Comments on: Brand positioning takes on a new meaning in a Hyper-Social world

By: pligg.com

pligg.com — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:07:56 +0000

Brand positioning takes on a new meaning in a Hyper-Social world…

Brand positioning takes on a new meaning in a Hyper-Social world…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:56:32 +0000

Brand positioning takes on a new meaning in a Hyper-Social world…

Brand positioning takes on a new meaning in a Hyper-Social world…

By: Marcus Osborne

Marcus Osborne — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:13:14 +0000

I found this to be a really interesting and well written article.

One comment in particular caught my attention, “In the 50’s and 60’s, brands used to be built on a set of attributes. Now brands are built by customers, one experience at a time, and those experiences are, obviously, more and more online experiences.”

Although there is a little bit more to building a brand, I agree in principle with this statement. The problem I have though is with positioning.

Positioning was fine in the mass economy era of the 50’s and 60’s but today, in the environment mentioned, I think it is impossible to position a product in the traditional manner.

I discuss the end of positioning here (shameless self promotion coming up so please look away if not interested) http://brandconsultantasia.wordpress.com/2009/06/05/is-it-time-to-put-positioning-to-bed/

Jack Trout is on record as saying that “Positioning has nothing to do with the product, it is what you do in the mind of the prospect.” Essentially that means the consumer can be made to believe anything through advertising, PR, OOH etc, what offerings mean to them.

All well and good so far. But then companies started to control their position in the face of increasing competition. They did this at whatever cost and for a while innocent consumers with little reason to doubt, believed it.

But fast forward to the 21st century and consumers are more knowledgable, have greater choice, have been carpet bombed with increasingly desperate positioning messages that often made claims that were often irrelevant to consumers.

Bottom line, it doesn’t make sense to use 40 year old tactics to build brands in the customer economy of today.

By: Mark Dresdner

Mark Dresdner — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:43:27 +0000

Excellent posting! I totally agree.

The days of relying on plastering a slogan and consistent imagery everywhere are over. Each customer touch-point communicates a message. So, brand creation is not driven from the top down by senior management and its advertising agency, but rather from frontline employees who interact with customers and develop online experiences. To be effective, every employee needs to passionately live the brand positioning. And, hence, obviously, know what the brand stands for. While the challenge is great, the success for those who realize the goal is even more rewarding if the competition doesn’t get it. Thanks!

By: francois

francois — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:24:08 +0000

@Robert – thanks for the comment, I appreciate the feedback!

@Thierry – I do believe that positioning and perception are still important. I think you are right that brands now encompass an ecosystem that encompass both companies and customers – or better yet, employees, partners and customers. And when many companies are forgetting the role of the employees and partners (distribution, etc.) in creating and maintaining that brand promise. Traction point does not seem to work as well for me. Your brand can have tremendous traction and yet the wrong system to support it, no? That would negatively impact your profits and revenue…

By: Thierry de Baillon

Thierry de Baillon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:17:33 +0000

Acknowledging that brands cannot be managed “as usual” bgins to meke its way among ‘most ?) marketers today. But are perception and positioning still relevant for an Hyper-Social enterprise?
With new paradigms must come new angles of thinking traditional concepts and funnels. In my opinion, the right question to ask is “where is the traction point for my brand?”. From the answer to this question comes positioning and distribution strategy. The examples you give (Zappos or Western Union) are those of companies which have understood that brands are now part of an ecosystem which encompass both companies and customers. Different answers come mainly from different traction points. Depending on the deep understanding of this ecosystem, and depending on the traction exercised by customers, the control might or might not shift.

By: Robert Phillips

Robert Phillips — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:44:00 +0000

Nice post about brand positioning. In today’s hyper social world, marketing and brand positioning plays a vital role to get customers and increase sales of the particular product. I like the way you explained and describe the importance of brand positioning in detail. I gained some very useful and important knowledge about brand positioning. Thank you.

By: francois

francois — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:54:44 +0000

Hi Tom — thanks for commenting on my blog and also for continuing the conversation here. I agree 100% with you that we need to create a brand positioning based on how people will use your product. The challenge once you have a positioning is to convey it to your prospects and customers in a way that it becomes an accepted positioning within their peer communities and tribes. That is not always easy, especially not in this fragmented media world as you call it.
Francois (also posted on Tom’s blog)

By: Brand positioning 2.0 « A Human Voice

Brand positioning 2.0 « A Human Voice — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:31:35 +0000

[...] positioning 2.0 Nice blog post about brand positioning in the post-cluetrain world by Francois Gossieaux over at [...]

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:18:21 +0000

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