| Issue 85 |

Positioning or Branding?

In order for customers to understand why they should buy specific products and/or services from your company, you need to make your added value clear to them. In other words – you need to create a clear differentiation between what you provide and what your competitors provide.

There are two main ways to create differentiation:

1. Positioning – Acquiring “ownership” over a positive benefit in the customer’s mind. For example: Mercedes=prestige

2. Branding – Developing a recognized and in-demand brand. For example: Harley Davidson is a coveted motorcycle.

Positioning is a simpler and more efficient process in most cases. You have to decide on the correct word (prestige, speed, flexibility, comfort, etc.) and adjust the marketing mix to it. The best word can be found using an Attributes-Benefits Chart, and the marketing mix can be adjusted as described in the article on positioning.

Branding is a more complex process. In fact, this process turns a company or product or service into a renowned, recognized and multidimensional personality (for example – “a small and friendly bear that likes honey and speaks wise nonsense” – that’s right, you guessed it – Winnie the Pooh). You can brand using senses, colors, and shapes – for example a logo, jingle, and even smell and taste). You can also brand using communicative language (such as soft and caressing feminine) and using stories (for example – Richard Branson’s adventure stories that paint the Virgin superbrand in an unconventional and modern hue – fitting for a company that “breaks the rules for you”).

So what should you do to create differentiation? Positioning or branding?

Our recommendation is unequivocal: In most cases, you should first tackle positioning. This is a relatively simple and easy process, even with a limited budget. Positioning is also more intuitive, and enables employees to focus around one clear benefit, and for customers to understand what it is. The outcome of successful positioning is that customers understand the differentiation and the marketing message: “If you choose our solutions, you will get a specific benefit that is unique to us, that constitutes our advantage over the competition”.

Branding, in contrast, is a very expensive and more complex process that needs to transmit a more complex message to customers (choose our brand because its personality is this, that and whatnot). Logos and slogans are not enough to transmit such complex messages. Numerous processes are required that will elucidate the brand’s personality. The employees also need to internalize complex messages repeated exposure to the complex marketing message is required, several times over. Therefore, branding also requires a very large marketing and advertising budget. This might be appropriate for mass consumer goods (like the iPhone), but much less so for business to business (B2B) solutions and for products that do not have advertising budgets in the millions of shekels or dollars.

The bottom line is that you should start with positioning. Only once you’ve acquired ownership of one clear and focused benefit (prestige, flexibility, speed, comfort, etc.), and only if you have large marketing and advertising budgets – can you consider moving forward, and later do branding as well. Consider yourselves warned if you try to do branding before positioning, and without a suitable budget – in most cases it will be a waste of resources and money, and you won’t benefit much from it.

For assistance with a quick and focused positioning process, please contact us. 

• For additional reading, see the recommendation for the book: Purple Cow + 99 Cows
• Workshop on Creativity in Brand Management (page 23 of a Hebrew PDF booklet)
• For additional articles on Strategy: click here
• Workshops on Developing a Strategic Plan in Practice (page 9 of a Hebrew PDF booklet)
• For strategic consultation: c ontact us

   

Ideas for innovations in a backpack

 
The following ideas were developed using various thinking tools, and do not exist at present (to the best of our knowledge):

1. A backpack with a compartment for drying clothes (coated in a moisture wicking netting)
2. A vibrating backpack that massages your shoulders and back while you carry it
3. A backpack that turns into a traveling chair (with a suitable hard frame)
4. A backpack with a hard metal compartment that can be used as a safe
5. A backpack with a solar panel, like the one shown in the picture here (making it possible to charge a cell phone, flashlight, laptop, MP3 player, etc.)
6. A backpack with shoulder straps that can be adjusted width-wise (so that they can be adjusted to the width of the shoulders)
7. A backpack with built-in speakers (so that you can hear music when you are out and about)
8. A with internal lighting (to make it easier to find things inside)
9. A backpack with a bag that functions as an internal liner, that can also be used as a separate bag, when necessary
10. A backpack that turns into a sled that you can pull in the snow (with an external frame that turns into the sled skis)
11. A backpack constructed from modular removable compartments that can be adjusted to equipment you want to take with you
12. A backpack with a built-in hat that can be removed and used when needed (and can also protect against the sun)
13. A backpack with a hard frame and bottom, that can also be used as a locker
14. A backpack that doubles as a baby carrier with a built-in seat for the baby/toddler (so that you can go on nature excursions with your little one)
15. A backpack that can also be used as a camera tripod
16. A backpack with a built-in mirror at the top (to see yourself in the morning)
17. A backpack with built-in steel clips – so that we can attach the backpack to the roof of a car
18. A backpack with pockets that can be inflated to turn it into a pillow or seat, or even with a mattress
19. A backpack with a height-adjustable waist strap (according to the user’s size)
20. If you have additional ideas – send them to us and we will gladly publish them next time

• Articles on Systematic Innovation 
• For information about Systematic Innovation workshops: click here
• We would be happy to read your comments and suggestions