Don't Assume The Position

HAVE you ever searched the Web for information about "brand positioning?" Sometime last month, I did—and Google furnished me with some 463,000 references. Which is quite impressive, particularly for a concept that makes little sense.

The words "brand positioning" are found often in the pages of this magazine and, a bit closer to home, in the resumes I review that belong to many a capable job candidate. But the regrettable truth is that those who use these words are demonstrating that they've either given little thought to branding issues, or are possessed of just as little discipline when it comes to vocabulary and usage.

First off, I strongly suspect that these people are simply using the term "brand" when they should really be saying "product." Keep that in mind as we examine the bigger gaffe. Positioning is, of course, a marketing communication tool. It seeks to create the perception of a difference between your product and those it competes with. That difference ought to be relevant enough to give the consumer a reason for using your product over someone else's. The art of positioning, then, is to select—among all the possible attributes that could be mentioned about a product—the one thing that will make that product most attractive when compared to its competitors. You may select from any aspect of the product: its looks, its packaging, etc. Once you have made a choice, you should focus on communicating it forcefully and single-mindedly. Reject everything else. What I like to term the "Single-Minded Communication Principle" is essential to positioning.
 

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