Positioning (marketing)
Schaefer and Kuehlwein extend the concept beyond material and rational aspects to include 'meaning' carried by a brand's mission or myth.
The positioning concept became very influential and continues to evolve in ways that ensure it remains current and relevant to practising marketers.
He said this is important because the typical consumer is overwhelmed with unwanted advertising, and has a natural tendency to discard all information that does not immediately find a comfortable (and empty) slot in their mind.
[9][10] Al Ries and Jack Trout are often credited with developing the concept of product or brand positioning in the late-1960s with the publication of a series of articles, followed by a book.
"[12] Some scholars credit advertising guru, David Ogilvy, with developing the positioning concept in the mid-1950s, at least a decade before Ries and Trout published their now-classic series of articles.
Among other things, Ogilvy wrote that "the most important decision is how to position your product",[14] and "Every advertisement is part of the long-term investment in the personality of the brand.
The agency suggested that the traditional positioning as a product for woolen garments should be broadened so that consumers would see it as a soap for use on all fine fabrics in the household.
To implement, Lux was repositioned with a more up-market posture and began a long association with expensive clothing and high fashion.
Cano has argued that the positioning strategy JWT used for Lux exhibited an insightful understanding of the way that consumers mentally construct brand images.
Ries and Trout codified the tacit knowledge that was available in the advertising industry; popularizing the positioning concept with the publication of their articles and books.
The concept enjoys ongoing currency among both advertisers and marketers as suggested by Maggard[3] who notes that positioning provides planners with a valuable conceptual vehicle, which is effectively used to make various strategy techniques more meaningful and more productive.
[3] Several large brands – Lipton, Kraft, and Tide – developed "precisely worded" positioning statements that guided how products would be packaged, promoted, and advertised in the 1950s and 1960s.
[3] John P. Maggard notes that positioning provides planners with a valuable conceptual vehicle for the implementation of more meaningful and productive marketing strategies.
Functional positions resolve problems, provide benefits to customers, or get favorable perception by investors (stock profile) and lenders.
Symbolic positions address self-image enhancement, ego identification, belongingness and social meaningfulness, and affective fulfillment.
The advertising for Volvo, should emphasize safety and performance [message strategy] and Must mention prestige as an entry ticket to the category And will downplay its previous family-car orientation in the interest of appealing to a broader range of users.
[31] To be successful in a particular market a product must occupy an "explicit, distinct and proper place in the minds of all potential and existing consumers".
[33] A number of different positioning strategies have been cited in the marketing literature:[34] (Being the first to claim a benefit or feature) (Being the best or exhibiting some type of superiority) (Being a member of an exclusive club or group) (Strong registration of both category and brand) (Use competitor's strategy as a reference point) (Emphasize a problem, need or benefit where the firmcan offer superior satisfaction) (Can be associated with seasonal products) To identify suitable positions that a company or brand might occupy in a given market, analysts often turn to techniques such as perceptual mapping or correspondence analysis.
Perceptual maps are a diagrammatic representation of consumers' mental perceptions of the relative place various brands occupy within a category.
When this happens, the company may need to consider a number of options:[42] Repositioning involves a deliberate attempt to alter the way that consumers view a product or brand.
Research on persons' attitudes suggests that a brand's position in a prospective consumer's mind is likely to be determined by the "combined total of a number of product characteristics such as the price, quality, durability, reliability, colour, and flavour".
Upscale restaurants, for example, which previously flourished on expense account dinners and corporate events, may for the first time need to stress value as a sale tool.
Often these decisions must be made without the benefit of sufficient information, simply because the definition of "volatility" is that change becomes difficult or impossible to predict.
