Interpretation of brand positioning case

As a result of the popularization of brand image, it is inevitable that the images are similar and interfere with each other, which is difficult for consumers to distinguish. At the same time, due to the development of society, the explosion of products, media and information makes consumers tired of coping. At this time, it is increasingly difficult to establish a unique and clear brand image through advertising. After the 1970s, American brand image strategy became less and less effective.

At this time, Jack Trout and Mr. al ries put forward the positioning theory, which solved this marketing problem. Positioning theory points out that consumers tend to reject too much information and brands. When consumers buy a certain category or specialty goods, they give priority to the representative brands of the category or specialty goods, such as choosing Coca-Cola when buying Coke, choosing Band-Aids when buying Band-Aids, and choosing Volvo when buying safety cars. At this time, the business of the enterprise should be transferred from the market to the minds of consumers, and the enterprise should go all out to make the brand occupy a certain category or characteristic in the minds of consumers, that is, to become the representative brand of that category or characteristic, and to make consumers produce relevant needs is its first choice. Establishing brand association according to product category is called category positioning. Category positioning attempts to form the impression that the brand is equivalent to a certain product in the minds of consumers, thus becoming synonymous with a certain product or leading brand. When consumers have such specific needs, they will think of brands.

Seven-up soda "non-cola" is a classic case of category positioning. Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola are the leading brands in the market, with high share and unshakable position in consumers' minds. The positioning of "non-cola" makes 7-up, "Pepsi" and "delicious" in opposition categories, making it another choice besides cola drinks. It not only avoids direct competition with the two giants, but also skillfully links with the two brands, making itself in a parallel position with them. The successful category positioning made 7-up occupy the third place in the beverage market in enter the dragon.

Domestic enterprises have also performed well in this respect. 1996, Xizhilang put forward the slogan of "Jelly pudding Xizhilang", and took the lead in placing huge advertisements on CCTV to continuously strengthen this concept, establishing a one-to-one relationship between products and industries. When it comes to jelly pudding, it reminds me of Yoshiro, and when it comes to jelly pudding, it reminds me of jelly pudding. This concept artificially sets an insurmountable obstacle for similar products. At its peak, Xizhilang once occupied 70% market share. In 2004, when Hebei Zhongwang Group launched the "Five Grains Dojo" instant noodles, it also emphasized its "non-fried" characteristics, which won the attention of consumers and achieved good results. There is Wahaha, which positioned Extraordinary Coke as "China people's own Coke" to distinguish it from the domestic market dominated by Erle, and finally achieved good sales performance. Affinity positioning is based on competitors' brands and attached to competitors' positioning. The purpose of comparative positioning is to enhance the value and popularity of their own brands through brand competition. Enterprises can establish internal relations with well-known brands in their peers in various ways, so that their own brands can quickly enter the minds of consumers and shine through the light of well-known brands.

The most classic case in history is the American Avis car rental company. In 1960s, Goetz Company occupied 55% of the American car rental market. In order to avoid confrontation with it, Avis released the famous "Second Manifesto" in its advertisement. Avis' market share has increased by 28% because it has skillfully established contact with market leaders.

Mengniu Company in China is also the beneficiary of this positioning. When it first started the market, Mengniu had only1more than 3 million yuan, ranking116 in china dairy, which was not the same as Yili, the "boss" of dairy industry. However, Mengniu put forward advertising slogans such as "Strive for national success and learn from Yili", "Strive for the second brand of Inner Mongolia dairy industry" and "Senecio rises from Yili Group and Mengniu dairy industry-we cheer for Inner Mongolia", and printed these slogans on product packaging. These advertisements seem to be an appreciation of Yili, and they also make Mengniu and Yili keep pace with each other, leaving a deep impression on consumers. Today, Mengniu, just eight years old, has become the "industry leader", and its extraordinary development has also been branded as "Mengniu speed" by the industry. Different brands are often divided into different grades by consumers. Brand value is a comprehensive reflection of product quality, consumers' psychological feelings and various social factors, such as values, cultural traditions, etc. Grade has values other than physical objects, such as self-esteem and superiority brought to consumers. High-end brands often show their value through high prices.

For example, the price of Rolex watches is as high as tens of thousands of RMB, which is the highest among many watch brands and a symbol of wealth and status. Having it means that you are a successful person or a member of the upper class. Another example is the hotel, which is divided into 1-5 grades according to the star rating. The high-grade brand image of five-star hotels not only covers elegant environment, excellent service and complete facilities, but also includes people with certain social status. Hotels located in the middle and low end are aimed at other market segments, such as meeting the low-income people who pursue affordable and cheap prices.

Take SAIC as an example, its positioning is "private car for civil servants", and SAIC has successfully occupied 70% of official cars in the country. According to the domestic administrative level, SAIC has launched a series of subdivided official vehicles, such as Santana at the departmental level, Santa 2000 at the county level, Passat at the bureau level and Audi at the provincial and ministerial levels. It is precisely because of SAIC's clear positioning of the specific domestic market at that time and the accurate division of market grades that SAIC is today.

In order to better occupy the domestic instant noodle market, Ding Xin Group of Taiwan Province successfully launched the "Master Kong" brand to occupy the mid-range market, and then launched the "Fumanduo" brand to enter the low-end instant noodle market. USP positioning includes three aspects: first, it should spread an idea, a suggestion and a promise to consumers, and tell them what benefits they will get from buying products; Second, this proposition should be unique, because competitors can't or haven't put it forward; Third, this idea should be consumer-centered, easy to understand and spread, and has great appeal.

Using USP positioning, we can highlight the characteristics and advantages of brands in the case of too many brands of similar products and fierce competition, so that consumers can sort different brands in their minds according to their own preferences and the importance they attach to the interests of a certain brand, put them in different positions, and choose goods more quickly when there is relevant demand.

In the automobile market, BMW preaches "the pleasure of driving", the rich emphasize "durability and safety", Mazda emphasizes "reliability", Toyota emphasizes "the appearance of sports cars", Volvo is positioned as "safety", Fiat is positioned as "vitality" and Mercedes-Benz is a symbol of "nobility, kingliness, prominence and supremacy". Because of their own clear value proposition, these gold-lettered signboards have their own fixed consumer groups, occupying the highest market share in their respective regions.

Procter & Gamble's application of USP brand positioning is the most successful: taking shampoo as an example, Procter & Gamble has launched five brands in China, namely Rejoice, Pan Ting, Head & Shoulders, Sassoon and clairol, each of which has a strong pertinence, and the positioning of Head & Shoulders is "dandruff removal"; Rejoice focuses on "soft hair"; Pan Ting's position is "nourishing hair", Sassoon's position is "hair styling" and clairol's position is "herbal essence". According to the relationship between products and the lifestyle of a certain type of consumers, we can deeply understand what kind of benefits and results the target consumers want, and then provide corresponding products and benefits according to this demand.

For example, when Haier just launched its own mobile phone, in order to reflect the positioning of Haier's international brand, it proposed "listen to the world and fight the world!" Appeal. Because there is not much difference in the quality of the mobile phone itself, the key is to give consumers a feeling. Haier's mobile phone is aimed at a large number of young people who are struggling in the city. These people are full of lofty sentiments and hope to make their own sky. Therefore, "listening to the world and conquering the world" combines the characteristics of consumers and brands, which not only conveys Haier's sense of atmosphere, but also takes into account the needs of the target market, and finally achieves good market performance.

Successful use of consumer positioning can personalize the brand, thus establishing a unique brand image and brand personality. In 1930s, American Philip Morris Tobacco Company introduced Marlboro cigarettes, but at the beginning of listing, the sales situation was very unsatisfactory. Later, after investigation, it was found that the main reason was that Marlboro cigarettes were regarded as "female cigarettes" because of their low filter tips and tar content, which affected sales. Accordingly, the company believes that only by changing the brand image can we win more consumers, especially male consumers. As a result, the company began to take pains to introduce "male" factors into Marlboro: for example, it changed the red packaging representing enthusiasm, courage and fame, and painted the name in bold black font to show masculinity, implication and solemnity; And let the strong and well-protected cowboy be the protagonist of Marlboro cigarette advertisement, repeatedly emphasizing "Marlboro's male world", and finally make Marlboro cigarette sales and brand value jump to the top in the world. Nike takes people who like sports, especially Jordan's fans, as its target consumers, so it chooses Jordan as its advertising model. The advertisement not only vividly shows Jordan's elegant demeanor, but also integrates his enterprising spirit and positive and optimistic personality into "Nike" and successfully establishes Nike's enduring brand image. Pepsi-Cola is positioned as "a new generation of coke", which captures the psychological characteristics of the new generation worshipping movie idols and invites Mike Jackson as the advertising spokesperson, making the new generation a captive of Pepsi-Cola, and Pepsi-Cola a symbol of "youth, liveliness and times". Comparative positioning strategy refers to the way that enterprises highlight the characteristics of brands, seize the weaknesses of well-known competitors, sell their own advantages to consumers, and thus gain market recognition.

In order to highlight the high quality and low price of its Lexus car, Toyota promoted the car in the United States, juxtaposed its picture with Mercedes-Benz, and added the title: "You can buy a car worth $73,000 for $36,000, which is the first time in history." And in the video presented by the dealer to his potential customers, there is a paragraph like this: an engineer puts a glass of water on the hood of Mercedes-Benz and Lexus respectively. When the car started, the water on the Mercedes shook, but not on the Lexus. This undoubtedly improved the reputation of Lexus, gained wide market recognition and achieved good results.

Another successful case happened in the United States. Wendy is a famous fast food restaurant in America. In order to highlight the characteristics that its hamburgers are all beef, the company made such an advertisement: three old ladies meet to eat hamburgers at McDonald's. While eating, they found that there was only a little beef in the big hamburger. The three men were very angry and shouted at the camera: "Where is the beef?" TV Narrator: "If three old ladies go to Wendy's to enjoy hamburgers, they don't have to worry about finding beef!" " This advertisement was a great success and was rated as a classic by new york International Advertising Competition. Therefore, Wendy's turnover increased by 65,438+08%. Directly or indirectly affect the positioning of consumers' emotional experience through the use of products.

Philip kotler, a marketing expert, believes that the change of people's consumption behavior can be divided into three stages: the first is the quantitative stage, the second is the qualitative stage, and the third is the emotional stage. In the third stage, what consumers value is not the quantity and quality of products, but the close relationship with themselves, or to satisfy some emotional desire, or to pursue the coincidence of some commodity and ideal self-concept. Obviously, emotional positioning is an important fulcrum of brand appeal, and emotion is the link to maintain brand loyalty.

If a brand can't deeply arouse the emotions of consumers, it will be difficult for the brand to gain the trust of consumers; By publicizing the cultural connotation of the brand and using emotional marketing, we can cultivate consumers' feelings for the brand and let them have a special liking for the brand. Only by constantly enhancing the brand's humanistic creativity and aesthetic characteristics, occupying consumers' minds and arousing consumers' associations and emotions can we arouse interest and promote purchase. For example, "Taitai Oral Liquid" once met the spiritual needs of women with the demands of "being a good woman", "making women better" and "nourishing women and making them beautiful". In addition, the emotional image of "wife" implied by the brand itself has occupied a place in the health care product market for more than ten years and has been widely recognized by domestic consumers.

Wahaha can be said to be one of the most successful brands in China market in the past decade. The success of this naming not only reflects the target of a product in a popular and accurate way, but also takes a desire, a hope and a consumption of children's nature as the core of brand naming, so that the name Wahaha seamlessly conveys the above image and value, and this development and desire for children's nature is the starting point of brand image positioning. Functional positioning is to link the brand with the use of products in certain environments and occasions, so as to arouse consumers' association with the brand in specific situations.

For example, "white plus black" cold medicine divides the color of cold medicine into white and black. "Eat white films during the day and don't sleep; Eat black films at night and have a good sleep. On this basis, the traditional way of taking cold medicine has been reformed and good market response has been achieved. In view of the single functional positioning of Swiss and Japanese watches, Hong Kong watch manufacturers have launched watches with multi-functional positioning, designing and producing fashion watches, sports watches, pen watches, pendant watches, lovers' watches, children's watches, calculation watches, lighters' watches, time difference watches, alarm clocks and odometers. With its functional positioning, Hong Kong watches sell well all over the world and have achieved unprecedented success.

Recently, "Wang Lao Ji" has been the most successful in functional positioning. An advertising slogan "I'm afraid of getting angry and drinking Wang Laoji" spread all over the country. With a clear functional positioning, Wang Laoji's sales have soared from 1 billion, 500 million and 1 billion, and Wang Laoji has become synonymous with herbal tea, making a regional brand for many years a national famous brand. When you are sleepy and tired, consumers will think of drinking red bull; When there is a fire, consumers will think of drinking Wang Laoji. Situational consumption is an effective docking with functional orientation, occupying consumers' minds. Injecting a certain cultural connotation into the brand and forming cultural brand differences is called cultural orientation. Cultural orientation can not only greatly improve brand taste, but also make brand image unique. For example, when we drink Coca-Cola and eat McDonald's and KFC, we are not only satisfying our hunger, but also making a consumption that represents American culture. This kind of consumption represents a cultural symbol, an identity, a fashion and an idea.

Only the national is the world. For example, China's Cloisonne and French remy martin all bear profound national cultural characteristics; Wuxi's "Red Bean" clothing brand, Shaoxing's "Xianheng" hotel, with the help of Cao Zhi, Lu Xun and other well-known and loved masterpieces, excavated the precipitation of China culture. "Jinliufu-China people's blessing wine", this positioning will upgrade the brand culture to the national "blessing wine"; Seven-brand clothing impressed the world with China culture, earnestly wrote the strategy of "building a national ambition and creating a world brand" with the feelings of "China heart, China love and China made", and put forward the slogan of "China is beautiful"; "Quanjude" Roast Duck and "Goubuli" Steamed Bun, two centuries-old brands, have gained such great influence only by integrating the unique cultural factors of China tradition. Now domestic enterprises have understood that it is difficult to please consumers only by relying on foreign technology and strategies, because no matter what we do, there is a certain gap with foreign brands. Only by inheriting and carrying forward the excellent history and culture of the Chinese nation for 5,000 years can China enterprises create a truly world-class brand.