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

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Citation:

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

Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2019

Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community

Jill Avery

Glossier’s proclaimed strategy was “born from content, fueled by community”. The digital-first, direct-to-consumer beauty brand had experienced rapid growth, with sales up 600% in 2017 and a customer portfolio that grew by threefold. But, its founder, Emily Weiss, was not complacent. Instead, she dreamed of creating the world’s first socially-driven brand that inserted its community into the buying experience so that the company was merchandising people, their opinions, and their content, just as much as they were merchandising products. As her team debates marketing strategies for 2018, they recognize the opportunities and challenges associated with managing Glossier’s rapidly scaling brand community. While the community’s support had emerged organically in the past, the team was now debating whether the company’s next phase of growth would need to be fueled by a greater emphasis on paid peer-to-peer sales representatives, professional influencer marketing, paid media, and a physical market presence.

Keywords: Brands; brand management; brand communication; retailing; e-commerce; DTC; influencer; digital marketing; social media; Startup; internet marketing; big data; crowdsourcing; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Consumer Behavior; Distribution; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Retail Industry; United States; North America;

Citation:

Avery, Jill. "Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community." Harvard Business School Case 519-022, January 2019. View Details

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Marketing Reading: Brand Positioning

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