2. BRAND POSITIONING
Why do we need brand positioning?
What is brand positioning?
An organized system for finding a window in the mind of the
consumers and sweetly occupying their belief.
1. Consumer’s brain is very LAZY
Consumers don’t want to try their best to absorb all things we say
→ What is the core message of our product which is different
from others?
If other products can penetrate in consumer’s brain, they will
exist steadily. → How can we replace these stable positions by
our product?
2. How brand can exist and develop in long-term and under
competitive pressure from other brands
Follow 4 rules:
- Direction
- Focus
- Consistency
- Inspiration
And must be effectively delivered across
the 6P formula, including: Product, Price,
Place, Promotion, Packaging,
Proposition.
How is great brand
positioning?

3. To Whom
- Who is your core
target?
- What is the
appropriate
insight?
Provide What Need
- Key things to look into:
consumer insight, product
features, rational/functional
benefit, emotional benefit.
- Challenge yourself to find a
point of difference where you
can with against your
competition
Reasons To Believe
- Rational truth (attributes &
association) - what the head
says
- Emotional truth (values &
personalities) - what the heart
says
Differentiated By
- The driver of every part of
the organization connected
to the brand
- Key things to look into:
Personalities, products &
services, consumer view,
internal beacon
Brand positioning statement sets up the brand's promise to the consumer, impacting both external
communication as well as internally with employees who deliver that promise.
Difference between brand positioning statement and tagline
Positioning statements, which help marketers make key decisions that affect customer’s perception of the brand,
are for internal use. A tag line is an external statement used in marketing efforts.
BRAND POSITIONING STATEMENT

4. Tagline Brand positioning statement
Brand Provide What Need To Whom
Differentiated
By
Reasons To Believe
Knorr - Thơm
ngon tròn vị
-All-in-one seasoning
product delivers great
taste for the family
meals and saves
cooking time
Female, ABC
Age: 20-35
Live in urban
They have modern
lifestye but respect for
cooking as a way
bonding family
(Tròn vị)
rounded taste
of dishes
the rounded taste of
dishes with 3
premium ingredients
(shinbone, tenderloin
& marrow)
Sunsilk - Cho
tóc mềm
mượt suốt
ngày dài
Functional: Shampoo
keeps hair soft and
smooth till the tips.
Emotional: Every girls
has hair on her side as
she “writes her own
story”.
Modern woman, BCD
Age: 18-40
They are graceful
females with gentle
long hair.
Trully
personalized
and
combinable
range of
expect
solutions
An incredible group
of 7 hair professionals,
and each one brings
their own exclusive
expertise to Sunsilk.
Cafe Việt -
Cà phê mạnh
cho phái
mạnh
Coffee with strong
taste that consider as
the symbol of
masculinity
Male, ABC
Age: 25-45
Live in urban, do the
blue-collar jobs and
highly appreciate the
masculinity
Very strong
taste
Strong recipe from
experts who
researched and
understood deeply
about Vietnamese
coffee taste
EXAMPLES

5. BRAND ESSENCE
The brand essence is the single intangible attribute that differentiates the brand from competitive brands as perceived
by the audience
Brand essence sums up how your brand connects emotionally with your customers
Brand essence is the distillation of the brand into a core idea or a promise
Different definitions of Brand Essence
Brand essence is a single intangible attribute, distillated into a core idea or a promise, perceived by consumers that
differentiates the brand from competitive brands
Brand essence often lies at the center of many brand models and is seen as the heart of a brand. It plays the main
part in guiding your strategies and activires to achieve the consitency across large organization and along with
time
1
2
3
Unique
Intangible
Single
-minded
Experiantial
Meaningful
Consistantl
y
Delivered
Authentic
Sustainable
Scalable
EXAMPLE
Sting – A breakthough way of life
Mountain dew – Drink for
the fearless, the extreme and
those who strive to stand out
What is brand essence?
Why does it matter?
What does a great brand essence look like?

6. Brand key establishes a framework to
achieve a brand’s future desired
positioning and what we want to build
BRAND KEY
Insight
Competitive
environment
Target
Root strengths
Essence
Value: What the
brand stands for
or belives in
Personality:
Characteristics
attributed to the
brand
The problems the
brand can solve to
motivate purchase
This contains both
functional and
emotional benefits
The proof for the
brand’s ability to
deliver the benefits it
promises
This makes it
trustworthy and help
substantiate the
positioning
All of your understandingabout the consumer
needs, wants,desires and purchase drivers
The unique reason
why consumers
must choose one
brand instead of
others, giving it a
competitive edge
The detailed
description of
people who are
willing to purchase
and see your brand
as the first choice
The alternatives or
substitutes to your
brand provided in the
markets by competitors
as seen by your
consumers
The original platform of attributes and values or benefits
that the brand is built on or known for
This is the basic model of brand key
developed by Unilever. Depending
on specific category, brand or
corporation characteristics, the
model can be adjusted. Besides,
there are similar alternative model
like brand pyramid or brand wheel
that serve similar functions.
So it’s not about the model. It’s the
concept that matters!
Key principles of excellent Brand Key:
Focus
Strategic
Intent
SaliencySimplicity
BASEEXTERNALBRANDDNA
Focus
Strategic
Intent
SaliencySimplicity

7. 5 steps to build a brand keyHOW TO BUILD A BRAND KEY
Root Strengths: What is your brand famous for at the moment and in the
future?
Competitive Environment: Describe compertitors in terms of consumer
choice
Target Customers: Focus on attitudes of the key influencer
Consumer Insight: Observe, collect facts and ask questions to dig deeper
Benefits: Develop Emotional benefits on the platform of Functional benefits
Values - Belief – Personalities: Portray your brand in terms of belief and
personalities in details
Reason to believe: Must persuade consumers to buy Rationally And
Emotionally
Discriminators: Tightly linked to root strengths and consumer insights
Brand Essence: Must have substance and real meaning rather than just
catchy straplines
BUSINESS NEED TARGET GROUP
PRODUCT RELEVANCE
TO CONSUMERS
COMPETITIVE
ENVIRONMENT
VALUES
DEVELOPMENT
Decide the the need and the
purpose your business, your
product
Segment and select
one group of
consumers to target
Link the product
benefits to the
consumer needs
Collect information
about market and
competitors in general
Develop further values
based on the available
information
After finishing the above 5 steps, we go into detail about
the elenments of brand key
1. Root Strengths: The first and leading green tea brand - Cool Down
Your Life
2. Competitive Environment: Branded freshing beverages and
unbranded ice-tea
3. Target: Young and modern peole (19-25) have urban lifestyle, but
embrace traditional goodies and love nature
4. Insight: I believe in balancing: taste-health, body-mind is very
important for a good life.
5. Benefits:
Emotional: Healthy balance of body and mind
Functional: Refreshing, natural good taste, healthy
6.Values Personality
Values: Health, Nature, Modern, Convenient
Personalities: Youngful, Modern, Optimistic, Sociable, Outgoing,
Flexible
7.Reason to believe: Made from 100% green tea essence. Green
tea has the cooling, comfortable power.
8. Discriminator: Không Độ Green Tea help you feel balance of your
life.
9. Essence: Life Balancing
EXAMPLE : TRÀ XANH KHÔNG ĐỘ

8. Insight
Competitive
environment
Target
Root strengths
Essence
Healthy
Natural
Delitious
Nutritious
Family
connection
Functional: nutritions
and vitamins for a
good health and
outstanding growth
Emotional: the
platform of health
for family
connection
Millk taken from the
largest community of
well-cinnected and
organized family farms
Sellected happy cows
More than 100 years of
experience
“I’m happy when my family
members are strong and healthy”
The pure milk made
from one single
ingredient
Consumers: Children
under 18 in different
stage of growth
Shopper: Women
from 22-45 care for
the health of family
members
Dirrectly: Vinamilk, TH
True Milk, Dalatmilk, Lovin
Farm, Nutifood,…
Indirectly: Milo,
Nutriboost, Vinasoy, V-
fresh, other beverages,…
Great taste and full of nutritions
Build a health
platform for
family
connection
EXAMPLE
DUTCH LADY

9. EXAMPLE
ROMANO
Root strengths
Romano is a leading brand of personal care products for men with high
awareness and strong emotional attributes such as SUCCESSFUL, SEDUCTIVE
and functional attribute of FINE FRAGRANCE.
Competitive Environment
- Direct competitors: X-men
- Undirect competitors: Clearmen
Target
DEMOGRAPHIC
Male: 22-28 y.o.
ABC class, living in urban area.
Young and single.
He enjoys his life and his work, regardless of employed or self-employed.
PERSONALITY AND LIFESTYLE
Confident, Talented, Liberal-minded, which make him the center of
attraction.
Work and life balance.
Takes well care of his appearance
Insight
As a man, I have big ego so I do not like to be told to ’be somebody’ as I
already thinks I am. I do not live the rule of life because I have my own set of
rules
Benefits
Functional: Uptrend, elegant & long-lasting fragrances within products
Emotional: Brings successful, seductive, elegant image
Discriminator
Brings men confidence, masculinity, seduction, elegance
to live a great life.
Personality
Young , Elegant, Modern, Play at life, Successful (On the
way to success)
RTBs
Fine fragrances from top manufacturers in the world
Italian men was well-known & widely favored for
GALLANT, STYLE, ROMANTIC, MASCULINE (famous football
players: Paolo Madinni , Roberto Baggio…)
Italia reminded people of sophisticated and premium
image (art, culture, HI-END FASHION…)
BRAND ESSENCE
PLAY AT LIFE

10. EXTENDED BRAND KEY / POSITIONING
Extended Brand Key is the brand key that is developed based on the existed brand key due to the extension of the
brand.
Extended Positioning Statement is the new positioning statement developed from the old positioning statement due to
brand extension.
EXAMPLE
YOUNG MARKETERS 2013 VS YOUNG MARKETERS SEASON 3
To
Students, age 18-24, who are studying at
universities in HCMC, who are in need of a
marketing contest that can provide a chance to
check, systematize and improve their marketing
knowledge.
Young
Marketers
is the marketing contest that is exclusive
designed for students with huge investment in
both quality and prizes.
That give
a chance for students to check, systematize and
improve their marketing knowledge.
RTBs
-Top marketers from MNCs throughout Vietnam
attends as judges and trainers
-Training classes for top teams throughout the
contest
To
Students, age 18-24, who are studying at universities in
Vietnam, who are in need of a marketing contest that can
provide a chance to check, systematize and improve their
marketing knowledge as well as can help them to get in
the marketing world.
Young
Marketer
s
is the marketing contest that is exclusive designed for
students with huge investment in both quality, prizes and
training course after contest.
That give
a chance for students to check, systematize and improve
their marketing knowledge as well as offer them a passport
to get in the marketing world.
RTBs
-Top marketers from MNCs throughout Vietnam attends as
judges and trainers
-Training classes for top teams throughout the contest.
-Training course for the winners after the contest.

11. Young Marketers 2013 Young Marketers season 3
Root strengths
A competition held by marketing experts.
-A competition held by marketing experts
-A well-structured marketing contest with huge impact gained from the
past seasons
Competitive
Environment
There are very few marketing contests for students,
especially contests with thorough invest like Young
Marketers.
- There are very few marketing contests with thorough invest and huge
impact like Young Marketers.
Target Students, age 18-24, study at universities in HCMC. - Students, age 18-24, study at universities throughout Vietnam
Insight - “I need a marketing contest that can provide me a
chance to check, systematize and improve my marketing
knowledge as well as connect me to other students who
have the same passion for marketing.”
“I need a marketing contest that not only provide me a chance to check,
systematize and improve my marketing knowledge but also give me a
passport to get in the marketing world.”
Benefits -Functional: Have a chance to systematize the marketing
knowledge / experience real marketing cases / achieve
very clear map in the marketing career path.
-Emotional: Have a chance to overcome the inner barriers
and gain self-confident / Make friends with others students
who have the same passion.
-Functional: Have a chance to systematize the marketing knowledge /
experience real marketing cases / achieve very clear map in the
marketing career path / a passport to get in the marketing world
-Emotional: Have a chance to overcome the inner barriers and gain self-
confident / Make friends with others students who have the same passion /
Obtain very huge pride if qualifying for the Elite Program.
Discriminator
-The marketing contest that is most invested both in the
quality of the judges and the value of the prizes
-The marketing contest that is most invested both in the quality of the
judges and the value of the prizes
-The well-structured marketing training courses for the winners.
Personality - Passion, Young, Bold. - Passion, Young, Bold.
RTBs
-Top marketers from MNCs throughout Vietnam attends as
judges and trainer
-Training classes for top teams throughout the contest
-Top marketers from MNCs throughout Vietnam attends as judges and
trainer
-Training classes for top teams throughout the contest
-Training courses for the winners after the contest.
Brand
Essence
Orientate next marketing generations. Empower next marketing generations.
EXTENDED BRAND KEY

12. Brand love key is the different version of basic brand key, which included Brand purpose as well as
“USLP” – That’s why we also consider it as “Extended” Brand Key.
FOOD FOR THOUGHTS – BRAND LOVE KEY
ROOT STRENGTHS
Specific assets from the past that we want to
leverage for the future
BRAND LOVE TRIANGLE
Deep understanding of the people we want to
serve, their deep rooted tension or desire, brand
POV to cut through human tension & it’s core value.
UNLOCK THE MAGIC
Portray the brand as a human – functional,
emotional, discriminator, personality and the most
important thing : USLP – Sustainable Living Plan.

13. Example - Rexona