Branding for the Public Sector: Creating, Building and Managing Brands People Will Value

Chapter 5 Brand Positioning

The three main steps in creating a powerful brand strategy are:

• A high level, emotionally-driven brand vision.
• A set of brand values and/or brand personality attributes.
• A brand positioning statement or statements.

In the previous chapter I dealt with the first two. Once the vision of the brand is clear, and the personality (and/or core values) defined, then the other aspect that needs to be carefully considered is how to position the brand. Competitive strategy is all about being different and brand positioning has differentiation as its main objective. While brand vision and values are the long-term driving force behind this, brand positioning takes a short-term view and looks at the target market and the competitors for that market. It also has to take this shorter-term view as competitor activity and market dynamics can change on a regular basis. This includes consumer behaviour, an aspect that appears to change faster and faster each year as new technologies, products and services give the consumers more choices. Faced with a bewildering range of alternatives, the role of brand positioning is to articulate to consumers what the strategic competitive advantage of a brand is compared to other competitors and what is relevant to them. Its other primary role is to act as a guide for external brand communications, and brand positioning statements are often written as part of a brief for communications agencies.

What is brand positioning?

“Positioning” ...