In April 2013 the garment factory collapse in Bangladesh caused international consumer outrage. Brands from around the world were in damage control mode after it has been revealed that many of their products were made at that factory where the working conditions could be labeled as “modern day slavery”.

A few weeks earlier Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s biggest bank, had to deal with consumer calls for a collective boycott over reports about its hiring practices. Some bank employees that were given termination notices unveiled the bank’s plan to replace them with temporary foreign workers as part of cost cutting efforts.

To make matters worse, the Canadian employees being let go were asked by the bank to train their replacements until fully capable to perform the job.

These two examples only reinforce an obvious consumer trend: the relationship with a particular brand doesn’t end with the purchase of a particular product or service.

The modern consumers have much higher expectations from brands that are part of their daily lives.

They demand to know how a particular product is made, where it is sourced from, and how corporations treat their employees, suppliers, local community and the environment.

Many companies, the big ones in particular, incorporate social responsibility into their business strategy. But only a few turned this concept into their main differentiating claim.

Socially responsible marketing is a great way to differentiate from competition. Here are 10 reasons why:

• A meaningful differentiating claim. Successful differentiation starts with identifying a relevant consumer benefit that creates brand preference and (ideally) loyalty. This study by Cone Inc. shows that 89% of millennials (people born between 1982 and 2002) are likely or very likely to switch from one brand to another (price and quality being equal) if the second brand is associated with a good cause.
• A sustainable strategy. Social-responsibility is a broad concept that includes both social (giving back to the society) and environmental (green) initiatives. This translates into a variety of options to reinforce the “social-responsibility” claim.
• A superior alternative to the “green” positioning.  Positioning a brand as “green”, while desirable, is not enough to generate economic value. In other words most people will not buy a product just because it’s green. Corporate social responsibility has a more immediate and quantifiable impact on people’s lives.
• A relevant “concept”.  Social-responsibility resonates with every member of our society, no matter the role in the economic chain. Socially responsible marketing builds positive perceptions with the company’s suppliers, distributors and final consumers.
• Accessible to most brands, regardless of product offering. Brands that will benefit the most from pursuing socially responsible marketing are those who cannot easily implement product based-differentiation. The social benefit moves the focus away from the functional characteristics of the product being offered.
• The chance to be the first in your category to make the claim. Many categories still lack a “socially-responsible” leader. Social-responsibility is mostly use to support the principal brand claim rather than as the core differentiating message. Most brands pursue “classic” strategies to differentiate from competition (product, quality, superior service, and price).
• Justifies a price premium. This global study conducted by A.C.Nielsen shows that socio-conscious consumers are willing to pay more for socially-responsible products and services.
• Cost effective to implement. It doesn’t take a lot of financial resources to create positive impact. A small donation to a local school, logistic and human support for a local cause will go a long way toward creating positive associations for your brand.
• Great content generator. It’s been said that meaningful content is the new advertising. Since corporate social-responsibility is such as broad concept, the opportunities to generate unique content are endless.
• Increased employee loyalty. HR professionals know how challenging it can be to attract and keep talented employees. According to this study by Cone Inc. 79% of millennials want to work for a company that contributes to society.

Brand managers who are looking for ways to differentiate the brand should consider social-responsibility marketing as a very viable option. All it takes is commitment, a review of the current business practices and involvement in the local community.

While publishing various articles on the topic of brand differentiation and positioning I became involved in some very interesting and intensive debates on the merits and even the relevance of this concept with the modern consumers.

The discussions can be summarized into a single question: is brand differentiation still a valid strategy worth pursuing, or just an old school concept that lost its relevance?

Those who think brand differentiation is not worth the effort argue that the modern consumers perceived most products as commodities that offer little or no differentiation. Moreover, with the all the products within a category being offered at a “decent” quality level, any option would satisfy most of one’s needs.

What was even more surprising was some of the questions and comments were posted by fellow marketers, and not just occasional readers of my articles.

My short answer to the question above is that positioning the brand for meaningful differentiation is a must. Moreover, with brands today facing fierce competition, this strategy should be the first step in the branding process.

We all have our brand preferences in categories we care about. When it comes to toothpicks, any brand will do for me, so I buy whatever is available. When it comes to my hobbies, such as my road bike or my camera, I spend a lot of time researching, deciding, and justifying.

The higher the financial and emotional investment, the stronger the consumer involvement in the buying process, the more important brand differentiation becomes.

We often buy emotionally and justify rationally.

The benefits of having a differentiated brand spread beyond the relationship with consumers.

Differentiation is also an important motivational factor for your sales force. A unique or strongly differentiated product is easier to sell, as it generates more interest and opens more doors.

Your independent distribution will also appreciate a differentiated product. Distributors are looking for ways to stay relevant to their customer base, and avoid price wars with their competitor across the street.

If consumers didn’t care about what products they choose, their only shopping criteria would be price and availability. And yet some are willing to drive long distances to buy their favorite brand.

And finally differentiation generates loyalty, which is the key ingredient of a strong brand.

Most strategic marketing projects require a thorough competitive landscape analysis.

If you have been involved in the development of a new brand positioning, re-positioning an existing brand, creation of the yearly marketing plan or multi-year strategic plans, then you probably used one as a backup for your recommendations.

In the not so distant past competitive research was only accessible to big companies that could afford to commission in-depth research studies.

The only tools smaller companies had at their disposal were personal observations, past experiences, and a lot of assumptions.

Today’s technology makes competition analysis faster and cost effective. Even companies with smaller research budgets have many great options, both online and offline.

Here are some strategies I personally use and recommend:

Study Your Competitors’ Websites

This is a good starting point in case you already know who your competitors are. The quality of information and overall look and feel of a company’s marketing materials offer valuable insight into its ability to compete.

A modern looking website featuring fresh content tells me that the competitor is active and serious about marketing its business. Outdated or poorly designed marketing materials signals a competitor that lacks the marketing resources to keep up.

A section of the website I pay particular attention to is the About Us page. The information in this section serves as a good resource for identifying your competitors’ positioning and differentiation strategy.

Subscribe to Competitors’ Mailing Lists

While on their website, make sure you subscribe to the e-mail distribution list (if you are allowed to). This is a great way to stay updated on their latest new product introductions, promotions, contest and other information they might share.

Some companies that sell through independent distribution make the registration process very difficult, if not impossible (some require that you have an active account set-up with the company).

If you can’t become an email subscriber try the next strategy.

Follow Your Competition on Social Media 

A competitor’s social media channels offers valuable insight on how that brand engages with the target audience, who are probably your customers too.

If they run surveys to better understand their target audience, you can probably use the results for your own benefit. You will also be notified on the latest channel specific promotions as well as new product introductions.

I personally use the free version of HootSuite to track my competitors’ social media activity. I particularly like the “Mentions” feature that works like Google Alerts for social media.

For more details on how to use HootSuite as a marketing tool, this article is a great resource.

Perform Internet Searches

This is an obvious one, but nevertheless a great way to identify established and new competitors. Search for popular keywords related to your industry, and study the names that come up.

I suggest you pay particular attention to the paid ads that appear as a result of your search. These ads tend to uncover new competitors that use paid advertising to generate awareness, since their organic search rankings are not very high.

I would like to share with you two of my favorite search tools. The first one is boardreader.com, a forum search engine. The second, addictomatic.com, is a search engine that provides results from multiple customizable sources such as blogs, search engines, and social media sites.

Set-Up Google Alerts

This is one tool I use the most to learn about a new industry or product category. Google Alerts are really easy to set up and the results are generated instantaneously.

Make sure you set up alerts for both industry keywords as well as your competitors’ names. You should also use this free tool to discover what people are saying about your brand on forums, blogs, and other media channels.

So make sure you add your brand name to the keyword list.

If you want to learn more about setting up Google Alerts, check out this article.

Use Online Surveys

Online surveys have become one of my favorite research tools. They are affordable and easy to set-up and manage.

Two of the most popular online survey providers are Survey Monkey and Fluid Surveys. I personally use Fluid Surveys, for the simple fact they are a Canadian company.

Google also has product that allows brands to conduct online surveys, named Google Consumer Surveys.

These online platforms can even provide you with the survey audience based on your predefined criteria. This is a great feature in case you want to conduct a broader research and are looking for a highly targeted respondent database.

Buy Competitive Products

A great way to learn about your competition is to go beyond the passive analysis and get your hands on their products.

This strategy involves going through the full sales cycle and really put yourself in their customers’ shoes. You will learn first hand about the pros and cons of dealing with the company. Once you obtain competitive products perform usability studies to identify how you can improve your own offering.

This strategy is less applicable when you’re dealing with a custom made product, or a long and complex sale process.

Ask Your Sales Force

Your Sales team is at the forefront of your company’s relationship with customers, and a great source of competitive information. So asking them about the latest hot topics in the industry, new competitive products, and the latest rumors is a good idea.

That being said make sure you take their comments with a grain of salt: in my experience they always tend to glorify their competition and downplay the internal efforts to improve your competitiveness.

Talk To Your Distribution Partners

We Marketers are often blamed for spending too much time in the office, and developing strategies behind closed doors, disconnected from the real world.

Prove you critics wrong and visit your independent distributors. Depending on your relationship with them they will be happy to share with you their business challenges, and how your company performs versus competition.

I have the same advice here: make sure you filter and verify the information you are getting from your independent distributors. Based on my experience, the truth is always in the middle.

Attend Trade Shows

Although many companies have cut back on attending or exhibiting at trade shows, these industry events represent a great research tool.  The main benefit is that you will probably find the best your competitors have to offer in one place. That means getting a first-hand look at their new products, packaging, displays and other marketing materials.

Although not as cost effective as the online tools listed above attending trade shows can help tremendously in your competitive landscape analysis.

This is in a nutshell the list of tools I use to get a good understanding of the competitive landscape. I am sure there are many more great ones that  are worth investigating.

Feel free to suggest your favorites in the Comments section below.

The first article in this series listed the unique ingredients of the true luxury brand: selective ownership, timeless design, a unique brand story and of course, a high price tag.

It’s now time to address a fundamental brand management question: can traditional marketing principles be transferred to the luxury market? Can a luxury brand be managed using the same set of strategies and tactics as an ordinary, or even premium one?

Most of us responsible for brand management in the consumer goods industry are familiar with the classic marketing strategy: a unique and differentiated brand positioning, and a strategy that aims to steal market share from competition.

Do the same principles apply to luxury brands? The simple answer is no. Actually, managing a luxury brand requires taking brand management into the opposite direction.

Let’s take a look at some classic brand management concepts and how they apply to the luxury brand.

Branding

Building a strong brand is important in any category, including premium products. In the luxury world, a strong brand is more than important, it is vital.

A consumer who shops for a car starts with identifying the functional and emotional needs: fuel efficiency, seating capacity (2, 5, 7 seaters), design (SUV, sedan, wagon), fun to drive (Subaru vs Hyundai). Once these criteria are established the options are narrowed down to a few brands: Toyota, Honda, Ford…etc. Needs first, brand second.

In the luxury market the brand always comes first. The luxury shopper wants a Ferrari, not a 2 seat vehicle that makes a lot of noise. The luxury brand translates the essence of the product, the heritage, the history, into one’s desire to own it.

Positioning

Brand positioning is a fundamental concept in consumer brand management. A brand should choose a relevant way to be identified and differentiated in the consumer mind, vis-a-vis its competitors. Consumers use comparative methods  to select a product, based on functional and emotional perceptions the brand managed to create in their minds.

The concept of brand positioning in not applicable to the luxury market. As I mentioned earlier, the purchase decision is “superlative”, not “comparative”. Luxury shoppers choose the brand that best reflects who they are, and how they want to be perceived by society. Each luxury brand brings a unique character, an identity that cannot be replicated or compared.

Comparing two luxury brand is like comparing the work of two musicians. Who is a better composer, Mozart or Beethoven? The comparison doesn’t make sense-both artists offered the world great masterpieces.

Product

Classic marketing books teach us that mass production helps companies achieve economies of scale. Brand managers are responsible for identifying relevant consumer needs and trends. Once these needs are identified the company designs and markets a product with those features that could be standardized and mass produced.

In the luxury world, product development is an inside-out process. The product is the unique reflection of the creator’s skills, his/her personality  and not the result of consumer feedback. Consumers then will be educated on its characteristics, unique history and merits.

Luxury brands are never mass produced. Rather, many associate luxury to hand made, uniquely personalized to individual taste.

Distribution

In the consumer goods industry, the goal of the distribution strategy is to get the product into the hands of as many people as possible. Availability is key as consumers are not willing to go out of their way to purchase it.

Purchasing luxury is part of the journey, the experience, the initiation into its cult. A brand that can be seen, touch, experienced (even if only for a limited time, inside the store) looses its luxury status. A brand that is available at every pillar and post is not a luxury brand.

Luxury brands enjoy very selective distribution, usually through the company-owned stores. This channels allows for the brand message to be controlled and communicated properly. The role of distributors is . The preferred method of distribution is company-owned stores, where the message can be properly controlled. This allow the sales person to focus on only one thing: to educate the potential buyers on the privileges that come with owning the brand, and turn them into members of the selective brand club.

Price

The classic pricing strategy in consumer brand management is launching a product at the high enough price to take advantage of its novelty. Once the segment becomes more competitive brand managers often use price incentives to maintain or increase the demand.

Price acts only as a selection tool in the luxury world.

According to Kapferer, “A luxury brand must always be seen to be restoring the gap, re-stratifying, and as such it is acting as a visible agent of meritocracy”.

The higher the price, the better the perceived value. This is very much true in the emerging countries. In China for example, rich clientele see the high prices and a protective barrier from the rest of the society.

Advertising

Ordinary brands are advertised using a mix of rational and emotional messages that entice clients to consider it. The rational/emotional ratio changes as the brand becomes stronger, in favor of the latter. However, there is always a rational reason to justify a purchase, even with the premium brands: people buy emotionally and justify rationally.

Product functionality is rarely advertised in the world of luxury. Exceptional product quality is a given, even if this is not always true. Many luxury products have flaws. Luxury watches are known to be less accurate at keeping time than ordinary ones. A Ferrari has its fair share of reliability issues.

Graphically, a luxury brand ad makes almost exclusive use of suggestive imagery. The copy is kept to one or two words, if present at all.

Luxury brand management requires going against the classical marketing principles. Many companies that have acquired luxury brands failed to market them successively for this only reason: failing to adapt their strategy to the luxury market.

Ford’s management of the Jaguar and land Rover brands are good examples of applying classic principles to the luxury brand. Both brands ended up being sold at a loss to Tata Motor of India.

Today I am starting a series of articles on marketing a luxury brand.

It’s sometimes hard to believe there are brands for which the words “Sale” or “Limited Time Offer” are not part of the vocabulary. In fact, the higher price tag only adds to the myths these brand managed to create over time.

I am referring of course about luxury brands.

The word “luxury” is used very loosely these days. We’all seen ads promoting a product as “an affordable luxury”, “your everyday luxury”, and so on.

This article will try to define the true luxury brand. What are the characteristics that make it “luxury”? Are expensive products automatically “luxury” products?

Marketing a luxury brand is not (only) about setting a price that makes it beyond the reach of most people. Here are some key ingredients, common to brands in the luxury market:

Desired by Many, Owned by Very Few

Luxury products are valued possessions of the selected few.

The CEO of Porsche once said “When I see two Porsche on the same street I begin to worry.”

Being exclusive does not mean targeting only the narrow customer base that can afford to own the brand. Marketing a luxury brand requires attracting brand enthusiasts that will never afford it, but are very passionate about it.

Exclusivity requires instant recognition.

Luxury brands have to make their story widely known. Their logos act as badges that establish social hierarchies and speak to the owner’s taste in the eyes of ordinary people.

In order to create the social distinction, the brand has to be known and appreciated by everybody, and owned only by few.

Timeless Masterpieces

Luxury brands evolve with the modern times, rather that drastically change. The “secret recipe”, distinctive design, and all symbolism associated with luxury brands transcend time, rather than follow the modern day trends.

Every BMW model, no matter the production year, has a specific, distinctive and consistent look. Not the same can be said about Lexus, a brand that chances the design of its vehicles every few years. This is one reason why Lexus is a premium, not a luxury brand.

The timeless character is what brings value to the luxury brand, and assures the owner that his possession will always be relevant. That also explains the high resale value of luxury products.

It’s All About Emotions

According to Jean-Noel Kapferer, the author of the excellent book “The Luxury Strategy”, brand positioning concept does not apply to luxury brands:

“When it comes to luxury, being unique is what counts, not any comparison with a competitor. Luxury is the expression of a taste, of a creative identity, of the intrinsic passion of the creator; luxury makes the bold statement “this is what I am” not “that depends”-which is what positioning implies.”

There is nothing rational in the desire to own a luxury brand. In the rational, consumer goods market, immediate availability is key. When it comes to luxury, having to wait two years to have your Ferrari built only adds to the excitement of owning one.

A brand that uses rational arguments to build loyalty is not competing in the luxury segment. That’s what separates luxury from ordinary: high price tags, scarce availability, acknowledged design flaws,and other things that are red flags in any rational purchase decision.

In the world of luxury, these are ingredients that contribute the creation of exclusivity.

A Unique, Almost Mythical Brand Story

Luxury brands were built on a compelling story that cannot be reproduced or replicate. Often, it all started with the owner’s distinctive personality and skills.

Brands such as Porsche, Ferrari or Mercedes-Benz were built on the mechanical ingenuity of their founders. Rolls-Royce is a brand strongly associated with the royals.

This is the story of the famous Dom Pérignon champagne, as presented on their website:

“Dom Pérignon is a vibrant, living, perpetually renewed homage that evokes Dom Pierre Pérignon, the spiritual father of champagne”.

Price Greatly Exceeds the Functional Value of the Product

What functional attributes can justify the $400,000 USD price tag on the Richard Mille watch?

Price in the luxury market acts as a selection tool, that separate brand enthusiasts from the small group of owners. Its role is not to justify the functional features of the brands-another distinction between luxury and premium brands.

Premium brands provide the extra features that explains the price premium to be paid for it. In the luxury world, the higher the price tag, the more exclusive and valued the brand becomes.

Most of us know the Ferrari brand from the Formula 1 races that these cars are involved in. We love the brand for its unique, distinctive design, heritage, achievements, and technical performance. We all have the desire to own one in the future. There is only one obstacle that stands in our way: the high price tag.

The word “sale” is not part of the communication vocabulary of a luxury brand. Lowering the price will cheapen the luxury brand, bringing it from the stratosphere down to earth.

Highly Personalized Accompanying Services

In the luxury world, each member of the selective owners club benefits from royal services. A highly personalized product and service is a key ingredient that makes the client feel special and contributes to the hedonistic pleasure owning a luxury item generates.

Kapferer introduces the concept of community recognition management, the equivalent of customer relationship management in the luxury world: recognizing and honoring the community of believers, the followers.

“…at Ferrari the community of 38,000 owners of old Ferraris are honoured and cajoled. They are encouraged to send their jewel for an in-depth maintenance check, at the holy of holies, at Maranello.”

Next article in this series will address why the luxury brand strategy does not follow the traditional brand management model.

Image Source: National Library NZ on Flickr

Our job as Marketers is to build strong brands. That is, create preference and (ideally) loyalty for our product or service in an increasingly competitive and noisy environment.

In this article I want to share with you my favorite brand building tools.

There is no standard recipe for successful brand building. Your “best strategy” depends on your product, target market, budget and industry.

But before we begin you want to go back to the basics and make sure the fundamentals of brand building are covered.

How to Build a Brand: The Fundamentals

These are the components of the marketing mix that allows your brand to exist in the first place: a great product, a unique brand positioning, competitive pricing (in line with your positioning), and established distribution.

Sometimes we tend to focus to much on communication, without providing a fresh answer to these fundamental questions:

Is my offering still relevant and beneficial to my target audience?

Do I provide my customers with a clear reason to choose my brand over competition?

Does the existing distribution channel allow my brand to be experienced by the end user?

Is my pricing strategy positively contributing to creating the desired perceptions about my brand?

If you answered “Yes” to all the questions above continue reading. Below are my favorite three strategies to build a brand with the modern consumer:

Create Useful Content

While advertising is still a useful tool to generate brand awareness and interest for your offering, consistent and meaningful content is a great way to build your brand reputation and generate consumer loyalty.

People are more adverse to advertising than ever. And with less time to spend on making informed purchase decisions consumers are increasingly relying on advice from friends, relatives and opinion leaders.

Some of the big brands are applying this strategy very successfully.

American Express  launched Open Forum, a portal that provides business advice for small business owners. The topics range from Financing to Sales and Marketing.

Another great example is set by P & G, the consumer packaged giant. Their website Home Made Simple offer practical advice with a variety of home maintenance and decor articles.

The goal of your content marketing strategy is to inform and educate your target audience, as objectively as possible. and establish your brand’s reputation in the category. Don’t use blogs and other content distribution platforms into an advertising medium for your products. You will run the risk of loosing your audience quickly.

Like in real life, gaining trust and building a positive reputation takes time and constant dedication. But in the end, it’s worth the effort.

Build a Socially-Responsible Brand

More and more corporations are embracing socio-responsibility as a method of getting closer to the consumer. And consumers tend to respond favorably, as per this study by A.C. Nielsen.

It’s not difficult or expensive to embrace and project your brand’s social dedication. There are great causes that are worth supporting, such as protecting the environment, giving back to the community, sourcing sustainable products, or treating employees fairly.

Just pick the one your target audience is passionate about and develop initiatives to support it.

Start a Loyalty Program

Customer retention is one of the biggest challenge companies face today. It has been proven that It’s cheaper, safer and easier to keep an existing customer than to win a new one.

How to build a brand that consumers love and are loyal to? By designing and implementing your brand’s loyalty program. Such a program should be designed to encourage repeat and increased purchases, which will lead to consumers being brand loyal.

Loyalty programs are also great tool to build long term relationships with your suppliers, distributors and your own employees.

An effective customer retention program can have a huge positive impact on your company’s bottom line. It also gives marketers the possibility to influence their customers’ buying habits to benefit the brand.

I am very interested in hearing about your advice on how to build a brand. Please share your expertise in the comments section below.

It is that time of the year again when I provide the list of my favorite blogs related, in one way or another, to Brand Management.

Brand Management has become a very complex task, with an explosion of tools available to build a brand.

A successful Brand Manager has to have minimal exposure to various disciplines related to brand building: graphic design, online and offline conversion techniques, copywriting, to name a few.

Deciding What Blog to Subscribe To

Unlike many other websites that rank blogs based on posting frequency and social media “influence”, I use a different approach: what matters to me is quality, well-documented, authentic and  ”evergreen” content.

What do I consider evergreen content? A piece of information that provides a comprehensive analysis of a specific topic, that is relevant today, next month, and for years to come.

My Favorite Blogs for 2012

This year’s list of my favorite blogs is varies slightly from the one I prepared in 2011. Here it is (in random order):

Competitive Advantage Marketing. A new addition to the 2012 list, this blog offers down-to-earth, practical strategic advice for B2B and B2C marketers. Dr. Emily R. Coleman, the publisher of this blog, has over 20 years of hands-on experience in Marketing, with clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurial enterprises. I particularly enjoy her articles that look at the challenges and rewards of the Marketing profession, which in most cases I identify with. A very interesting read.

Brand Strategy Insider. BSI continues to be one of my favorite marketing strategy blogs, years since I first discovered it. I am sure many of you marketers are very familiar with this blog so I won’t spend to much time presenting it. In 2012 Derrik, Brad and their partners did a great job at addressing marketing strategy and branding issues in their articles. Keep up the good work guys!

Conversion XL. One of the biggest challenges in marketing is converting prospects into customers. When it comes to conversion advice, there is no better source of information than Peep Laja’s blog, Conversion XL . I find his articles incredibly useful and the only ones I need to read on that specific topic. According to Peep the three things that set his blog apart  are: well-researched and highly actionable content, noise reduction, and writing for smart people. He certainly delivers on all three promises.

Iancul.com. Graphic design turns marketing strategy into conversations with the consumer. Iancu is a graphic designer based in London, UK, with a passion for what he does best: brand identity design. His blog posts provide a sneak peek into the complexity of this profession. It also allows us marketers to really appreciate the benefits that great design brings to any business. Take a look at his portfolio and you’ll understand what I am talking about.

Copyblogger. It has been said that meaningful and fresh content is the new branding. When I think content marketing I think Copyblogger. I use their advice to improve the quality of the articles I post here, as well as in other copywriting projects for the brands I manage. Their products, such as the Genesis framework supported by stunningly designed themes, are top notch as well.

These are my favorite blogs of 2012 in a nutshell.

Now it’s your turn. What is your favorite blog? Feel free to list it in the Comments section below.

Today’s post explores various positioning strategies a brand can use to differentiate from competition.

Each positioning exercise is unique, and is influenced by competition, internal strengths and weaknesses and long term strategic objectives.

3 Ingredients of an Effective Positioning Strategy

Brand positioning is much more than a name, a slogan and a logo. Positioning takes place in the mind of the consumer.

The outcome of an effective differentiation strategy is a simple and unique message that is easy to communicate and reinforce over time.

The  key ingredients of an effective, and long lasting positioning strategy are:

• Relevance-the benefit you are promoting has to be meaningful to the consumer. Always think as a consumer, not as a brand manager, and ask yourself: “Is this benefit really important? Is it something I  am willing to pay for?”
• Sustainability-the competitive advantage has to be reinforced over time, in order to be remembered. It is important to identify as many supporting elements as possible on which to build your communication strategies. For example, a company that position itself on “trust” might use “peace of mind”, “risk elimination”, “personal relationship , “easy to reach” as supporting elements.
• Easy to communicate and understand. Albert Einstein said “If you can’t explain it to a 6 year old, you don’t understand it yourself“. The attention span of today’s consumer is shrinking.  Any competitive advantage that takes to much effort to explain and communicate is not worth pursuing. Use simple words, in plain language, to explain quickly why your offer is better.

Positioning Strategies To Effectively Differentiate Your Brand

The Innovator

 Possibly the most effective of all positioning strategies, differentiation through innovation is also the most difficult to sustain over time. But if you do, this strategy will allow you to radically change the game in an established category, or be the first in a new category.

Realistically, we live in a “me-too” world, with only a few companies are able to generate consistent innovation.

How do you support a positioning as an “innovator”? By always staying ahead of the curve and being the first to introduce an innovative product in your category.

It also requires to be able to respond to competitive moves quickly. Giants such as Microsoft, RIM, Sony and Nokia, once perceived as innovators in their markets, are currently struggling to define their competitive advantage, for this exact reason: the decision to ignore the obvious and the inability to catch up.

The “Motivator”

Johnnie Walker is my favorite brand of scotch whisky.

Does their product taste better than Ballantine’s and Grant’s? I have no clue. My preference is solely based on their amazing slogan “Keep Walking”. It summarizes one of my life goals: personal progress.

Positioning of people’s social and life motivators is one of the most solid differentiation strategy a brand can pursue.

The need to be recognized. The desire to be successful. The urge to make progress.

The focus with this positioning strategy is shifted from basic product features to the intangibles, which are impossible to compare or quantify. As a result, price becomes a non-issue.

Premium brands make good use of positioning on “emotions”, reinforced by supporting attributes such as a heritage, unique or custom made products, and superior design.

The Specialist

Xerox has become synonym with copying. When we search for information on the web, we “Google” it.

Successful brands are focused, that is, they own a narrow but strong positioning in the mind of consumer. The same rule applies to companies: the specialists are able to better allocate resources and provide a total customer experience in their respective niche.

There are many ways to specialize: create a narrow, but deep, product assortment; target a specific user group (Klein tools are number 1 tool choice for electricians); Offer a unique and simplified distribution system (Amazon is the original online store).

This positioning strategy is very effective weapon against large, multinational competitors, Usually they position themselves as “the one stop solutions” to all customer needs. The task of a specialist brand is to find identify their weaknesses and turn them into your competitive advantage.

The Money Saver

This is the most commonly used of all positioning strategies. Although the consumer benefit is undeniable (we all want to save money) it’s usually best to avoid positioning as “the lowest priced” brand. However there are a few success stories, Walmart being probably the best example.

The positioning strategy is difficult to support over time. In today’s global economy, there will always be a competitor willing to sell for less.

Bottom Line: Meet and Exceed the Promise.

At the core of every business there is a great product. Don’t think of only physical products, but services as well.

No matter what strategy you choose to position you company, the key to success is to deliver on that promise.

Ford’s slogan “Quality is Job 1″ sent a powerful message. However it has rapidly become meaningless as customer experience with their vehicles suggested otherwise.

So before you explore positioning strategies make sure your offer will not disappoint.

For more on how to differentiate a brand visit the “Brand Positioning” resource page.

Earlier this year both USA and Canada have been the subject of brand repositioning initiatives.

The Canadian re-branding initiative was designed and implemented by Bruce Mau Design at the request of the radio program Studio 360.

Brand USA has launched the Discover America campaign with the goal of “promoting increased international travel to the United States“.

I am going to use these two campaigns to illustrate some principles of a successful brand repositioning. I think the two examples show the dos and don’ts of a well thought re-branding exercise.

Reasons to Reposition a Brand

Brands need to evolve, adapt and sometimes radically change. Repositing is a very tricky and sensitive exercise. It involves tweaking or radically changing an existing perception in people’s mind, which is not an easy task.

Some of the common reasons for rebranding are:

• Consumers have no defined perceptions about the brand
• A competitive brand is promoting a superior value proposition
• The core market the brand is targeting is slowly (or rapidly) diminishing
• Brand is not appealing to future generations of consumers
• The company introduced another brand that makes the existing brand’s positioning irrelevant
• The company suddenly owns an internal competitive advantage that needs to be incorporated into the new strategy

Brand Repositioning Starts With a Meaningful Goal

Whatever the reason for brand repositioning the goal of the exercise has to be meaningful, realistic and implementable.

According to BMD President and CEO Hunter Tura “Canada didn’t need to be rebranded or redesigned. America needed to be educated. And that is the basis for our campaign: Know Canada.”

Brand USA’s main goal is to “to spearhead the nation’s first global marketing effort to promote the United States as a premier travel destination“.

Which of the two goals seem more realistic? “Educating” the Americans? Or changing United States’ perception in the world, from a war-focused nation to a country that values diversity and is worth visiting (so true).

The American campaign seems to be have a more meaningful and realistic goal.

When starting a repositioning exercise, it’s easier to:

Inform rather than educate.

Elevate an existing perception rather than radically change it.

Become more specialized rather than generic.

Build on Current Perceptions, Rather Than Changing Them

The temptation is to always communicate everything your brand has to offer. There is only one problem: people have selective memory, and tend to attach only one “label” to a brand.

Google is “search”. Fedex is “overnight delivery”, Volvo is “safety”.

The more elements you are trying to communicate the less people remember you.

Let’s look at the strategy behind the Canadian brand repositioning initiative:

First step in creating the campaign was to ditch some of the most recognizable symbols — hockey, the maple leaf, Mounties — which were outdated, says BMD President and CEO Hunter Tura.

According to BMD the new “labels” Canada should be known for are: “Arcade Fire, Charging for plastic bags, Legalizing Gay Marriage, Blackberry, Bike Culture, Recycling/Composting, Occupy, Ryan Gosling, CBC, Immigration Laws, Margaret Atwood, Drake,Wayne Gretzky”… and the list goes on (see BMD’s presentation for full details).

Wow! Lots of labels to be attached to one brand.

Something doesn’t make sense.

Why would you get rid of the maple leaf, one of the most recognizable Canadian symbols?

In contrast, the American campaign’s goal is to generate curiosity, interest and desire to visit the country: “Discover this land like never before”. It builds on perceptions that exist already, that in America you can fulfill your dreams better than anywhere else in the world.

The song “Land of Dreams” is the perfect communication tool to drive the message into the head of the potential visitors:

Catchy and inspiring.

Conclusions

Any brand repositioning endeavor has to be approached carefully.

Generally speaking, the older and established the brand, the harder it will be to reposition. I am not saying it can’t be done, it’s just that the company needs to be prepared to invest a lot more resources in research and communication.

In regards to the two rebranding campaigns, it’s proven again that Americans are the best marketers in the world.

Your Turn

What do you think about the two campaigns? Which one do you think does a better job at repositioning a country? I look forward to your comments and opinions.

More Resources

Check out the brand positioning tutorials page for more articles on how to build strong and differentiated brands.