Tuesday
May142013

lululemon®, a positioning 10+ years in the making

Take a walk along the streets of any major metropolis and ask a passer-by, “what is lululemon?”  Odds are that their answer will include “yoga.” Does this mean the brand’s position revolves around its overpriced yoga pants?  Absolutely not.

A core philosophy we employ and instill upon each of our clients is that positioning does not happen overnight, nor is it exclusive to the launch period.  Every position we develop is aspirational and provides the brand team a roadmap for elevating a product into a brand with a purpose. The lululemon brand represents empowerment and self-improvement, which is even teased through the manifesto printed on each bag, “Do one thing a day that scares you.” This powerful mantra can be interpreted in many ways, yoga being just one. Launching with its roots in yoga allowed the company to gain success with customers who most closely mimicked its values; however, today, over a decade later, and after careful consideration, the brand is expanding its product-line to include running, hiking, and meditation.

Rather than launching with a position to make the best yoga pants on the market, lululemon did what many teams struggle to do: think aspirationally.  By clearly articulating where they wanted the brand to go internally, lululemon’s management team was able to make the right decisions to move the brand closer and closer to what they set out to create. That journey has been filled with extreme success both on and off Wall Street and we anticipate more from them for years to come.

Monday
Mar112013

Positioning that Shoots for the Stars

A key factor we judge all positionings by is their level of aspiration.  It is important for brands to aim for the positioning they ultimately wish to achieve and focusing on it over the course of time, rather than to settle for what we refer to as the much more conservative and short-range “launch positioning”.  Fab is one such brand that has a focus on being more tomorrow than what they are today in every way.  Their slogan, “Fab is everyday design,” summarizes the core of their brand.  The way in which Fab has evolved, from a failed social media site, to a successful flash sale site, and now to a combination of sales and inventoried items shows true focus and growth.  Where they’re going next is even more impressive, as Fab looks to continue to add to their inventory and has their eyes set on brick and mortar store fronts, something not many web-based companies can even dream of.  We look to see Fab continue to grow in to their positioning and to continue the growth of their market.

Tuesday
Mar052013

What is a brand?

To start a brand is not a name or a trademark. It is not even a logo or a product. Brands live in the minds of consumers, they live in your mind and they live in mine-a brand is nothing more than the thoughts and feelings associated with it, whether intentional or not.

An internal BMW mantra says it best, “what you make people feel is just as important as what you make.” 

Tuesday
Feb052013

Super Bowl XLVII - Winning Brands

We’ve come to know that the perfect Super Bowl commercial hovers on the fine line between being too entertaining and being descriptive and compelling.  A Super Bowl spot must not only grab and hold your attention, but it ultimately needs to be entertaining to the point that it is memorable.   Surprisingly, many of the brands showcased this year did a great job of entertaining the audience, but what separates a brand from earning its 15 minutes of fame versus long-term ROI is how compelling the ad is.

Positioning is king, always.  It is at the root of creating something that is compelling and the Super Bowl is not an excuse to ignore it.  Any communication must tie back to the big picture that the brand is painting.   It is clear who, as well as who did not, understand this component Sunday night.

Here are our team’s picks for the Best Super Bowl XLVII Commercials (from a positioning perspective).  Each of these spots caught our attention amongst the chaos of Super Bowl parties, each is entertaining to the point of becoming memorable, and most importantly each does all this while still simply conveying what the respective brand is promising.

Tide - Miracle Stain

Mercedes-Benz - CLA

Go Daddy - Perfect Match (When Smart Meets Small Business)

 

Tuesday
Jan082013

Esurance and "Cheep" Insurance

The latest commercial from Esurance does an excellent job of capturing the state of the auto insurance market while continuing to hit upon the spirit of their positioning.  We’ve noticed that over the past year or so that the creative execution of Esurance’s positioning has taken a slightly different approach.  Faced with a different type of auto insurance market, with companies like Progressive and Geico dominating up the online, cost-conscious customer base, Esurance had to change.  Or did they? 

The market was inundated with companies whose focus was on saving customers money—the same thing Esurance stood for. And yet, Esurance is still here, and still focused on the fact that they “were born online and built to save people money from the beginning.”  By shifting the platform of their positioning from Value based to Competitive based, Esurance was able to focus on the state of the market and show their competitive edge—the fact that they were built to save customers money, while it was just a message to everyone else.  While it is sometimes necessary to reposition your brand, it’s also important to consider whether or not the executional strategy you’re employing can be changed to continue the strength of your current positioning.

Monday
Dec172012

12 DAYS OF POSITIONING

In spirit of the holidays we thought that it would be nice to give something back to all of our readers-Continuing for twelve consecutive days through December 25th we will be sharing a new post around the philosophy we employ in building each component of a differentiating & motivating positioning for our clients' brands.

Check back here daily for the latest post and as another gift: click here for a free download of our Winter 2012 PositioningTip eBook. (right click + 'save link as' to download file)

 

Scroll Down for the latest posts.

Wednesday
Nov282012

Can a brand grow with negative perceptions?

McDonald’s same store sales have grown for six straight years, its brand value is rated 4th according to Millward Brown up in 2011 from 2010 and the Harris Interactive 2012 Reputation Quotient gives McDonald’s a score of “good”.  No one would argue that, even in the face of withering criticism McDonald’s continues to be a success in part because they know who their customers are and they work to satisfy those customers.  If McDonald’s changed the company to satisfy its critics (none of which are customers) they would likely lose their current customer base who like McDonald’s the way it is, and not pick up any new customers from its group of critics.  McDonald’s is doing what good brands should, they know their target customers and are serving them.

Wednesday
Nov212012

Corona's Point of Differentiation

Earlier this week, in our Positioning Tip, we analyzed the Dos Equis brand from a competitive standpoint.  During our review, we made note of the fact that the other main Mexican beer import warranted attention in its own right.

A primary driver of brand positioning is competitive differentiation.  If you look at the broader beer market you begin to see similarities across inter-category segments--domestic beer brands tend to look and feel the same, imported beer brands tend to look and feel the same, and even craft beers look and feel very similar--until you get to Corona.  Corona's positioning is simple: relaxation anywhere.  This drives differentiation from the main points of other imports--country tradition and quality, and from the main focuses of domestics (partying and friendship) and crafts (tradition and uniqueness.  Corona stands alone with its positioning and continues to make "finding your beach" important year round.

Wednesday
Nov072012

Brands show their true colors during the worst of times

It is often said that a person’s true colors show during the most trying of times; the same can be said about brands. The anticipation and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has clarified all kinds of relationships for me: personal, professional, political, and commercial.  

The stark contrast I saw between communications from Chase Bank® and Bank of America® gave me a deeper glimpse into the emphasis of each brand’s positioning. Chase contacted me before, during, and after the storm with a conversational and empathetic tone; for example, “We hope you, your families and your customers are safe. Natural disasters are very stressful and we want to help where we can.” They shared that they would be waiving fees, and even that they would be sending generators to get their banks up and running in affected areas. All in all, I felt that Chase thought of me as a person and cared about me as a person, which aligned directly with my view of the Chase brand.

On the other hand, Bank of America waited to contact me until after the bulk of the storm with a subject line “Hurricane Sandy Relief.” The email explained I could extend my credit with them—which struck me as rather opportunistic, although they, too, offered to waive fees in the coming days. The communications were flat, generic, and made me feel like I was dealing with a big business as opposed to a member of my community.

How brands view their customers and the relationships they’ve built reflects directly on the values of the brand, ultimately derived from each brand’s positioning. No more than ever communication matters even more and companies need to pay attention beyond the practical point they are trying to make. Tone, timing, context, frequency, and messaging channel all indirectly influence brand perception.

Wednesday
Oct242012

What Impact Does Your Logo Have on Positioning 

When part of your branding changes, what impact does it have on the positioning?  Can a logo change affect the perception of the brand?  Change to any aspect of a brand can have an impact on its positioning, particularly something as prominent as a logo.  Sometimes the perceptual change is intended, other times it is not.  Either way, before you make a branding change, you need to consider its impact on the brand’s positioning.

Take, for example, the new eBay® logo.  In one sense, it is a safer, cleaner, perfectly-corporate version of their old logo.  In another, it is the complete abandonment of the personality eBay used to brim with.  The old eBay logo captured the quirkiness of the brand, the interesting and diverse items one could find there.  Now eBay feels more like another online store, and less like an online bazaar.

Wednesday
Oct172012

Healthcare Marketing in an Increasingly Digital Age

It is safe to say that the use of digital & social media has taken a foothold in the world of healthcare – now more than ever patients have access to prescribing information, promotional materials, disease state knowledge, and experiences from other patients. Physicians across all specialties are reporting an increase in dialogue with their patients, often sparked by something the patient read online. This isn’t limited to the traditional categories of patient involvement, Acid Reflux and E.D., but is now becoming more and more prevalent in chronic disease, previously seen as physician only territory. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and cancer know more about treatment options than they have historically and want to be part of the dialogue and decision. Involvement by patients in this way isn’t new, but the extent of the involvement is new.

So what does this new customer touch point mean for healthcare marketers? It is one more opportunity for integration. New media doesn’t equal new strategy; in fact it is quite the opposite. As healthcare marketers we need to embrace the web and incorporate it into a larger communication strategy by ensuring that the perceptions we create online build towards the positioning of your brand. With the web increasing the rate of patient driven dialogue it is more important than ever that the perceptions your brand creates with customers/patients online align with the how the brand is positioned to physicians.

Thursday
Oct042012

When the Pie Dwindles Grab a Different One

The way we think about pharma is shifting.  As the patents on big name drugs begin to expire, we see less and less emphasis on advertising in the pharma space.  Companies do not have any assets in development that compare to the blockbuster drugs of yesterday—in fact, their focus is smaller.  Many of the new drugs awaiting FDA approval are for small, “niche” diseases: targeted therapies indicated for very specific subtypes of diseases. The shift is impacting advertising and marketing in a big way. 

For pharma companies, the days of spending hundreds of millions on large-scale advertising campaigns are nearing their end, but they need to be cautious about getting too far away from it.  Even in smaller markets—where there may be no competitors (yet)—it is important for brands to maintain focus.  Many of these upcoming brands will be working with smaller pies to begin with, and poor focus will lead to even smaller slices.  It’s never safe to just assume that a drug will be prescribed.  The product still needs to stand for something, and it needs to paint a clear picture of what that is for all parties involved.

Monday
Sep242012

Miller 64 - "Brewed for the better you"

Over the weekend I tried MillerCoors’ new line of light beer, Miller 64. As a fan of rich, full tasting brews my first thought after bringing this new beer into the house was, “why did I buy this?” I paused, scratched my head and thought about the fact that I’m generally not a big fan of any of MillerCoors’ products, in fact, I don’t really enjoy light beer at all. It wasn’t until I saw the Miller 64 commercial again that I understood why it made enough of an impression on me to try it.

Rather than competing on the field of taste, as most beers do, Miller chose to go the route of identifying a particular user for its new brand. By focusing on the target customer, Miller changed the discussion, implied the benefit of great taste, and broke through the clutter of strong competition. Through television spots and print ads it is clear that Miller is positioning the Miller 64 brand as the beer for those who are incrementally health conscious in their everyday activities, but still take the time to enjoy life with good food, good company, and of course good beer. So if you care about your health, but may not always opt for the salad, or hit the gym every day, the brand’s tagline will tell you, Miller 64 is “brewed for the better you.”

Wednesday
Sep122012

“The ocean is bluer in the iPhone 5, kids look happier, and the world is a more beautiful place”

 

Once again Apple wowed the world with the latest iteration of its iPhone line and, following this afternoon’s conference, it is clear that Apple hasn’t lost its competitive edge. By understanding its customers at a foundational emotional level, a key principle of the late Steve Jobs, Apple has been able to transform features and benefits available on nearly all smart phones into truly meaningful differentiators. The iPhone 5 is another example of Apple utilizing key principles of positioning to build a truly unique product—one that in a sea of competition is often described as standing alone.

Watch Apple's video introduction to iPhone 5

Monday
Sep102012

Avis no longer “Tries Harder”, now they give you “Space”

After 50 years Avis has abandon one of the most famous brand positionings the marketing world has known.  In an attempt to refresh the company image, Avis’ new CMO has decided that the well known rental car company is in the business of providing ‘space’ for business people to recharge and be most productive.  But is the space inside an Avis rental car different than a Hertz rental car or an Alamo rental car?  Is the air conditioning extra cold or the seats extra comfy?  Isn’t one of the basic tenets of brand positioning to differentiate your brand from your competitors?  Can Avis convince customers that they will be more productive if they rent from Avis than if they rent from anyone else? 

When you consider that most rental car companies have fleets that are virtually identical to each other, how is it that Avis’ fleet provides a benefit that the others do not.  Does the new tagline “It’s your space” really define a difference for Avis?  At least the famous and now jettisoned “We try harder” reflected a point of distinction that Avis could create from other companies.  By providing superior service, quick answers, and rapid customer support Avis could decisively separate itself from its competition.  Besides, wouldn’t services and support help the very business people they are targeting be more productive then letting them know that the car they just rented is ‘their space’?

http://adage.com/article/news/50-years-avis-drops-iconic-harder-tagline/236887/