Comments on: Positioning — It's not what you SAY. It's what they THINK.

By: Sesudasse

Sesudasse — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:26:43 +0000

Positioning statement does not make any sense unless and until it delivers what it says. If consumers perception needs to be good, there must be commitment to coninuous improvement and excellence.”Uncola” is just an indicator of differentiation which is not done by coca cola so customers moved for a change and it became no.3 . One of the reasons for the failure of cadillac would be just because that people could not perceive it as a small brand.

By: Ed Roach

Ed Roach — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:39:34 +0000

The uncola was brilliant positioning. Remember the upside down coke glass? I still have mine.

Mission Statements have everything to do with the illusion that companies are accomplishing something. They typically do this exercise with management consultants and have no plan or inclination to promote this mission beyond the lobby of their businesses.

There is no buy in from their stake holders and as such will be nothing more than whimsy.

A great read here today.

P.S. I answered my own question as to why my comments were posting under Compliance Branding (in another comment)

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:23:28 +0000

I like your chain of thought on this. It makes a lot of sense.
My customers ask me for ‘the latest promotional gift idea’, and sometimes, if they really don’t want to hear, I’ll simply show them whats new….
With others, I suggest its not about whats new, its more about :
Who
What
Where
How
And why

By: Patrick

Patrick — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:38:13 +0000

I would agree that positioning is only fully consummated in the mind of a customer, real, potential, or otherwise. But companies/brands can and do try to influence their positioning through pricing, features, advertising campaigns etc.

In positioning your brand, it’s important to understand the landscape in which you are competing, the design of the experiences that communicate the brand, and the true and perceived value the brand delivers.

Simply assuming that if you position it, people will agree, does not (as you point out) work.