Brand positioning involves owning a piece of the consumer's mind by positioning a product in their mind in a way that answers their main questions. It is important to understand consumer perceptions rather than just the product. An effective positioning starts by looking at what position in the market is wanted in relation to competitors, considers how the brand will satisfy consumer needs better than others, and keeps the positioning concise and specific. Finding the right key insight that relates two consumer thoughts in a new way about how the brand can solve a problem or create an opportunity is crucial for competitive advantage.

1. Brand Positioning

2. A concept so simple, people have difficulty understanding how powerful it is!

3. What… Positioning is owning a piece of consumer’s mind Positioning is not what you do to a product It’s what you do to the mind of the prospect You position the product in the prospect’s mind ‘ It’s incorrect to call it Product Positioning’ – Ries & Trout

4. Examples Colgate is Protection Lux is Glamour Pond’s DFT is Confidence Axe is Sexual Attraction Gillette is Quality

5. Why… The assault on our mind… The media explosion The product explosion The advertising explosion So little message gets through that you ignore the sender and concentrate on the receiver

6. How… The easy way to get into a person’s mind is to be first Xerox , Kodak , Polaroid, Sun TV, The Hindu, F&L If you didn’t get into the mind of your prospect first, then you have a positioning problem Better to be first than be best In the positioning era, you must, however, be first to get into the prospect’s mind

7. How… The basic approach is not to create something new or different, but manipulate what’s already in the mind To find a unique position, you must ignore conventional logic Conventional logic says you find concept inside product Not true; look inside prospect’s mind You won’t find an uncola idea inside 7-up; you find it inside cola drinker’s head

8. ‘ You concentrate on the perceptions of the prospect, not the reality of the product’ - Al Ries & Jack Trout

9. ‘ It’s difficult to change behaviour, but easy to work with it’ - Paco Underhill

10. What you need… Understand the role of words and how they affect people Turtle vs. Lexus Be careful of change Disney Need vision Long term / Not on technology or fad

11. What you need… Courage To slug it out when others watch and wait Objectivity You need a backboard / a springboard Simplicity Not complicated or convoluted

12. What you need… Subtlety Unique position and appeal that’s not narrow Willingness to sacrifice The case of Nyquil Rexona wooing male and female Patience Geographical roll out / Demographic / Chronological Global outlook Taj Mahal tea

13. Guidelines Start by looking not at the product but at the position in the market that you wish to occupy, in relation to competition Think about how the brand will answer the main consumer questions What will it do for me that others will not? Why should I believe you? Try to keep it short and make every word count and be as specific as possible Vagueness opens the way to confused executions

14. Guidelines Keep the positioning up-do-date Give as careful consideration to change as you did to the original statement Look for a Key Insight ! An ‘Accepted Consumer Belief’

15. What is key insight? Key Insight is ‘seeing below the surface’ / ‘seeing inside the consumer’ Insight expresses the totality of all that we know from seeing inside the consumer An insight is a single aspect of this that we use to gain competitive advantage By identifying a specific way… That the brand can either solve a problem or Create an opportunity for the consumer

16. Key Insight ‘ I wish to get married to a handsome prince’

17. Key Insight ‘ Fragrance of my current talc does not last long and I miss opportunities to enjoy life’

18. Key Insight ‘ Soap leaves my skin feeling dry and tight’

19. More on key insight… It will require two separate thoughts to be related to each other in a new and fresh way Insight will generally be enduring Often the process will lead to several insights The one to use is the one that offers to be the source of greatest competitive advantage

20. More on key insight… No need for insight to change if you have identified the higher-order needs of consumers Keep asking ‘why’ to find the real need behind the obvious insight Remember, the insight is always the basis for a brand’s positioning

21. How to find one? What are the ways in which the category / brand can improve someone’s life? What are the conflicting needs that people face and that the brand can solve? How important is it that the product delivers? Who will notice? What is standard of excellence in the category? With every answer you get, you need to probe deeper: ‘ Why is that?’

22. The 3C’s of positioning Be C rystal clear Be C onsumer-based Be relevant and credible to the consumer Write in consumer language and from consumer’s view point Be C ompetitive Be distinctive Focus on building brand elements into powerful discriminator Be persuasive Be sustainable

23. And then… The brand name! The name is the first point of contact between the message and the mind ‘ The brand name is a knife that cuts the mind to let the brand message inside’ – Ries & Trout

24. Guidelines It’s not the goodness or badness of the name in an aesthetic sense that determines effectiveness It’s the appropriateness of the same Name begins the positioning process, tells the prospect what the product’s major benefit is Fair & Lovely Close Up Krack Head & Shoulders Vaseline Intensive Care Body Lotion

25. Checklist: Brand name Should be simple Should be acceptable in all key languages Should be appropriate when geographically spread Should be amenable for easy registration