Brand positioning is one of the most important elements of any marketing campaign. Why? Because when it comes to building a strong brand identity, a tagline or logo alone simply won’t do the job.
But what is the job?
What is a brand positioning strategy, what does it aim to achieve, and how does it elevate the perception of a brand in the minds and hearts of your target customers?
Let’s begin by answering these questions.
What Is Brand Positioning and Why Is It So Important?
Here’s a simple definition from The Branding Journal:
“[Brand positioning is] the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market.”
In other words, your brand position is how your target audience thinks and feels about your brand. Even more specifically, it’s how customers think and feel your brand is different from your competitors.
More than just a branding message or brand promise, a strong brand positioning strategy is about taking a proactive approach to creating brand associations in the minds of customers, so they perceive your brand in a specific way.
An effective brand positioning strategy is important for several key reasons.
It Allows You to Differentiate Your Brand
Your brand is your company’s identity. Positioning therefore creates clarity around not only who you are and what you stand for, but who your customers are, why you are the best company for them, and what sets your products/services apart.
It Helps You Justify Your Pricing Strategy
Are you producing luxury or high-quality items? Your unique brand positioning strategy will enable you to create the perceived value and exclusivity that justifies your high prices. Similarly, if you’re aiming at the more affordable side of the market, your brand positioning strategy will aim to create the perception of good value for money.
It Allows You to Be Unique
You aren’t the only brand in the market. Every brand has competitors selling similar or even identical products/services. Brand positioning, therefore, allows you to stand out as being unique in the market, with the perception being that you offer something that your competitors do not.
It Encourages Customers to Buy from You
Every potential customer has a choice to make when considering a purchase – to buy from you, or someone else. Brand positioning helps you win their trust, often by eliciting an emotional response either consciously, subconsciously, or both.
Developing a Positioning Statement
Building a strong identity for your brand is important for winning customers. Why? Because 89% of shoppers stay loyal to brands that share their values.
(Image source: hurree.co)
To build your brand identity, you need to develop what’s known as a positioning statement. In short, a positioning statement, as HubSpot describes, “is a brief description of your product or service and an explanation of how it fulfils the need of your target market.”
A positioning statement helps brands figure out who their target customers are and what value they can deliver to them. It is essential for any brand strategy because the statement creates a clear vision for what you are trying to achieve with your branding.
In addition, having a clear and concise positioning statement is crucial because it enables your potential customers to understand your brand at a glance.
To craft a positioning statement, you need to answer the following questions:
- Who do you serve?
- What value do you offer?
- Why are you in business?
- What makes you different from the competition?
Answering these questions will help you understand where and how to position your brand in your target market so you can develop your brand positioning campaign accordingly.
3 Brand Positioning Examples Using DOOH Advertising
Digital Out of Home (DOOH) advertising is a fantastic way to spread your brand positioning messages far and wide – and is a firm favorite with the world’s biggest brands.
So, let’s take a look at some examples of brand positioning done well using DOOH in the real world.
Apple – Shot on iPhone Campaign
With the birth of the iPod many, many moons ago, Apple pretty much single-handedly created the digital music industry.
If that wasn’t enough, it also gave us the smartphone – and these two elements are deeply embedded within the Apple brand.
(Image source: musebycl.io)
Apple also knows its core audience – young (and youngish), tech-savvy, and popular musical-literate people who not only love listening to music on their iPhones, but taking photos with them to share on social media.
In 2019, the brand managed to combine all of these elements in an Out of Home (OOH) brand positioning campaign named “Shot on iPhone”. The outdoor ads featured stunning photographs of 16 popular music stars that were, indeed, all shot on an iPhone.
(Image source: musebycl.io)
Adidas – Impossible Is Nothing
The Adidas “Impossible Is Nothing” campaign was first launched in 2004 – an expert piece of brand positioning in itself, speaking to customers who want to achieve all they can in the physical and sporting worlds.
In 2022, the brand wanted to double down on its commitment to women, and so turned to the “Impossible Is Nothing” positioning statement once again – this time spotlighting a global collective of inspiring women breaking down barriers in sport and beyond. It’s a great brand positioning example –one that positions Adidas as a brand that champions women in sport in a way that rings true to its long-standing identity in the sporting goods market.
(Image source: oaaa.org)
Coca-Cola – Share a Coke
One of the best positioning examples of all time is, of course, Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke campaign.
The campaign saw the soft drinks brand remove its iconic branding from its products and replace it with popular names of people.
(Image source: outsmart.org.uk)
Coca-Cola wanted to create a more personal relationship with consumers and inspire shared moments of happiness – and DOOH advertising proved to be the perfect medium to drive awareness amongst customers everywhere.
(Image source: outsmart.org.uk)
Launch Your Digital Out of Home Brand Positioning Campaign Today with The Neuron
If you want to take your brand strategy to the next level, you need the right tools for the job.
The Neuron is a programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) platform that connects brands directly with digital billboards and other digital signage at the click of a button.
You can design your ads easily using our 100% free DOOH Design Studio, and then upload your creative to our pDOOH platform, select your screens, set your criteria and let the platform do the rest.
Start positioning your brand where you want to be – in the hearts and minds of your ideal customers in minutes. Try The Neuron today.
