#positioning strategy

Branding is just like any other science, an art of marketing and placing your product in the eyes of the customers. Every other branding company has different ideas on how they position a product in customer’s sight. This comprises of traditional marketing process, social media, getting the right people on board, selling the product to the customer, and converting them into your permanent ones. This is the job of the top branding company, to help a brand share their story to the customers and make it appealing enough for them.

That is why when you are choosing a branding company, you need to think of several things and ask yourself, is the company right for my brand? Since a branding company has so much on stake, hiring them should be a tedious process. The following are some tips that will help you in choosing the best company for your product.

Check their artistic power

Although a brand’s strategy is not just about a logo, but it forms an important consideration. The logo needs to be something that people remember it every time they see it. This means, visuals of your brand need to be sharp and distinctive. So, when choosing the best Beauty Branding Agency, check their artistic instincts and if they have something in them that makes you appreciate the work they do. The look of the logo should be such that it catches your attention at the first glance.

 Look for the perfect fit

Building a brand is not that easy, you need to infinite elements, people, and resources to accomplish. There has to be an intersection between the personalities of the business and directors, the mindset of the creative team, and an understanding of the target market. When there is a conflict in even one of these, a product loses its importance and its traction as well. Therefore, look for a branding company that can help you with graphics, creatives, and establishing an amazing connection with your audience.

Develop and use a brand strategy

Well, if you really want to test a branding company, you need to check if the branding company has a good overall approach. This includes, a distinctive voice, messaging themes, and even the elements like the types and sizes of the image. You need a website that is packed with amazing pictures, and text and that cannot happen overnight. It takes time to build a brand and you need to give that. so, outline your brand strategy and how do you want to accomplish it.

BEWARE OF THE POSITIONING TRAP

Brand positioning and marketing positioning are important elements of a differentiation strategy which savvy businesses actively deploy for competitive advantage. The big problem and the trap is confusion between the two. Volumes have been written on positioning, I have consumed my fair share. A lot of it adds to the confusion.

Two points of view, from two highly respected minds in the field, have helped me to put some context to the confusion.

The first from Simon Sinek, who takes it to the simplest level – I like simple. Brand is the WHY according to Simon and product is the WHAT. He cites Apple as a perfect example of this in action. Apple exists to ‘Think Different’, an ethos which enriches every product offering with the value of innovation and a disrespect for complacency. Because of this ethos, Apple is able to successfully extend their offering across computing, music, watches and beyond.

At a brand level, Apple is defined by their ethos. This positions them amongst their peers and indeed above their peers. At a product level Apple has a number of positioning attributes; the what. Beautiful design, simplicity, accessible user interface, unique technology and features. Oh and premium price. These are all influenced and protected through their ethos; their why.

So when we encounter Apple as a brand we are subject to both brand positioning: the ethos of Think Different, and marketing positioning: the unique product features and benefits compared and contrasted against the competition. It is a double whammy positioning strategy. 

The second point of view comes from Steve Jobs himself, who expresses that ‘marketing is about values’, about ‘being really clear about what we want people to know about Apple’.

Back in 1997, Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy. The Apple brand had suffered from serious neglect and as a result, was losing relevance and vitality. They had fallen into the positioning trap. Steve Jobs set out to address this by changing the conversation from Megabits and Megahertz to who Apple is and what Apple stands for in the world. ‘Think Different’ was born as a powerful brand positioning strategy to bring Apple back into cultural relevance. Over the next decade, this thinking not only revitalised the company, it turned it into one of the most important brands of our time.

‘Think Different’ is not just a slogan though. It reflects a true core value. It is about honouring the people who move the world forward. It reflects a core belief that people with passion can change the world for the better and that people crazy enough to try are likely to be the ones that do.

So coming back to Simon Sinek’s point. Because Apple has a brand and positioning that is founded on why they are not restricted to the what. You know that if Apple has developed something; whatever it is, it will be different, it will disrupt convention AND it will be beautiful, will be intuitive to use, will make you look good for buying it and you will pay more for the privilege.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that if you, like Steve, hire an ad agency and create a slogan you can replicate Apple's success. Your brand positioning needs to be founded on a fundamental truth about who you are. It has to be a credible extension of the truth. It has to be enduring. ‘Think Different’ was founded on true core values. Values which founded the company but which were betrayed by tactical marketing positioning strategies which commoditised their products and drove Apple to near bankruptcy.

 Short term tactical energy is the enemy of brand value based differentiation. It is the trap that all too many fall into. Sure if you discount Patagonia’s trail running clothing range you will sell more, you may even eat into someone else’s market share but at what cost to the brand, to the core value that allows them to maintain a premium positioning.

When I returned to Ireland in 2006 I was handed the Vodafone account. At that time the market was in its infancy with three players: Vodafone, O2 and Meteor. Vodafone was young and cool, O2 was cold, staid and business-like and Meteor a cheap indigenous prepay brand. Each had their own prefix so when you gave out your number you were branded, literally, by the provider you choose. The market was fixated on switching and ARPU (average revenue per user) was all that they cared about. Bundling and entanglement was the strategy of the day and brand erosion was becoming evident. They we stuck in the positioning trap and were not for turning. O2 then pulled a masterstroke and negotiated an exclusive deal to sell the iPhone. Vodafone panicked and upped their switching ads, discounted phones and widened their offering to tie in a landline deal.

The result. The sale of landlines soared, Vodafone’s brand health tracker hit rock bottom and customers fled. To quote a customer ‘what the f* are they doing selling landlines when O2 have the iPhone? This was a classic case of the absence of higher level brand thinking and values with which to ground marketing positioning. The positioning trap.