Brand Positioning Development: What, How, and Why

Positioning is an essential and irreplaceable semantic attribute for each brand. And brand positioning development is no less responsible and thorough process. 

But before defining the requirements, elements, and positioning development process, it is worth answering the most significant question: What is it?

Positioning is the essence of one sentence, which reflects the core value and position of the company to convey this information to the consumer. Positioning reflects what makes the brand special in the eyes of the target audience.

An image in the mind and place in the heart.

Why does my brand need positioning?

Since brand positioning is directly related to the perception of the company’s product or service by the consumer, it is important to convey the essence of the brand to the target audience through competent meanings. Positioning is the very essence, which is why it is so vital to work it out well to create the right image in the eyes of the consumer.

Moreover, all further brand elements and communication are based on positioning. Therefore, it is essential that it is strong, reflects the brand, and conveys the main essence.

And in general, positioning:

  • enhances brand image and strengthens strengths;
  • awakens emotions in the audience;
  • helps to distinguish the brand from competitors.

What is the “recipe” for good positioning?

For positioning to meet the main objectives and goals of the brand, it is worth considering a few simple but essential rules:

  • positioning should be short, and capacious, but sharp;
  • It should reveal the essence of the brand;
  • positioning should contain an emotional component.
And the most important thing!

Brand positioning development should respond not only to the consumer but also to YOU.

How is the brand positioning development built?

First of all, it is important to note that this is a creative process that requires the involvement and collaboration of both the client and the agency. In general, the whole fascinating process of positioning development can be divided into several stages:

1. Diving

At this stage, the team gets acquainted with the brand’s product or service, studies the main points, and understands the field.

2. Research

To get that positioning statement, it is vital to immerse yourself not only in the brand itself but also to study the external environment of the brand well. At this stage, it is important to research competitors, and target audience, look at the industry as a whole, and find out trends in the market. This is important for understanding the big picture, as well as determining the right niche in which the brand will be positioned.

We use both desk research and, if necessary, conduct in-depth interviews or audience surveys — depending on the brand situation!

3. Strategic session

This is the most creative and interesting stage at which we, together with brand representatives, find insights or non-obvious conclusions that will help us in strategy and positioning.

The strategic session is an author’s workshop where you will have to complete several tasks that are aimed at a deeper understanding of the brand itself and its character, the target audience, and their motives.

At the strategic session, during the period of our work, we can use the following techniques:

  • definition of the brand archetype;
  • Euler circles for determining the brand’s USP;
  • empathy map;
  • brand reflection techniques.

4. Creating positioning hypotheses and testing them

After all the necessary information about the brand and the environment has been collected and analyzed, we begin to create positioning hypotheses based on the directions we have determined based on the strategic session. Hypotheses are presented to the client and tested, after which the closest “in spirit” direction is chosen.

Several tools allow us to deduce the hypothesis of brand positioning:

  • competitive positioning;
  • 3Cs method (company, customers, competitors);
  • Jobs-to-be-done method;
  • the strategy of the «blue» ocean.
  • combining brand insight and audience insight;

5. Voila! Final positioning

After testing and screening out hypotheses, we choose the direction in which the brand wants to position itself, in which case, we slightly adjust the positioning statement. And now, the finished positioning is right in front of us!

Brand positioning examples

To show in more detail what positioning is in practice, let’s look at some examples of positioning from the agency’s work.

Compass for navigating the future

This positioning is based on brand insight and audience insight. The insight of the audience was that companies did not know how to transform data volumes for their solutions, while the insight of the Zytlyn brand was that they help brands find this way, strain them. This positioning is good because, thanks to its clear and vivid image, it creates an association of the brand with its insight – with what it directs like a compass.

Beyond Banking, within Transaction

Positioning is strong because it precisely reveals the USP of a rather complex product while showing benefits for the target audience: the beyond-within play on words suggests that the consumer is going beyond the scope of his industry, benefiting from the product.

There are also several examples of the positioning of world-famous brands for greater understanding.

Corona: The beer that is all about kicking back, enjoying life, and pushing the pause button.

There is also an abbreviated version about the “pause button”, but the good thing here is that they went directly through JTBD – the audience’s problem is that they are always in a hurry somewhere, in a routine, and do not see the joy of life. The crown seems to say that their product solves this problem by putting everything “on pause” and allowing enjoying the moment.

Burger King: The insolent child of the quick service restaurant industry.

This positioning is good because the phrase “insolent child” immediately reveals the character and image of the brand, while highlighting it in the industry: that they are restless, impudent, and mischievous, and at the same time, like children, they directly refer to their audience.

Crocs: the most delightfully comfortable shoes in the world.

This is just one of the examples of the blue ocean strategy when the brand found a new niche in the footwear category and used it. Galoshes and similar shoes were traditionally considered shoes for rural residents, Crocs managed to create a similar product for urban residents, including people with affluence, and at the same time forming a blue ocean. And they declare that wearing shoes is about comfort and making you feel like yourself.

Conclusion

Something like that! In general, positioning and its development is an important and serious process that will determine the vector of development of your brand and how it will look in the eyes of the audience. 

If you have any questions about the development of positioning — contact our specialist and get a detailed consultation!

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