Positioning
• Positioning is the act of designing and projecting an image of the company’s offering
• Such that the image occupies a distinctive place in the minds of the target market
• Positioning gives a value proposition to the product
• Meaningfully sets it apart from competition
• Products that have a strong value proposition and meaningful differences from the
competition hold a distinctive position in consumers’ mind
Some Examples
• Borosoft – Non-sticky antiseptic cream
• Maggi – A tasty 2 minute snack (for the choti bhook) Taste Bhi Health Bhi
• Dettol – As a germ killing anti bacterial soap
• Kitkat – Have a break, have a Kitkat
• Surf – Daag achche hain
• MRF – Tyres with muscle (The tyres we race are the tyres you buy)
Examples
• Fevicol - ka majbhoot jod hai tootega nahi
• Asian Paints Har ghar kuch kehta hai
• Band Aid -
• LIC – Zindagi ke saath bhi aur zindagi ke baad bhi
• Idea – An idea can change your life
• Air Deccan – Simplifly
Positioning is not what you do to the product
Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect -
Al Ries & Jack Trout
Positioning
• Most marketers advocate promoting only one central image or position
• Because too many images conflict with one another and only confuse the consumer as
to what the brand is really about
• The skill lies in summing up the entire product story – with all its product features,
benefits, points of differentiation, symbolisms and images into one positioning idea
Product features + Product benefits + Points of differentiation + Symbolisms + Images
= One Positioning Idea
Types of Positioning
Consumer – Social
Competitive Image
focused accountability
positioning positioning
positioning positioning
Use or
Benefit Attribute User
application
positioning positioning positioning
positioning
Quality or Image or
Product class Competitor
price personality
positioning positioning
positioning positioning
Positioning by
International
cultural Repositioning Depositioning
positioning
symbols
Consumer- Focused Positioning
• Takes positioning cues from the consumer
• It highlights the type of consumer who use the product
• The benefit he /she seeks from the product
• The way he / she consumes the product
• Salon products (exclusively packed for salons)
Wella
Competitive Positioning
• Competitive positioning is about defining how you’ll “differentiate” your offering
and create value for your market
• It’s about carving out a spot in the competitive landscape, putting your stake in
the ground, and winning mindshare in the marketplace
• Being known for a certain “something.”
• In some cases, reference competitor(s) can be the dominant aspect of the positioning
strategies of the firm
• The firm either uses the same of similar positioning strategies as used by the
competitors
• Or the advertiser uses a new strategy taking the competitors’ strategy as the base
Competitive Positioning
• You provide a one-of-a-kind offering that your market needs and wants; you have strong
differentiation from your competitors (or you create a disruption to drive home the brand
USP)
• Your market knows your name and associates it with that “one thing” that you’re known
for
• And you continuously deliver on it – perception is reality – so you continue to win
mindshare in your market, defending your turf and influencing your market
• For eg., Fogg
Fogg
https://youtu.be/06ttGyOE1wc
Fogg
https://youtu.be/NP3H1z8bxY4
Social Accountability Positioning
• Each producer of consumer products must become increasingly aware of the trend
toward consumer protection, a trend that will certainly continue in the future
• A stance of “social accountability” is one to be coveted in today’s market
• Many firms, via their promotional planning, are exerting considerable effort to project the
image of good citizenship
• Work on overall corporate goodwill
Tata Tea
https://youtu.be/M5ECJrnqPcI
Hutch
https://youtu.be/zRi84YzgPg8
Hutch
https://youtu.be/K9bl7PLnvc8
Image Positioning
• Associate the brand with an idea
• Feeling or an emotion
• Or appearance that is largely intangible
• Cannot be copied easily by competitors
Titan
https://youtu.be/hK14fA48FEw
Coke
https://youtu.be/bG7gQxKbEkM
Coke
https://youtu.be/kw4tT7SCmaY
Benefit Positioning
• This strategy basically focuses upon the characteristics of the product or customer
benefits
• Sometimes a product is positioned along two or more product characteristics at the
same time
• In the case of toothpaste market, most toothpaste insists on ‘freshness’ and ‘cavity
fighter’ as the product characteristics
• It is always tempting to try to position along several product characteristics, as it is
frustrating to have some good characteristics that are not communicated
• For example of motorbikes some are emphasizing on fuel economy, some on power,
looks and others stress on their durability
Pepsodent
https://youtu.be/ENx48W3ijMg
Maruti
https://youtu.be/hAqubPsltU0
Attribute Positioning
• The product can be positioned on the basis of key attribute such as design, automatic
operation, non- corrosive material, years of experience, number of awards etc.,
• Borosoft was positioned as a non- sticky antiseptic cream
• Fevi Kwik – Chutki me chipkaye Fevi Kwik
• Freshia Cream – Freshness cream
BoroSoft
https://youtu.be/kvVLZOcnmTE
Boro Natural
https://youtu.be/O2QM-GhheBo
Fevi Kwik
https://youtu.be/WcNCk6ULBqE
Use or Application Positioning
• A product can associate itself with a specific use or application
• For eg., Livon – on damp hair after a hair wash
• After bath – cream
• Actizen tablets – Thakaan se hone wale badan dard ke liye
• Cadbury’s – kuchch meeta ho jaye
• Kellogs – Breakfast cereal
AfterBath Cream
https://youtu.be/xzRheMone58
AfterBath Cream
https://youtu.be/_Dk_TEYV_5U
Lakme
https://youtu.be/UHteoeqDkSY
Kellogg’s
https://youtu.be/dTFsBJizh7g
User Positioning
• Positioning a product by associating it with a particular user or group of users
• For eg. : Elle 18 cosmetics, Womans era, Femina, Female Hygiene products, Johnson
& Johnson etc.,
Elle 18
https://youtu.be/BkWX8py3pms
Johnson & Johnson
https://youtu.be/GNVeKJj8roU
Quality or Price Positioning
• Businesses that offer products at the extremes of the price range may position by price
– quality relationship
• At the high- end the emphasis will be on quality
• At the low-end price is emphasised
Product Class Positioning
• In some product class we have to make sure critical positioning decisions
• The product is represented as a leader in certain product class or category that is
different from its traditional product category
• Instead of competing with individual brands, the product bypasses competition by
positioning itself into another product category
• For example, freeze dried coffee needed to position itself with respect to regular and
instant coffee
• Normal Hair Oil vs Value Added Hair Oil (Parachute vs Dabur Vatika)
Parachute Coconut Oil
https://youtu.be/VZ3PfeV2_Sk
Dabur Vatika Hair Oil
https://youtu.be/PLhZBaOyVNU
Competitor Positioning
• The product pitches itself against a named or apparent competitor and claims to be better in some way
than competitor
• Colgate and Pepsodent
• Colgate when entered into the market focused on to family protection but when Pepsodent entered into
the market with focus on 24 hour protection and basically for kids
• Colgate changed its focus from family protection to kids teeth protection which was a positioning
strategy adopted because of competition
• Captain Cook positioned itself as a free flowing salt than Tata Salt
• Savlon positioned itself as no burn, no smell antiseptic in comparison to Dettol, which had a pungent
smell and hurt during application
Pepsodent V/s Colgate
https://youtu.be/R347lsr23X8
Captain Cook Salt V/s Tata Salt
https://youtu.be/1oQxwvHNOOg
Puro Healthy Salt
https://youtu.be/EnTI1FSP2ho
Puro Healthy Salt
https://youtu.be/-ItkSAjf9AQ
Savlon
https://youtu.be/nTam2XllYp8
Savlon
https://youtu.be/8xSVL35_3pg
Horlicks V/s Complan
https://youtu.be/LcbLBJSTtQg
Image or Personality Positioning
• The brand tries to associate itself with a strong image or a personality
• For eg., Lux is known for its celebrity image (Filmy sitaron ka saundarya sabun)
• Thums up for macho, rugged image
• Mountain Dew – Dar ke aage jeet hai
• Axe deodorant for its sensational, woman – attracting image etc.,
Axe Deo
https://youtu.be/uxtoti1qbz0
Positioning by Cultural Symbol
• Company which uses deeply entrenched cultural symbols to differentiate their brands
from that of competitors
• The essential task is to identify something that is very meaningful to people that other
competitors are not using and associate this brand with that symbol
International Positioning
• Effective positioning is vitally important in the international market
• Often effective positioning in one country may not work as well in another country
• Company analyses the competition, consumers or businesses that are potential
customers
• After this analysis the company chooses a positioning approach
• Positioning strategy may be modified for each country but theme and brand image
should remain consistent as possible (Example : McDonalds)
Aditya Birla Group
https://youtu.be/ARw5nylGZJ0
Repositioning
• Repositioning is how you adjust perceptions
• Whether those perceptions are about you or about your competition
• In both cases in order for your strategy to work
• You must understand how the mind works or how people think
• Usage wise repositioning – MOOV – from being a joint pain specialist to back ache
specialist
Repositioning
• Every repositioning program has to start with competition in mind
• It’s not what you want to do; it’s what your competition will let you do
• Unless you have a wonderful invention and have a monopoly product chances are that
competitors are always vying at your business
• Repositioning a competitor often comes down to finding a weakness in the leader’s
strength and attacking at that point
• It’s finding a weakness in the leader’s strength NOT find the leader’s weakness
MilkMaid
https://youtu.be/q9tJKAoSr1o
Kellogg’s
https://youtu.be/_MgVOAEL2q4
Depositioning
• De-Positioning involves attempting to change the identity of competing products
• Relative to the identity of your own product
• In the collective minds of the target market
• For eg., Like showcasing your brand’s “win” in a comparative taste test (a la the Pepsi
Challenge)
• Moov depositioned Iodex as Mochwala Kala Malham
Thank You
