Lecture 2 Brand Positioning Dr Lucy Ting Lucy

Lecture 2 Brand Positioning Dr. Lucy Ting Lucy. Ting@manchester. ac. uk

Agenda • Importance of a Brand – Consumers’ perspective • Brand Positioning – Point of difference – Point of parity

Why is a Brand Important to customers? ?

Consumer Perspective 1. Identification 2. Practicality Keller (2008) Chapter 1

Consumer Perspective 3. Guarantee 4. Optimisation Keller (2008) Chapter 1

Consumer Perspective 5. Continuity 6. Badge Keller (2008) Chapter 1

Consumer Perspective 7. Hedonistic 8. Ethical Keller (2008) Chapter 1

Brands create perceived value in order to differentiate the product or service in the eyes of the consumer. Keller (2008) Chapter 1

Brand Positioning

Brand Positioning • What is Brand Positioning? – Brand positioning is an act of designing the company’s offer and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customers’ minds.

Positioning Criteria 1. Target Customers 2. Nature of Competition 3. Point of Difference 4. Point of Parity Keller (1993), “Conceptualizing, Measuring and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity, ” Journal of Marketing, 57(1), pp. 1 -29

Competitive Frame of Reference • Target Market – Identifying which segment of customers have a strong favourable and unique association with the brand • Nature of Competition – The product’s category membership tells consumers about the benefits when using the product and helps marketers to identify their competitors

Positioning Criteria • Point of Difference – Attributes or benefits that consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand Keller et al. (2002), “Three Questions you Need to Ask About Your Brand, ” Harvard Business Review 80(9), pp. 80 -89

Point of Difference PODs Functional, performance-related Abstract, Imagery-related

Choosing PODs Point of Differences Desirability Deliverability

Choosing PODs Relevance Desirability Deliverability Distinctiveness Believability

Choosing PODs • Relevance – Target consumers must find the POD personally relevant and important • Distinctiveness – Target consumers must find the POD distinctive and superior • Believability – A brand must offer a compelling and credible reason for choosing it over the other options

Choosing PODs Desirability Deliverability Feasibility Communicability Sustainability

Choosing PODs • Feasibility – The product and marketing must be designed to support the desired association • Communicability – Factual, verifiable evidence marketers use to communicate as support to the brand its desired association • Sustainability – The PODs need to pre-emptive, defensible and difficult to attack

Positioning Criteria • Point of Parity – Associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may in fact be shared by other brands Keller et al. (2002), “Three Questions you Need to Ask About Your Brand, ” Harvard Business Review 80(9), pp. 80 -89

Point of Parity POPs Category POPs Competitive POPs

Putting them together… • First POPs: – A brand does not have to be seen as literally equal to competitors, but consumer must feel that it does “good enough” on a a particular attribute or benefit. • Then PODs – Consumers can then base their evaluation on other attributes potentially more favourable to the brand

Putting them together… • When PODs and POPs are negatively correlated…. – i. e. Tasty vs. Low in Calories – High in Choices vs. Low in Price

Putting them together… • Separate the attributes – Launch two different marketing campaigns each devoted to a different brand attribute Low-fare, Exclusively Business Class Keller (2008) Chpt 3

Putting them together… • Leverage equity of another entity – The brand “borrowed” the equity of well-known and well-liked celebrities to lend credibility to a negatively correlated benefits Keller (2008) Chpt 3

Putting them together… • Redefine the relationship – Convince the consumers that the relationship is in fact positive Keller (2008) Chpt 3