POSITIONING

Battle For The Consumer’s Mind Space

FURNITURE
FOOT WEAR
FOOD ITEMS
BATH SOAPS
MIXIES
DETERGENTS
COOKING RANGE

COLD BRAND A
CREAMS BRAND B

BRAND X
 POSITIONING

• Positioning refers to the designing of a

company’s product image & value offer so
that the target segments customers
understand what the company’s products
stand for in relation to competitor’s products
• A product’s position is the complex set
perceptions, impressions & feelings that
consumers hold for a product vis-à-vis
competing products.
 Examples of Positioning
1) Refrigerator
(i) Whirlpool (ii) LG
2) Cosmetics
(i) Lakme Classic (i) Elle 18
3) Toothpaste
(i) Babool (ii) Close-Up
(iii) Pepsodent (iv) Colgate
4) Soap
(i) Dove (ii) Lifebouy
5) Salt
(i) Captain Cook (ii) Dandi
 Positioning
Positioning is concerned with the identification,
development & communication of a differential
advantage which makes the organization's
product & services perceived as superior &
distinctive to those of competitors in the mind
of its target customers.
Unique Selling Proposition:
A Unique characteristic of a produce or brand
identified by marketers as the one on which to
base a promotional campaign.
Value Proposition:
The assortment/ statement of the benefits and
satisfaction a product is offering.
 Value Proposition
Brand, Target Benefits Value Proposition
Product & Customer
Company
Scorpio, SUV, Lifestyle- Rugged- A vehicle that provides the
Mahindra & oriented ness, luxury & comfort of a car &
Mahindra consumers Luxury & the adventure & thrill 0f an
Comfort SUV.
Indica, Car, Small-car Spacious- A spacious small car without
Tata Motors consumers ness extra cost.
who want a
more
spacious
vehicle
Domino’s Convenience- Delivery, A good, hot pizza delivered to
Pizza minded pizza speed and your door in 30 minutes.
lovers good
quality
 Positioning
 Choosing a Positioning Strategy:
 Choosing the right competitive
advantage
 How many differences to promote?
 Unique selling proposition
 Positioning errors to avoid
 Which differences to promote?

7- 7
Product Positioning
 It is quite difficult to change a consumer's
impression once it is formed.
 Consumers cope with information overload by
oversimplifying and are likely to shut out
anything inconsistent with their knowledge
and experience.
 In an over-communicated environment, the
advertiser should present a simplified
message and make that message consistent
with what the consumer already believes by
focusing on the perceptions of the consumer
rather than on the reality of the product.
Being First
Allows a firm to cut through the noise of other
products
 the success of a brand may not be due to the high
level of marketing acumen of the company itself,
but rather, it is due to the fact that the company
was first in the product category.
 Xerox makes this point. Xerox was the first plain-
paper copier and was able to sustain its leadership
position. However, time after time the company
failed in other product categories in which it was
not first
 IBM failed when it tried to compete with Xerox in
the copier market.
Being First
Allows a firm to cut through the noise of
other products

Miller Lite – not the first light beer, but the

first to be positioned as one, with a name that
supported the position.
Product Positioning
Positioning of a Follower

 Second-place companies often are late

because they have chosen to spend valuable
time improving their product before
launching it.
 It is better to be first and establish
leadership. If a product is not going to be
first, it then must find an unoccupied position
in which it can be first.
 When larger cars were popular, Volkswagen
introduced the Beetle with the slogan "Think
small." Volkswagen was not the first small
car, but they were the first to claim that
position in the mind of the consumer.
Positioning
Points of Difference – attributes that
customers strongly associate with a brand,
evaluate them positively, and believe that
these points are not as strong with other
brands (FedEx (guaranteed overnight delivery), Nike
(performance), and Lexus (quality) )
Swedish retailer IKEA took a luxury product home furnishings and
furniture and made it a reasonably priced alternative for the mass
market. IKEA supports its low prices by having customers self-serve,
deliver, and assemble the products themselves. IKEA also gains a
point-of-difference through its product offerings.
Points of Parity – brand is not unique (Consumers
might not consider a travel agency truly a travel agency unless it is
able to make air and hotel reservations, provide advice about leisure
packages, and offer various ticket payment and delivery options)
Points of Difference and Parity
 Dettol and Savlon
 Visa vs. American Express:

Visas POD in credit card category: Most widely available card;

underscores benefit of convenience
AMEX has built equity of its brand thru prestige associated
with the use of the card.
Having established their PODs both players attempting to
blunt the others advantage to create POPs:
Visa offers Gold and Platinum cards to enhance prestige (ad:
“everywhere you want to be” AMEX has substantially
increased the number of merchants that accepts its cards
and created other value enhancements.
Back to Miller Lite
The initial advertising strategy for Miller Lite beer had
two goals assuring parity with key competitors in the
category
 stating that it “tastes great” while at the same time
creating a point : It contained one-third less calories
and was thus “less filling” than regular, full strength
beers.
 The point-of-difference was somewhat conflicting, as
consumers tend to equate taste with calories.
 To overcome potential resistance, Miller employed
credible spokespeople, primarily popular former
professional athletes, who would presumably not
drink a beer unless it tasted good.
 These ex-jocks humorously debated which of the two
product benefits—“tastes great”
 or “less filing” – was more descriptive of the beer.
The ads ended with the clever punch line “Everything
you’ve always wanted in a Beer and Less”.
 Positioning
 Choosing a Positioning Strategy:
 Identifying possible competitive
advantages -- many potential
sources of differentiation exist:
 Products
 Services
 Channels
 People
 Image
7- 15
 POSITIONING BASES AVAILABLE
1. Attribute Positioning
2. Benefit Positioning
3. Positioning for specific use or occasion
4. Positioning on basis of user category
5. Competitor Positioning
6. Product Category Positioning
7. Value/Price Positioning
8. Product Class Association
9. Parentage
10. Endorsements :-
(i) By Experts
(ii) Via Emulator ( reference groups)
11. Lifestyle Positioning
Positioning Is about Differences
The differences that are promoted for a product
must be:
 Important: The difference delivers a highly valued
benefit to the target buyers
 Distinctive: Competitors do not offer the difference, or
the company can offer it in a more distinctive way
 Superior: The difference is superior to other ways that
the customer might obtain the same benefit
 Communicable: The difference can be explained and
communicated to the target buyers
 Preemptive: Competitors cannot easily copy the
difference
 Affordable: Buyers can afford to pay the difference
 Profitable: Company can introduce the difference
profitably
 Positioning
 Choosing a Positioning Strategy:
 Communicating and delivering the
chosen position
 Entire marketing mix must

support the chosen strategy

 May require changes to the

product, pricing, distribution or

promotion.
7- 18
 SOME POSITIONING ERRORS

1. Under positioning

2. Over positioning

3. Confused positioning

4. Doubtful positioning
 POSITIONING FOR CARS

. Distinctive Looking
. A touch of class
. A car I would be proud to own

. Spirited
. Conservative Performance
. Appeals to older . Fun to drive
people . Sporty
. Appeals to
young

. Practical
. Affordable
. Good fuel consumption
 EFFICACY

.COUGH HIGH
SYRUP
.STREPSIL .VICKS
.HALLS
.ICY
.VICKS BLUE
TASTE
LOW HIGH

LOW
 HELPS
HAIR
GROWTH
MAKES HAIR INEXPENSIVE
GREASY
. MAHABHRING RAJ
. PARACHUTE

PREVENTS MODERN

.
HAIR
FALLING DABUR AMLA
MAKES HAIR
. . ARNICA
GLOSSY
. TATAS .
CANTHARDINE
. KEO FOR ME
TABAKUSUM KARPIN
HELPS HAIR
GROOMING

PLEASANT
PERFUMES
REPOSITIONING ( Increasing Occasions for Use)

Milk Cadbury’s Drinking Chocolates

Good Night Cap Happiest Time of the

( night) Day (anytime)

Burnol

3-in-1 (Burns, Cuts, Gashes)

Curing Burns

Odomos

Indoors & Outdoors

Indoors
 REPOSITIONING ( Increasing Occasions for Use)
(contd..)

Vicks Vaporub

Child’s Cold Adult Cold Rub Anytime

Rub at Night

Dettol Liquid

To Prevent Cuts & Also for

Gashes From 1) Shaving Mugs
Developing sepsis 2) Washing Babies Clothes
3) During illness for
washing & swabbing.
 REPOSITIONING

Dettol Toilet Soap

Beauty soap Germ (Bath Killing for grimy Germ killing

soap occasions) Skincare

Maharaja Dishwasher

International sophisticated National Functional

Kelvinator Refrigerator
Refrigerator designed by a
Coolest One
housewife
Cadbury’s Bourn vita

Taste Additive Extra nutrition, Nutrition, Mental

To Milk Extra taste stimulus
REPOSITIONING ( Bringing in New Customers)

No more tears Shampoo

Babies Those who wash

Hair regularly

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk

Sweet Treat for
Adults as well
Kids
REPOSITIONING ( Changed Market Conditions)

Horlicks
Milk Additive Nutrition

Milk Maid
Whitener for Tea, Coffee

Maker of Tastiest Milk

Topping for Puddings

Use in Dessert Recipes