Jack Trout and Al Ries introduced the concept of positioning in the 1970s. They sug- gested that every brand has a meaning or “position” in people’s minds, and that the stron- ger, clearer, and more positive that positioning is, the more the brand will sell. Positioning is closely related to brand value propositions. Trout explains the intimate link between positioning and brands (A10; http://adage.com/article?article_id=102513). The position of a brand in people’s minds is the fundamental meaning of a brand. Brand extensions, a changing competitive marketplace, and changing consumer habits all can threaten brand market share. Often the result is the dissolution of formerly strong brand positions. Trout’s point is that regardless of how you segment audiences for your brand, the positioning (or value proposition) must remain simple and clear, even though it may have to be modified over time. He says MacDonald’s successfully modified its positioning from “fast burgers” to the “world’s favorite place to eat.” This article helps you understand the critical link in the strategic planning triangle between brand value proposition and segmentation.
Trout’s co-author, Al Ries, talks about all the criticisms of the idea that brands must be singularly positioned rather than having different meanings for different segments (A11; http://adage.com/article?article_id=102700). When you first think about it, it seems obvious that a brand will mean different things to different groups of consumers—such as Macy’s meaning different things to different types of shoppers. But what Ries and Trout argue is that advertisers must discipline themselves to using the same basic positioning with all segments. They offer the example of BMW—the ultimate driving experience—and point out that whether you drive an SUV, a sedan, or a BMW sports model, the focus is always that the driving experience of all these different kinds of vehicle is the ultimate— and that’s why you pay more for BMW.
Ad Age provided a cutting-edge case of how positioning remains a central concept for
advertisers (A12; http://adage.com/article?article_id=142848). As GM headed toward bankruptcy, reducing the number of brands and refocusing efforts on those it kept became crucial. Cadillac remained in the line-up but changed its positioning and the advertising agency that created it. The brand returned to a long-ago position “art and science.” Check the Cadillac website to see how this positioning integrates the site.
Brand positioning with iPhone applications is an example of where a forty-year-old concept gets connected to a new advertising channel, in this case smartphone apps. Apps associated with brands can be crucial, especially if they match the brand positioning.
Ad Age offers the twelve best practices to employ when figuring out how to design a brand-
focused app (A13; http://adage.com/article?article_id=139233). If you look at how fast iPhone apps developed from the time they were introduced in 2008, it’s clear that apps can provide a powerful message-based approach to building brands. Apple opened its app store in July 2008. It was projected that consumers would spend $6.2 billion on mobile apps in 2010, downloading 4.5 billion times from app stores.
Notes
1. Moore, J., & Thorson, E. “Strategic Planning for Integrated Marketing Communications Programs: An Approach to Moving from Chaotic toward Systematic,” in Integrated Communi- cation: Synergy of Persuasive Voices, ed. Esther Thorson and Jeri Moore (New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1996), 135–152.
2. Available at: http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/presurvey.shtml.
3. Angwin, J. “The Web’s New Gold Mine: Your Secrets,” Wall Street Journal, Weekend Journal, July 31, 2010, 1–3.
Articles
(A1) “Age: Representations in Advertising.” Published September 15, 2003. Available at: http:// adage.com/article?article_id=98305
(A2) “Psychographics.” Published September 15, 2003. Available at: http://adage.com/ article?article_id=98836
(A3) Rance Crain. “Welcome to the 21st Century. Now, Let’s Fix the Mess.” Published November 30, 2009. Available at: http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=140728
(A4) Rich Karpinski. “Will Using Behavioral Data Lead to Smarter Ad Buys?” Published April 20, 2009. Available at: http://adage.com/adnetworkexchangeguide09/article?article_id=136003 (A5) Beth Snyder Bulik. “What Your Taste in Beer Says about You.” Published November 2, 2009.
Available at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=140106
(A6) Emily Bryson York. “Meet Melissa, Your Recessionary Consumer.” Published September 7, 2009. Available at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=138823
(A7) Beth Snyder Bulik. “On-Demand Generation Will Pay to Play.” Published April 12, 2010. Available at: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=143220
(A8) Michael Fassnacht. “The Death of Consumer Segmentation.” Published April 13, 2009. Avail- able at: http://adage.com/cmostrategy/article?article_id=135961
(A9) Lenore Skenazy. “Keep Targeting Kids and the Parents Will Start Targeting You.” Published May 19, 2008. Available at: http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=127144
(A10) Jack Trout. “Branding Can’t Exist Without Positioning.” Published March 14, 2005. Available at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=102513
(A11) Al Ries. “The Battle Over Positioning Still Rages to This Day.” Published March 28, 2005. Available at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=102700
(A12) Laura Clark Geist. “Cadillac to Return to ‘Art and Science’ Brand Positioning.” Published March 22, 2010. Available at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=142848
(A13) Kunur Patel. “How Brands Can Build a Successful App Strategy.” Published September 23, 2009. Available at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=139233
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