Kotler Chapter 10

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education

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 referenceby identifying the target market and the resulting nature of the competitionand the optimal points-of-parity and points-of-difference brand associations.

3. A companys 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 point-of-parity associations are associations consumers view as being necessary to a legitimate and credible product offering within a certain category. Competitive point-of-parity associations are those associations designed to negate competitors points-of-difference or overcome perceived weaknesses or vulnerabilities of the brand.

5. The key to competitive advantage is relevant brand differentiationconsumers 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 products 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 Apples 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 products 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 services 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

Services 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 products 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 Sonics 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 Sonics 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 universitys station(s) in terms of positioning and differentiation strategy. What stage in the products 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 strategiesinclusion 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 pricecomputers, automobiles, home appliances.

Ease and completeness: products that are easy to use and contain everything the consumer wants in the productscomputers, 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 scaryamusement 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 bigconvenience stores).

Close but not too closeshopping centers and large mega-stores close enough but not in my backyard.

Simple to use yet not complicatedcomputer 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 brands emotional branding and appeals to the consumers heart. As long as the counterfeiting does not substantially impact LVs potential marketing and sales to its target market, the counterfeiting increases the mystery, sensuality, and intimacy of the brand.

Marketing Excellence: PHILIPS 1) Evaluate Philips 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 taglineintended to promote Philips products in local


marketsis 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 STPSegmentation, 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 companys distinctive offering and image.

A) Positioning is the act of designing the companys 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 brands 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 companys 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 competitors 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-of-differencedesirability, 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-of-difference 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 points-of-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 peoplethat 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) BMWs 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 brands points-of-difference, that

is, what is unique about the brand. Other aspects of the brand positioningespecially the brands points-of-paritymay 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-of-difference.

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 brands points-of-differences.

A) At the lowest level are the brands attributes. B) At the next level are the brands benefits. C) At the top level are the brands 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 Therearethreemainwaystoconveyabrandscategorymembership:

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 companys 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-of-difference 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 persons emotional response to a brand and its marketing will depend on many factors. One increasingly important factor is a brands 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 brands 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 dont 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 marketThe competitors share of the target market.

2. Share of mindThe 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 heartThe 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 weve 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 peoples 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 McDonalds, 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 Universitys 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 Wisconsins 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 paramountfinding 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 associationsany persons, places or things with potentially relevant associationsare often a cost-effective, shortcut means to build brand equity, especially those that help to signal quality or credibility.

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Kotler Chapter 10