MODULE 9

• Brand Positioning - It's the art of crafting your company's unique offering and image to claim a distinct space in your target market's mind.
• Competitive Frame of Reference - it defines which other brands a brand competes with and therefore which brands should be the focus of competitive analysis.
• Points-of-Difference - are attributes or benefits that consumers strongly

  associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand.
• Points-of-Parity - are attribute or benefit associations that are not

  necessarily unique to the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands.
• 3 KEY CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BRAND ASSOCIATIONS AS POINTS OF DIFFERENTIATION:

  1. Desirability
  2. Deliverability
  3. Differentiability
• 2 Basic Forms of Basic Parity

  1. Category Points of Parity
  2. Competitive Points of Parity
• CATEGORY POINTS OF PARITY - are attributes or features that are considered essential and expected by consumers within a particular product category.
• COMPETITIVE POINTS OF PARITY - These are the attributes or qualities a

  brand must possess to be considered on par with its competitors within a specific market.
• BRAND MANTRA - It is a concise and memorable articulation of a brand's core essence or purpose. It is a short, three to five-word phrase that captures the fundamental nature and positioning of a brand.
• Simple - The mantra should be concise and to the point.
• Communicate - The mantra should define your purpose and what is unique about your personal brand.
• Inspire - The mantra should be significant.
• 3 Ways to Convey a Brand's Category Membership

  1. Announcing Category Benefits
  2. Comparing to exemplars
  3. Relying on the product descriptor
• Announcing category benefits - Brands tell customers they belong to a

  certain group (like durable tools or effective antacids) by highlighting

  benefits, such as long-lasting performance or proven effectiveness.
• Comparing to exemplars - Less-known brands establish their category

  belonging by associating with well-known ones.
• Relying on the product descriptor - The short description that comes

  after a brand's name quickly shows which category it belongs to.
• Differentiation strategy is a business approach where a company seeks to distinguish its products or services from those of its competitors by

  offering unique features, attributes, or qualities.
• Means of Differentiation (4)

  1. Employee Differentiation
  2. Channel Differentiation
  3. Image Differentiation
  4. Services Differentiation
• Emotional Branding - is a way for brands to make people feel a strong connection. Instead of just talking about product features, it focuses on

  creating emotions, values, and experiences that resonate with customer.
• MYSTERY - Keep things interesting by using stories, symbols, and dreams that make people curious because they're drawn to what they don't fully know.
• SENSUALITY - Engage people's senses—sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste—with things that feel new and exciting.
• INTIMACY - establishing connections through empathy, commitment, and passion. It involves creating close relationships with customers that

  result in intense loyalty, often through small, perfect gestures.
• BRAND NARRATIVES AND STORYTELLING - This is when brands tell interesting stories to show who they are and what they stand for. It helps people connect with the brand on a personal level.
• BRAND JOURNALISM - It is when brands create news-like stories that are interesting and helpful, instead of just advertising. It's about giving value

  to the audience.
• CULTURAL BRANDING - This is when brands become a part of what's happening in culture, like trends or values. They want to connect with

  people by being a meaningful part of the culture.
• Employee Differentiation - Companies can have better-trained employees who provide superior customer service.
• Channel Differentiation - Companies can more effectively and efficiently design their distribution channels' coverage, expertise, and performance to make buying the product easier and more enjoyable and rewarding.
• Image Differentiation - Image can craft powerful, compelling images that appeal to consumers' social and psychological needs.
• Service Differentiation - A service company can differentiate itself by designing a better and faster delivery system that provides more effective and efficient solutions to consumers.