Many people have different interpretations about what brand positioning means. It’s one of those concepts that is hard to pin down, yet at the same time is so important to the success of your brand. Positioning is at the heart of your brand. It’s essentially the summation of everything your brand is about.

So Let’s talk about it…

The Importance of Good Positioning

Whether you are trying to pick out a name for your company, create designs, develop a website or define your pricing strategy, the aspiring entrepreneur must always remember that the foundation of a great brand boils down to one thing; POSITIONING. Positioning is how the target market defines the brand in relation to its competitors. In other words, it’s the brands identity! When defining a brand’s positioning, one should consider how the positioning makes the brand unique and, more importantly, if these unique qualities are perceived as “added values” by the target audience.

When contemplating your brand’s positioning, you have to see who everybody else already is before you can figure out who you want to be. By scanning the competitive landscape you can see what niches are already being satisfied and also if there are any unmet needs your brand can take advantage of. So what if you have a fantastic idea for a new skate/surf apparel line. If there are already a million other people with the same idea that are 10 steps ahead of you, how will you compete? There is a good chance, although not guaranteed, that your brand will be seen as an imitator rather than a fresh new company. This isn’t to say that you should back away from ALL niche’s with established competition. On the contrary! Having some competition allows the customers to know what they can expect from you. It is up to you, however, to show the customer how you are different from Company A and Company B if you choose to go ahead with your skate/surf line in a competitive market. The key here is to decipher what your brand can offer as “added value” if other people have similar product offerings and knowing when to fold em’ if you think competition is too high.

Some people would say that the best a corporate brand might hope to own is the leadership position in an industry. The brand promise would read as follows: “[Company] is the quality, innovation leader in the [industry.]” I believe that is a very weak brand positioning. The strongest corporate brands own something more than that in consumers’ minds. For instance, Disney owns “fun family entertainment” while Nike owns “authentic athletic performance.” “Tastees Patty says “The Home of Jamaica’s Tastiest Patties’ while Digicel says “Expect More. Get More.” “Nicor owns “unconditional primal warmth” while Hallmark owns “caring shared.” Grace Kennedy owns “Bringing Good Taste to Life” and the list could go on.

The Blake Project uses the following brand promise form: “Only [brand] delivers [benefit] to [target consumer] in an [era] of.” This form is simple but powerful in its economy.

A powerful brand position should be:

• Believable, understandable,

unique and compelling

• Aspirationally attainable

• Admirable and endearing

• Difficult to emulate

• Timeless and enduring

• Extendable

Positioning a brand is complicated. It is an art and a science and is not likely to be well understood or appreciated by operationally oriented people in your organization. It is, however critical to your organization’s long-term success. Position your brand with great care.

By Brad VanAuken The Blake Project

In the next Issue on February 24, we will look at How to bring your Brand Positioning to Life (Brands need to appeal to human needs).

We do invite your comments on this most current topic. Please send email to elaineg@jamaicaobserver.com