CHAPTER 5

Positioning

2010 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook

All rights reserved. The University of West Alabama
Eighth Edition
 Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
1. Appreciate the concept and practice of brand positioning.
2. Explain that positioning involves the creation of meaning and
that meaning is a constructive process involving the use of
signs and symbols.
3. Give details about how brand marketers position their brands
by drawing meaning from the culturally constituted world.
4. Describe how brands are positioned in terms of various types
of benefits and attributes.
5. Explicate two perspectives that characterize how consumers
process information and describe the relevance of each
perspective for brand positioning.

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 Introduction: Brand Positioning
Positioning
The key feature, benefit, or image
that the brand stands for in the target
audiences collective mind
Positioning Statement
The central idea that encapsulates a
brands meaning and distinctiveness
vis--vis competitive brands

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 Positioning in Theory:
A Matter of Creating Meaning

Semiotics
The study of signs and the analysis of meaning-
producing events
Semiotics Perspective
Meaning is a constructive process determined by:
The message sources choice of communication
elements
The receivers unique social-cultural background
and mind-set at the time of exposure to a message

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 Positioning in Theory:
A Matter of Creating Meaning (contd)
A Sign
Is words, visualizations, tactile objects, and
anything else perceivable by the senses
Has a constructed meaning to the receiver
(interpreter) that is both idiosyncratic and
context dependent
Marcoms Positioning Goal
To have consumers will interpret messages
exactly as they are intended

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Figure 5.1

The
Thumbs-Up
Sign

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 The Meaning of Meaning
Meanings
Are the thoughts and feelings evoked within a person
when presented with a sign in a particular context
Are internal responses people hold for external stimuli

Perceptual Fields
Represent the sum total of a persons experiences
that are stored in memory
Facilitate effective marcom when there is
commonality in both the senders and the receivers
fields of experience

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 Meaning Transfer:
From Culture to Object to Consumer
Socialization
The process through which people learn cultural
values, form beliefs, and become familiar with the
physical manifestations, or artifacts, of these values
and beliefs
Advertising in a Culturally Constituted World
Advertisements become texts to be interpreted by
consumers from within their socio-cultural context
Marcom attempts to use the meaning of well-known
symbols to transfer that meaning to their brand

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Figure 5.2 V8 Advertisements Illustrating Contextual Meaning

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 Positioning in Practice: The Nuts and Bolts
Brand Positioning
Is essential to a successful Marcom program
Effective Positioning Statement
Conveys a consistent message
Defines a brands competitive advantage
Motivates customers to action
Positioning Concept
Positioned in the consumers mind
Positioned against competing brands

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Figure 5.3 Outcomes of Proposed Positioning

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 Proposed Positioning Outcomes

Promote Competitors Winner

Position does not reflect competitive Positioned on a product feature or
advantage benefit that has an advantage over
Position represents important reason for competitors
brand selection decisions Positioning gives consumers a
Any effort would serve other brand persuasive reason for trying the brand
selection decisions in same category

Loser SUTR
Brand possesses no competitive Position represents a competitive
advantage advantage for a trivial product feature or
Positioning basis does not motivate benefit
consumers to want the brand Position does not give compelling
reasons to want the brand
Any effort will be hard work with little
progress

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Figure 5.4 A Framework for Brand Positioning

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 Benefit Positioning

Appealing to
Consumer Needs

Functional Symbolic Experiential

Needs Needs Needs

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 Categories of Consumer Needs

Functional Positioning communicates that the brands benefits are

Needs capable of solving consumers consumption-related problems

Symbolic Positioning attempts to associate brand ownership with a

Needs desired group, role, or self-image

Experiential Positioning promotes brands extraordinary sensory value or

Needs rich potential for cognitive stimulation

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Figure 5.5

Croc Advertisement
Illustrating Appeal to
Functional Needs

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Figure 5.6

Dove Advertisement
Illustrating Appeal to
Experiential Needs

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 Attribute Positioning

Attribute
Positioning

Non-Product Related:
Product-Related
Usage and User Imagery

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Figure 5.8

Ralph Lauren
Advertisement
Illustrating
Positioning
Based on
User Imagery

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Figure 5.7

Highlander
Advertisement
Illustrating
Product-Related
Attribute
Positioning

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 Repositioning a Brand

Increase
competitiveness

Extend product
life cycle
Why Reposition
a Brand?
Refresh brand
image

Enter new market

segments

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 Implementing Positioning:
Know Thy Consumer
Consumer Processing Model (CPM)
Information and choice are a rational, cognitive,
systematic and reasoned process
Hedonic, Experiential Model (HEM)
Consumers processing of marcom messages and
behavior are driven by emotions in pursuit of fun,
fantasies, and feeling

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Figure 5.9 Comparison of the CPM and HEM Models

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 The Consumer Processing Model (CPM)

Stage 1: Being exposed to information

Stage 2: Paying attention
Stage 3: Comprehending attended information
Stage 4: Agreeing with comprehended information
Stage 5: Retaining accepted information in memory
Stage 6: Retrieving information from memory
Stage 7: Deciding from alternatives
Stage 8: Acting on the basis of the decision

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 CPM Model Stages

Stage 1: Is a necessary but insufficient for communication successtruth

effect of repeated exposure to a message
Being Exposed
Is a function managerial decisions about marcom budget size and
to information
choice of media and vehicles

Stage 2: Is a deliberate focus on and consideration of a message

Paying Attention Involves allocating processing capacity in a selective fashion
Is drawn to messages relevant and of interest to current goals

Stage 3: Is understanding and creating meaning out of stimuli and symbols

Comprehending Involves perceptual encoding (feature analysis and active analysis)
to interpret stimuli
information
May result in an idiosyncratic interpretation or miscomprehension

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Figure 5.10
Humorous
Illustration
of Selective
Perception

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 Miscomprehension

Reasons for
Miscomprehension

Misleading or Biased Time Pressures

Unclear Messages Preconceptions and Noise

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 CPM Model Stages (contd)

Stage 4: Does not ensure that the message influences consumers

behavior
Agreeing with
Depends on credibility of the message
Comprehended
Depends on compatibility of the information with values
Information
important to the consumer

Stages 5 & 6: Involves the related issues of what consumers remember

(recognize and recall) about marketing stimuli
Retention and
Shows how consumers access and retrieve information when in
Search and
the process of choosing among product alternatives.
Retrieval of Stored
Information

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 Elements of Memory

Sensory Receptors

Sensory Stores The marketers job is

(SS) to provide positively
valued information that
consumers will store
in LTM

Short-Term Memory
(STM)

Long-Term Memory
(LTM)

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 Figure 5.11
Consumers
Knowledge
Structure
for the
Volkswagen
Beetle

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 Types of Learning
Strengthening Memory Concept Linkages
Repeating product claims
Being creative in conveying a products features
Presenting claims in a more concrete fashion

Establishing New Linkages

Marcom can build strong, favorable, and unique
associations between the brand and its features and
benefits

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Figure 5.12

Illustration of an Effort
to Strengthen a Linkage
between a Brand and Its
Benefits

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 Search and Retrieval of Information
Learned Information
Impacts consumer choice behavior when it is
searched and retrieved
Retrieval of Stored Information
Is facilitated when new information is linked with
another well known concept that is easily accessed
Dual-Coding Theory
Pictures are represented in memory in both verbal
and visual form
Words are less likely to have visual representations

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 The Hedonic, Experiential Model (HEM)
The HEM Perspective
The CPM and HEM models are not mutually
exclusiveconsumers can be both rational and self-
involved in their decision-making processes
HEM Communications
Generate images, fantasies, and positive emotions
and feelings about brands that consumers interpret
idiosyncratically
Emphasize nonverbal content or emotionally
provocative words to connect consumers to brands

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Figure 5.13

Illustration of an
HEM-Oriented
Advertisement

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