-parity that appeal both to the head and to the heart.
A) To do this, strong brands often seek to build on their performance advantages to
strike an emotional chord with their customers.
B) A person’s emotional response to a brand and its marketing will depend on many
factors. One increasingly important factor is a brand’s authenticity.
Brand consultant Marc Gobe believes emotional brands share three specific traits:
1) strong people-focused corporate culture;
2) a distinctive communication style and philosophy, and
3) a compelling emotional hook.iii CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Kevin Roberts advocates
that brands strive to become lovemarks.
A) Brands that are lovemarks, according to Roberts, command both respect and love
and result from a brand’s ability to achieve mystery, sensuality, and intimacy.
1. Mystery draws together stories, metaphors, dreams, and symbols. Mystery adds
to the complexity of relationships and experiences because people are naturally
drawn to what they don’t know.
2. Sensuality keeps the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste on
constant alert for new textures, intriguing scents and tastes, wonderful music,
and other sensory stimuli.
3. Intimacy means empathy, commitment and passion. The close connections that
win intense loyalty as well as the small perfect gesture.
In general, the firm should monitor three variables when analyzing potential threats posed
by competitors:
1. Share of market—The competitor’s share of the target market.
2. Share of mind—The percentage of customers who named the competitor in
responding to the statement, “Name the first company that comes to mind in this
industry.”
3. Share of heart—The percentage of customers who named the competitor in
responding to the statement, “Name the company from which you would prefer to
buy the product.”
Companies that make steady gains in mind share and heart share will inevitably make
gains in market share and profitability.
Alternative Approaches to Positioning
The competitive brand positioning model we’ve reviewed in this chapter is a structured
way to approach positioning based on in-depth consumer, company, and competitive

analysis. Some marketers have proposed other, less-structured approaches in recent years
that offer provocative ideas on how to position a brand. We highlight a few of those here.
Brand Narratives and Storytelling
Rather than outlining specific attributes or benefits, some marketing experts describe
positioning a brand as telling a narrative or story.iv
Randall Ringer and Michael Thibodeau see narrative branding as based on deep
metaphors that connect to people’s memories, associations, and stories.
They identify five elements of narrative branding:
1) the brand story in terms of words and metaphors;
2) the consumer journey in terms of how consumers engage with the brand over time
and touch points where they come into contact with it;
3) the visual language or expression of the brand;
4) the manner in which the narrative is expressed experientially in terms of how the
brand engages the senses; and
5) the role/relationship the brand plays in the lives of consumers. Based on literary
convention and brand experience, they also offer the following framework for a brand
story:
• Setting: The time, place and context
• Cast: The brand as a character, including its role in the life of the audience, its
relationships and responsibilities, and its history or creation myth
• Narrative Arc: The way the narrative logic unfolds over time, including actions,
desired experiences, defining events, and the moment of epiphany
• Language: The authenticating voice, metaphors, symbols, themes and leitmotifs
Patrick Hanlon developed the related concept of “primal branding” that views brands as
complex belief systems.
According to Hanlon, diverse brands such as Google, Mini Cooper, the U.S. Marine
Corps, Starbucks, Apple, UPS, and Aveda all have a “primal code” or DNA that
resonates with their customers and generates their passion and fervor.
He outlines seven assets that make up this belief system or primal code:
1. a creation story,
2. creed,
3. icon,
4. rituals,
5. sacred words,
6. a way of dealing with nonbelievers,
7. and a good leader.
Brand Journalism

When he was CMO at McDonald’s, Larry Light advocated an approach to brand
positioning that he called brand journalism. Just as editors and writers for newspapers and
magazines tell many facets of a story to capture the interests of diverse groups of people,
Light believes marketers should communicate different messages to different market
segments, as long as they at least broadly fit within the basic broad image of the brand.
Cultural Branding
Oxford University’s Douglas Holt believes for companies to build iconic, leadership
brands, they must assemble cultural knowledge, strategize according to cultural branding
principles, and hire and train cultural experts.
Even Procter & Gamble, a company that has long orchestrated how shoppers perceive its
products, has started on what its chief executive, A.G. Lafley, calls “a learning journey”
with the consumer. “Consumers are beginning in a very real sense to own our brands and
participate in their creation,” he said. “We need to learn to begin to let go.”
The University of Wisconsin’s Craig Thompson views brands as sociocultural templates,
citing research investigating brands as cultural resources that shows how ESPN Zone
restaurants tap into competitive masculinity; and how American Girl dolls tap into
mother-daughter relationships and the cross-generational transfer of femininity.
POSITIONING AND BRANDING A SMALL BUSINESS
Building brands for a small business is a challenge because these firms have limited
resources and budgets.
Unlike major brands that often have more resources at their disposal, small businesses
usually do not have the luxury to make mistakes and must design and implement
marketing programs much more carefully.
Nevertheless, numerous success stories exist of entrepreneurs who have built their brands
essentially from scratch to become powerhouse brands.
In general, with limited resources behind the brand, both focus and consistency in
marketing programs are critically important.
Creativity is also paramount—finding new ways to market new ideas about products to
consumers. Some specific branding guidelines for small businesses are as follows.
1) Creatively conduct low-cost marketing research. There are a variety of low-cost
marketing research methods that help small businesses connect with customers and
study competitors.
2) Focus on building one or two strong brands based on one or two key associations.
Small businesses often must rely on only one or two brands and key associations as
points of difference for those brands.

3) Employ a well-integrated set of brand elements. Tactically, it is important for small
businesses to maximize the contribution of each of the three main sets of brand equity
drivers.
a) First, they should develop a distinctive, well-integrated set of brand elements
that enhances both brand awareness and brand image. Brand elements should be
memorable and meaningful, with as much creative potential as possible.
Innovative packaging can be a substitute for ad campaigns by capturing attention
at the point of purchase.
b) Create buzz and a loyal brand community. Because small businesses often
must rely on word of mouth to establish their positioning, public relations, social
networking, and low-cost promotions and sponsorship can be inexpensive
alternatives.
c) Leverage as many secondary associations as possible. Secondary
associations—any persons, places or things with potentially relevant
associations—are often a cost-effective, shortcut means to build brand equity,
especially those that help to signal quality or credibility.