This document discusses important factors for effective brand positioning, including establishing a frame of reference, leveraging points of parity, and having compelling points of difference. It defines these concepts and provides examples to illustrate them. A frame of reference signals the goal a brand can achieve, and points of parity demonstrate how a brand meets the minimum requirements within its frame. Strong points of difference that are desirable and deliverable can distinguish a brand, but must consider brand performance, imagery, and consumer insights. Over time, brands may deepen their positioning through laddering up benefits or maintaining a consistent big idea while varying attributes. The key is regularly assessing the frame of reference, points of parity, and points of difference.

1. Three Questions
You Need to
Ask About Your

2. How can a firm develop and
establish an effective
positioning in the market?

3. Important
Factors for brand
positioning
Frame of
Reference
Point-of-Parity
Point-of-
Difference

4. Frame of Reference
Have we established a frame?

5. Signals to consumers the goal they
can expect to achieve by using a
brand.

6. It dictates the type of associations
that will function as point of parity and point
of difference.

7. Brands in same frame of reference
Competitive frame of reference for Safola Oil in same category:
Fortune, Dhara are vegetable oils
Competitive frame of reference in other category:
Ghee, Dalda Ghee (Hydrogenated vegetable oil)
All comes under means-of-frying frame of reference

8. The more innovative
the product, the greater the difficulty of
fitting it into an established frame and
meeting the
frame’s minimum requirements.

9. Example: Motorola’s Envoy
Envoy was a personal digital assistant launched in 1994.
It received messages wirelessly like a pager, but no one viewed it as a pager
because it’s expensive and large.
Envoy lacked sufficient points of parity to belong to any existing category.
Without a clear frame of reference, consumers weren’t sure why

10. Points of
Parity
Are We Leveraging Our Points of Parity?

11. After considering frame of reference, the
points of parity must be met if consumers are
to perceive your product as a legitimate and
credible player
within that frame.

12. Example: Banks
Consumers might not consider a bank truly a “bank” unless it offers
checking and savings plans, safe-deposit boxes, traveller's checks, and
so on.

13. The approach
you use to meet these minimum
requirements for playing the game will
depend on where
your product is in its life cycle.

14. Factors
Frame of
Reference
Points of
Parity
New Brand
Brand
Extension
Established
Brand
Points of
Difference

15. New Brand
There is importance of identifying points of parity
when introducing a new brand.
The brand positioning focusing only on a point of difference leaves out the
important issues,
but it should not forget what business it’s in.

16. Example: Maruti Gypusy
India’s first ever SUV, this brand was launched in 1985, and promoted
as offroader.
It started on a very good note but didn’t last long.
Reason being:
Ambiguous target market and frame of reference
Indians don’t use SUVs only on rough terrains but use it as a proper
car.
Low mileage, high price, improper seating arrangement

17. Brand Extension
It’s easy—and dangerous—to short change points of parity.
The more an extension differs from a base brand, the greater the importance
of focusing on the frame of reference.
Establish point of parities with competitors before stressing its difference.

18. Example: Harpic Toilet cleaner
Harpic has recently introduced its Bathroom cleaning product in Indian market
years after establishing its main product toilet cleaner.
The another innovative product, Harpic flushmatic, which they have positioned
keeping the desire to keep toilet clean after every use in mind.

19. Established Brand
Established brands also need to reassess points of parity from
time to time, because attributes that were once differentiators
can become minimum requirements.
Hold off competitors’ point of difference by creating it competitive
point of parity.

20. Example: Dettol launched hand wash with a particular packaging which was
soon copied by other established brands as Lifebuoy
Hence, it is still trying to work on its packaging and trying to innovate
more on its No-Touch technology

21. A brand can “break even” in an area where competitors are
trying to
break away and then achieve a point of difference in some
other area.

22. Example: American express and Visa
Visa: More convenient, can be used at many places
American express: Prestige associated with card
Both are trying to blunt each other’s advantage.

23. Points of Difference
Are the Points of Difference Compelling?

24. Strong, favourable, unique associations that distinguish a
brand from others in the same frame of reference are
fundamental to successful brand positioning. But it’s
important to avoid a one dimensional
view of differentiation.

25. Important
Factors for brand
positioning
Frame of
Reference
Point-of-Parity
Point-of-
Difference
Brand
performance
association
Brand imagery
association
Consumer
insight
association

26. Brand Performance Association
Relate to the ways in which a product or service attempts to meet customers’
functional needs.
These associations, which are based on intrinsic properties of the brand.
Come into play when brands are assessed on characteristics a buyer can
investigate prior to purchase.

27. Important
Factors for brand
positioning
Frame of
Reference
Point-of-Parity
Point-of-
Difference
Brand
performance
association
Prompting
benefits
Reliability,
Durability and
Serviceability
Effectiveness,
Efficiency and
Empathy
Style and Design Value and price
Brand imagery
association
Consumer
insight
association

28. When product’s concrete qualities and features. In such cases,
brand performance associations may be all you need to
distinguish your product.

29. Brand Imagery Association
Brand imagery is typically established by
depicting who uses the brand and under what circumstances.
Example: Subway represents its point
of difference by using a spokesman who
has lost weight. This device implies that
Subway is
for the average person who wants a simple
way to get in shape.

30. Consumer Insight Association
Consumer insight associations are generally used when a brand’s
performance and imagery don’t differ much from those of the
competition.
Show consumers it has insight into their problems or goals can
then make the case that it is the solution.
Can’t be relied too much on this only as insight into consumer’s
goals are readily emulated.
Example: Introduction of Move, ointment as Spray.

31. Are point of difference
desirable to customers,
and can you deliver them?

32. Desirability
Should be perceived by audience relevant and beliveable.
Example: Introduction of milk base in soaps, providing moisturized skin after bathing.
Before this soaps which makes skin oil free considered to be good.

33. Deliverability
Point of difference need to meet three criteria to be
deliverable:
Feasible
Profitable
Preemptive, Defensible and difficult to attack

34. All these three elements need to be internally
consistent at any point of time and over time.

35. In some cases, the brand’s position is
sufficiently rich that exactly the same position
can be sustained over time.

36. Example: Parle- G
Product was instantly recognized by its iconic white and yellow wax paper which
was after many years replaced by plastic wrapper featuring the same young girl.

37. Presenting same point of difference over time does
not sustain a brand’s performance.
The meaning associated with brand can be deepen by the following ways:

38. Laddering Up
A process where brand is positioned in such a way that its point of differences
become its essence and implies goal attainment.
Done by demonstrating more explicitly how the brand is related to the customers’
goals and requires insight about what motivates consumers to use a brand
Focuses on
Unique feature
first
Implication of
reliable service
Then More
general
implication

39. Big Idea
Entails identifying a differentiating benefit that is important to consumers
and presenting, over time, a variety of attributes that imply the benefit.
The context is kept constant so that people can readily associate the
ad with the brand name, ensuring strong brand linkage.

40. Recap
The key questions you need to ask about your brand—
Have we established a frame?
Are we leveraging our points of parity?
Are the points of difference compelling?
may not change, but their context certainly will.

41. Disclaimer
Created by Namrata Yadav, IIT Roorkee, during an internship by
Prof. Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow.
www.IIMinternship.com

42. Thank you!