Marketing Reading

Jill  Avery; Sunil  Gupta

Other Teaching and Training Material | 2014

Marketing Reading: Brand Positioning

Abstract

This Reading addresses the principles of brand positioning and demonstrates how companies can strategically craft powerful, resonant, and unique brand positions to help products stand out amidst the cacophony of the marketplace. Strategic brand positioning provides consumers with the answer to the all-important question, "Why should I buy?" The Reading discusses how to craft a brand's value proposition for competitive advantage, through analysis and synthesis of consumer, company, and competitive factors. It highlights the types of brand positions that companies can stake out in the minds of consumers, providing insight into the many creative ways brands can be differentiated from one another. It provides guidance for defending a market position through illumination of the competitive dynamics of brand positioning. Finally, it presents the challenges associated with repositioning brands and the tension that exists between maintaining consistency in a brand's meaning and adjusting to changing consumer preferences.

Keywords: brand positioning; branding; consumer research; defensive strategies; market positioning; marketing; product differentiation; Product positioning; strategic positioning; value proposition; Customer Relationship Management; Organizational Structure; Customer Satisfaction; Brands and Branding;

Language: English

Format: Print

Purchase

Citation:

Avery, Jill, and Sunil Gupta. "Marketing Reading: Brand Positioning." Core Curriculum Readings Series. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing 8197, 2014.

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On October 7, 2019, the Shiseido Group announced that it would acquire clean skincare brand Drunk Elephant for $845 million, a valuation of 8.5 times sales. Did Shiseido pay too much or too little for this brand asset? How much was the Drunk Elephant brand worth and how could it be valued? Every acquisition had to be measured against the cost of developing and building a look-a-like brand internally. Would Drunk Elephant prove to be an integral part of Shiseido’s future success and what would it take to unlock its full brand value? What kinds of further investments would Shiseido need to make to realize the new brand’s potential? How would the brand fit into the company’s existing brand portfolio of 42 brands?

Faculty & Research

Marketing Reading: Brand Positioning

Abstract

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