Brand Management Essay

MGMT 3092
Lecture 2  based on 3 readings for today's lecture
Topic: Customer-based Brand positioning
There will be no presentations for this course
**the readings for this topic are very impt and this topic will be in tests and exams!
Must do all readings

To do: Trying to project their image in the minds of consumers
Objectives:
Things need to know:
Positioning
Positioning statement
Differentiation
Main theme of today's lecture: Focus is on identify and establish brand positioning and values (step 1)

Positioning explained
**clear, distinctive and attractive position  if not then people would forget eg. The telecom co is not clear, distinctive  they are just info focused and not attractive when 7up was introduced into the market, they had a very clear, crisp message against their competitors (good!)

Desirable positioning requires  SWOT ANALYSIS…you need to know all of this before you define your positioning (customers, competitor, market segment)

Market segmentation = through the market research, try to separate different groups of consumers based on the benefits that they seek
The segment must be homogeneous (similarity) within and heterogeneous across = All customers in segment A must be very similar to each other but they must be distinctly different from customers in segment B
2-3 ways to divide consumers/ segment:
1. Observable – age, race, gender, ethnicity, where they come from, their usage habits
2. The benefits sought by the customers
3. The needs of customers

Target market selection
Is it profitable to serve that segment  Evaluate if there is that big of a segment that would be worth to cater to them or see if they are willing to pay lots of money
Is anyone else (competitor) serving the segment
How well are the competitors serving the segment  Before selecting a particular target market, you need to have a thorough understanding of how you fit into the market

**Differential advantage analysis = it gives you an understanding of what your key strengths and weaknesses are against your competitors and where you stand in the market

Positioning statements = dull, informative statements that are communicated throughout the company
Just do it – is not a positioning statement
**popular approach
Eg. Among snackers (good target market cause you don’t want to miss out on any target), Snickers is the brand of candy bar (frame of reference is the product category that it is competing in), that satisfies your hunger (to get the point of difference you must do perceptual mapping), because it is packed with peanuts (reason to believe is a claim that you can sustain).
**Frame of reference = which market it caters to
**important to decide who your product category is!
**use perceptual mapping to find out what sort of positioning the brand has against its competitors/ point of difference

Complications in Positioning
Different target markets for product
People choose the product for different reasons
Multiple decision makers – cause the mother and child chooses the product for different reasons so it makes the point of difference harder

Positioning checklist
Relevant – do people care? Are you making a claim that ppl care about?
Clarity – is the message clear
Credible – why should ppl believe that it satisfies your hunger, don't make statements that you cannot back up
Uniqueness – is it interesting, do other people offer it too, it is relative to your competitors, what clam can you make that is unique
Attainable – can you do what you are saying
Sustainable – can you maintain it in the long run

**Perceptual mapping = what are the 2 things that consumers think about (conventional way of segmenting)
Some ads don't play on the actual product but on the social setting
The co chooses the x and y asis based on market research to see what customers choose the product for, they don't just pluck it out of mid air
The opposite of emotional is

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