How to write a Brand Positioning Statement
How to Write a Brand Positioning Statement
The Power of 3 Words
First words on the subjects goes to Branding expert and author Jack Trout who advocates the simplest brand positioning strategy possible. He believes that the best and most successful brands occupy very specific positions in consumers minds, and those positions can be translated into a brand positioning statement of no more than three words. He wrote a post on Branding Strategy Insider where he said:
“I have never seen a great brand positioning strategy that needed more than three words to define the brand. Any more than that and the probability of achieving any kind of impact on the market turns almost immediately to zero.
“Great branding focuses on the two or three things that mark the brand out as different. Great positioning always consists of unexpected words born from research, forged through heritage, and destined to differentiate. I cannot tell you what those words should be, but I can tell you that if you are claiming ‘innovation’ or ‘excellence’ in your positioning, you will achieve the opposite.”
The trick is creating a brand positioning statement that accurately encompasses your brand within three words (or as close to that as you can get). Think of it this way, consumers don’t have the time, patience, or desire to sift through cluttered messages to get to the meat of the matter. If your brand position isn’t clear, concise, and believable, it will have no chance of snatching a space in consumers’ minds for more than a nanosecond. Your brand positioning strategy has to set the focus and direction of your brand in a way that is instantly meaningful to consumers.
You may be familiar with Jact Trout’s work which amplifies the above alongwith his ex partner Al Ries. Check them out for more details and examples.
While their work is strategic, practitioners need to follow a template which spells out the different elements that need to be included. We look at two approaches which are
The Power of 3 Words
First words on the subjects goes to Branding expert and author Jack Trout who advocates the simplest brand positioning strategy possible. He believes that the best and most successful brands occupy very specific positions in consumers minds, and those positions can be translated into a brand positioning statement of no more than three words. He wrote a post on Branding Strategy Insider where he said:
“I have never seen a great brand positioning strategy that needed more than three words to define the brand. Any more than that and the probability of achieving any kind of impact on the market turns almost immediately to zero.
“Great branding focuses on the two or three things that mark the brand out as different. Great positioning always consists of unexpected words born from research, forged through heritage, and destined to differentiate. I cannot tell you what those words should be, but I can tell you that if you are claiming ‘innovation’ or ‘excellence’ in your positioning, you will achieve the opposite.”
The trick is creating a brand positioning statement that accurately encompasses your brand within three words (or as close to that as you can get). Think of it this way, consumers don’t have the time, patience, or desire to sift through cluttered messages to get to the meat of the matter. If your brand position isn’t clear, concise, and believable, it will have no chance of snatching a space in consumers’ minds for more than a nanosecond. Your brand positioning strategy has to set the focus and direction of your brand in a way that is instantly meaningful to consumers.
You may be familiar with Jact Trout’s work which amplifies the above alongwith his ex partner Al Ries. Check them out for more details and examples.
While their work is strategic, practitioners need to follow a template which spells out the different elements that need to be included. We look at two approaches which are