Marketing Reading: Brand Positioning

Format:Print
| Language:English

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

Citation

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