{"id":3197,"date":"2016-11-04T17:08:45","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T17:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/?p=3197"},"modified":"2022-03-09T21:00:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T21:00:12","slug":"brand-positioning-definition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/2016\/11\/brand-positioning-definition\/","title":{"rendered":"A Simple Definition of Brand Positioning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re a marketer or an entrepreneur, you&#8217;ve probably heard about the concept of <em>brand positioning<\/em>. But if you feel like this concept remains too abstract and unclear, then this article is for you!<\/p>\n<p>Today I&#8217;m going to define the concept with simple words and show you how to use it to create a powerful brand.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/2016\/11\/brand-positioning-definition\/#Brand_positioning_%E2%80%93_a_simple_definition\" >Brand positioning &#8211; a simple definition:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/2016\/11\/brand-positioning-definition\/#Why_is_brand_positioning_important\" >Why is brand positioning important?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/2016\/11\/brand-positioning-definition\/#How_to_find_a_powerful_brand_positioning_3_simple_steps\" >How to find a powerful brand positioning (3 simple steps)?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/2016\/11\/brand-positioning-definition\/#Example\" >Example<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Brand_positioning_%E2%80%93_a_simple_definition\"><\/span>Brand positioning &#8211; a simple definition:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Brand positioning has been defined by Kotler as \u201cthe act of designing the company\u2019s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, brand positioning describes how a brand is different from its competitors and where, or how, it sits in customers\u2019 minds. A brand positioning strategy, therefore, involves creating brand associations in customers\u2019 minds to make them perceive the brand in a specific way.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/brand_positioning.jpeg\" alt=\"brand_positioning\" width=\"518\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/brand_positioning.jpeg 518w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/brand_positioning-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/brand_positioning-380x253.jpeg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 518px) 100vw, 518px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_brand_positioning_important\"><\/span>Why is brand positioning important?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>By shaping consumer preferences, brand positioning strategies are directly linked to consumer loyalty, consumer-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/2021\/02\/brand-equity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">brand equity<\/a>, and the willingness to purchase the brand. Effective brand positioning can be referred as the extent to which a brand is perceived as favorable, different and credible in consumers\u2019 minds.<\/p>\n<div class=\"thebr-posts-end-2\" style=\"text-align: center;\" id=\"thebr-3478897483\"><div id=\"thebr-534971477\"><a class=\"advanced-image\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/branding-checklist\/?utm_source=website&#038;utm_medium=banner&#038;utm_campaign=checklist_articles&#038;utm_content=black_mockup\" data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" rel=\"noopener\">\r\n    <picture>\r\n        <source media=\"(max-width: 991px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/TBJ-Cheat-Sheet-300x250-1.png\" type=\"image\/png\"\/>\r\n        <source media=\"(min-width: 992px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/TBJ-Cheat-Sheet-600-x-300.png\" type=\"image\/png\"\/>\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"banner\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/TBJ-Cheat-Sheet-600-x-300.png\" alt=\"Checklist image\"\/>\r\n    <\/picture>\r\n<\/a>\r\n<\/div><\/div><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_find_a_powerful_brand_positioning_3_simple_steps\"><\/span>How to find a powerful brand positioning (3 simple steps)?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Step 1:\u00a0<\/span>In order to create a unique and successful positioning for your brand, you need to analyze the following:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Understand what your\u00a0<strong>consumers <\/strong>want<\/li>\n<li>Understand what your company\u2019s and brand <strong>capabilities<\/strong> are<\/li>\n<li>Understand how each <strong>competitor<\/strong> is positioning their brand<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Step 2:<\/span> Once you\u2019ve done that, you will need to choose a positioning statement that:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Will resonate with your <strong>consumers<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Can be delivered by your company (<strong>capabilities)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>That is different from your <strong>competitors<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>An easy way to define a brand positioning statement is to summarize it in three words. For example, \u201cvegan, traditional &amp; feminine\u201d. Try not to choose generic words such as \u201cquality-products, unique, successful\u201d because this is the aim of every brand.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Step 3:<\/span> The remaining challenge is to then reflect this brand positioning in everything that you do (brand personality, packaging design, product, service, visual identity design, communications, etc).<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Example\"><\/span>Example<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A great example of a powerful brand positioning is the one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/2014\/05\/yellow-tail-clever-product-positioning-within-american-wine-industry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Australian Yellow Tail Wines<\/a>. Their objective was to enter the US market and to be perceived very differently from the vast majority of wine brands, which all sell complicated products with sophisticated and hard-to-understand wine terminology. Yellow Tail focused their positioning strategy on being perceived as<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201capproachable, easy-to-choose, and fun\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This is how they achieved this brand positioning:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The product:<\/strong> Yellow Tail developed a wine that is soft and sweet in taste and as approachable as beer and ready-to-drink cocktails. It resulted in an easy-drinking wine that did not require years of experience to develop an appreciation for it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The name:<\/strong> A fun and adventurous name that represents the tail of a Kangaroo (as a reference to the Australian origins).<\/li>\n<li><strong>The visual identity:<\/strong> Designing a fun, colorful, and unintimidating packaging design without complicated enological terms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The communication strategy:<\/strong> Focusing their communication on in-store activities with the brand ambassador that helped the product to be perceived as approachable and funny\/down-to-earth ads.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The price:<\/strong> Offering a price of less than $10 to fit be perceived as \u201capproachable\u201d and being used at every festive occasion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3198\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/yellowtail_brand_positioning_the_branding_journal.jpg\" alt=\"yellowtail_brand_positioning_the_branding_journal\" width=\"605\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/yellowtail_brand_positioning_the_branding_journal.jpg 605w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/yellowtail_brand_positioning_the_branding_journal-282x300.jpg 282w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/yellowtail_brand_positioning_the_branding_journal-380x404.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Did this article help you understand the meaning of brand positioning? Do you know other brands that excelled at finding a great brand positioning?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>References (academic sources):\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n&#8211; Kotler, P., 2003. <em>Marketing Management. <\/em>11th ed. Englewoods Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.<br \/>\n&#8211; Fuchs, C. &amp; Diamantopoulos, A., 2010. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Brand-Positioning Strategies from a Consumer Perspective. <em>European Journal of Marketing, <\/em>44(11\/12), pp. 1763-1786.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/branding-resources\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3857\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/The_Branding_Journal_Checklist_Thin_Banner.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1217\" height=\"211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/The_Branding_Journal_Checklist_Thin_Banner.jpg 1217w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/The_Branding_Journal_Checklist_Thin_Banner-300x52.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/The_Branding_Journal_Checklist_Thin_Banner-1024x178.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/The_Branding_Journal_Checklist_Thin_Banner-768x133.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/The_Branding_Journal_Checklist_Thin_Banner-380x66.jpg 380w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/The_Branding_Journal_Checklist_Thin_Banner-800x139.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/The_Branding_Journal_Checklist_Thin_Banner-1160x201.jpg 1160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1217px) 100vw, 1217px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you&#8217;re a marketer or an entrepreneur, you&#8217;ve probably heard about the concept of brand positioning. But if&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"A Simple Definition Of Brand Positioning | The Branding Journal","_seopress_titles_desc":"What is the role of a clear brand positioning within your branding strategy? 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