POSITIONING TERRITORIES

CONCEPT

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Our perceptions are selective and our memory is highly selective. Harvard psychologist George Miller proposed that only seven ‘chunks’ of information, like seven brands in a category, can easily be held in short-term memory. Therefore, the importance of good brand positioning is crucial for the success of a business.

Positioning is about defining that single thought or idea you want to own and then focusing on owning it. This strongest and most persuasive thought in the customers mind must be true to you, relevant to your audience and must make it difficult for your competition to compete.

Most businesses talk about the same things and forget to mention the things that make them truly different. If you’re competing with a giant in your category and talk about the same things, you’ll lose.

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PRICE - THE CHEAPEST OR BEST VALUE

Coles and Walmart focus on the price or value that they offer. The words ‘save everyday’ and ‘always low prices’ are the most persuasive thoughts in the customer’s mind when they think of the brand. NB: This was one of Michael Porter’s famous strategy choices of price leader vs. value differentiation.

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SIZE - THE MOST

This positioning territory of size focuses on the large range of products or services the brand offers. It is the aim of this territory to fix ‘range’ into the consumer’s mind, so if breadth of choice is the need, then they’re the brand that springs in to mind.

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SIZE - THE LARGEST

Positioning on size says ‘the bigger, the better’.

By stressing the size or number of outlets a brand has, consumers are made aware of the brands market leadership. This territory taps into the social proof of marketing professor Robert Cialdini of ‘if they’re big’, ‘everybody must be using them’, ‘so they must be good’.

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FIRST - WE ARE THE ORIGINAL

Brands that have been in their industry the longest may position their brand towards being the ‘original’ brand. This adds reliability and increases the perception of the brand’s quality. Paddy Pallin and Westpac dominate the ‘first’ territory by using the words ‘first’ and ‘since’.

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EASE - THE SIMPLEST TO USE

The ‘ease’ positioning territory is used for products and services that are simple to use or make life easier. Ikea focuses their positioning around the simple and easy assembly of their products, while ING focuses on removing the complexity of financial services.

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SPEED - THE FASTEST

Technology and courier services are industries that typically aspire to own the ‘speed’ territory. The decreasing level of consumer patience means that speed is a big factor in consumer choice. Therefore associating speed with your brand is an effective positioning strategy.

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RELIABILITY - THE MOST TRUSTEDFocusing on the reliability territory is an effective positioning territory when the brand’s products need to be trusted. FedEx builds this trust with the consumer by using the words ‘absolutely and ‘positively’, that became one of advertising’s most well known and powerful promises.

As we see from the Rolex ad, endorsement (especially celebrity) is a short cut to trust and a quick way to trust brand cache.

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NICHE MARKET - PRODUCTS FOR ‘X’Brands focusing on the niche market territory adopt the “inch wide - mile deep approach”, where the inch is when the brand can be offered narrowly enough to be the first, second, or third in the category. The mile is when there are enough consumers in that category so that you’ll never run out of customers. This means the brand and messaging is specialised and uniquely positioned to appeal to their focused market.

Because niche marketing tends to let customers associate or draw affinity with an identity, it can often form strong and lasting bonds.

R.M. Williams positioning helps them dominate their niche market as ‘The Bush Outfitter’.

See also Apple’s ‘The Crazy Ones’.

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GEOGRAPHICAL - AUSTRALIA’S OWN

Geographical positioning has the potential to make brands national icons. Vegemite and Qantas are brands that have achieved this and are considered ‘Australia's own’.

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SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE

Toms Shoes, Conscious Step, and The Body Shop are all socially responsible brands that have positioned themselves accordingly. This means that when consumers are deciding on a purchase they also feel a level of social reward in buying the product.

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ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLEBrands may sell themselves as environmental advocates with their positioning. Persuading consumers they are environmentally friendly is an increasingly important factor - especially with chemical or non-renewable products that affect buyer behaviour.

While brands often overstate the environmental ‘pull’, when performance and price are comparable, the value of ‘enviro’ can be a real differentiator.

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PERSONAL EXPRESSION - EXPRESS YOURSELFPersonal expression is a core human driver. ‘Think different’, and ‘open your mind’ both challenge and command consumers to do so to set themselves aside form their competitors.

Famously Burger King challenged the ubiquity of the ‘Big Mac’ being for everyone, and challenged with the ‘personalise your burger’ which became the now classic positioning of ‘have it your way’.

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PERSONAL ENRICHMENT - TO REWARD OR TO DISCOVER NEW THINGS Marketing legend Dave Trott talks about two things being required to prompt action:

1) Desirability

2) Permission

This territory of rewarding and indulgent nature uses this as leverage to stand out from their competition. ‘Because you’re worth it’ and ‘Have a break!’ persuade the consumer they have deserved the personal enrichment and/or experience.

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SOCIAL ENRICHMENT - CONNECT TO OTHERS

Nokia and Facebook both use mediums that allow consumers to communicate. Therefore, they focus their positioning territory on how they connect people. Facebook also shows us how visuals are sometimes more powerful than statements.

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MOST POPULAR - THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE

Focusing on the brand as being the most popular brand, or the ‘people’s choice’, is an effective positioning strategy as it increases the consumer trust in the brand. Oral-B have achieved this by explaining over a million Australians use the product, and Pepsi have taken the step further through the ‘Pepsi taste challenge’ to prove that consumers prefer their taste.

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INNOVATORS - THE FIRST WITH WHAT’S NEXT

Brands who show they are the first with the next big thing target the innovative consumers - in particular the technologically savvy. Samsung and Intel both send the message that they are the brands delivering the breakthrough technology, or rather ‘sponsoring tomorrow’.

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SERVICE

To distinguish themselves from competitors, Avis have focused on the customer service approach. By stating ‘We try harder’, the great customer service that they provide becomes the first and dominant benefit in the consumers mind.

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FASHIONABLE - WHAT’S IN RIGHT NOW

Rolex positions their brand as fashionable which can be seen through promoting their watches as stylish. Levis paint shows how fashion is not just limited to just clothes and accessories.

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SMART - THE CLEVER CHOICE

Nobody wants to look stupid. In fact humans spend much time trying to look ‘smart’. Brands that can anchor into being the ‘smart choice’ can often find powerful positionings.

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LEADERSHIP - LEADING THE WAY

Positioning your brand towards leadership sends a professional and premium message to consumers. PNC Bank and ESPN both dominate this territory by stating they are the leaders in their market.

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Another of Cialdini’s factors of influence is scarcity and exclusivity. The ‘exclusive territory’ positions brands as the in-group.

Hertz does this by confidently stating that their competition just isn't the same.

The ‘U by Kotex’ beaver campaign was intentionally provocative, encouraging an ‘Are you in or out?’ choice for consumers.

See also, American Express’s campaign, ‘Membership has its privileges’.

EXCLUSIVE

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TRADITION

People often exhibit revisionist’s history, where they recall the past as far more favourable and enjoyable than it actually was. Brands that understand this can benefit from these positive associations. Good old fashioned values are focused on within the ‘tradition’ territory. Wendy’s burgers are a classic example of this.

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AN OCCASIONThe benefit of relating a brand or product with an experience or occasion is that it encourages routine consumption. One of the smartest ways to position a brand is to associate it with a usage ‘trigger’. For example, Moccona coffee relates a consumers morning with their brand.

!!Febreeze initially got this wrong by trying to be the ‘bad smell cure’. However they later found success by positioning Febreze as something that came at the end of the cleaning ritual, the reward. Instead of reminding the consumer that their home stinks, Febreeze is now implied as a pleasant treat.