Positioning of Absolut Vodka
Absolut Positioning.
This report will describe the concept of positioning, effective positioning and its relation to segmentation. It will analyse the positioning of Absolut vodka in its market share. In this report the relevant positioning criteria will be identified and appropriate positioning maps to support the analysis will be used. In addition, suggestions on how to improve and develop the Absolut’s positioning will be given as well.
In order to apply the relevant academic theory to the positioning of Absolut Vodka brand the definition and idea of positioning concept needs to be identified.
Adcock, Halborg and Ross (2001) provide the positioning definition made by Ries and Trout that say that it is ‘what happens in the mind of customers.’ Brassington and Pettitt (2003) write that positioning ‘means thinking about a product in the context of the competitive space it occupies in its market, defined in terms of attributes that matter to the target market.’ It is possible to state that positioning is the identification of position of certain brand and its total image among different other brands in the minds of target audience. Positioning includes the evaluation of competitive advantages and brand’s niche.The main purpose of positioning is to achieve sustainable view in the minds of consumers about the brand as the best one in particular sphere.
It is known that all offered services and products are taking their place with main goal to satisfy customer’s wants and needs. Consequently, in case with effective positioning goods and services have to ‘promise the benefit the customer will receive, create the expectation, and offer a solution to the customer’s problem’, according to http://www.marketing91.com. Effective positioning needs to be unique and realistic, it has to be related to current position, should be long term and yet updated and improved during the time period. Also, product needs to be in the mind of customers’.
According to Wind (1980),
This report will describe the concept of positioning, effective positioning and its relation to segmentation. It will analyse the positioning of Absolut vodka in its market share. In this report the relevant positioning criteria will be identified and appropriate positioning maps to support the analysis will be used. In addition, suggestions on how to improve and develop the Absolut’s positioning will be given as well.
In order to apply the relevant academic theory to the positioning of Absolut Vodka brand the definition and idea of positioning concept needs to be identified.
Adcock, Halborg and Ross (2001) provide the positioning definition made by Ries and Trout that say that it is ‘what happens in the mind of customers.’ Brassington and Pettitt (2003) write that positioning ‘means thinking about a product in the context of the competitive space it occupies in its market, defined in terms of attributes that matter to the target market.’ It is possible to state that positioning is the identification of position of certain brand and its total image among different other brands in the minds of target audience. Positioning includes the evaluation of competitive advantages and brand’s niche.The main purpose of positioning is to achieve sustainable view in the minds of consumers about the brand as the best one in particular sphere.
It is known that all offered services and products are taking their place with main goal to satisfy customer’s wants and needs. Consequently, in case with effective positioning goods and services have to ‘promise the benefit the customer will receive, create the expectation, and offer a solution to the customer’s problem’, according to http://www.marketing91.com. Effective positioning needs to be unique and realistic, it has to be related to current position, should be long term and yet updated and improved during the time period. Also, product needs to be in the mind of customers’.
According to Wind (1980),
Bibliography: Adcock, D, Halborg, A, Ross, C (2001). Marketing principles and practice. 4th ed. Essex: Financial Times Management. p172-177. Backer, M (2003). The Marketing Book. 5th ed. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. p106. Brassington, F, Pettitt, S (2003). Principles of Marketing. Essex: Financial Times. p116-197. Courtland, B, Houston, M, Thill, J (1995). Marketing. 2nd ed. NY: McGraw-Hill. p202 Kotler, P, G Armstrong, J Saunders and V Wong, 1999, Principles of Marketing, second European edition, (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall) Wind, Y, 1980, Going to Market: new twists for some old tricks, Wharton Magazine, 4 Absolut Bhasin, H. (2010). Effective positioning. Available: http://www.marketing91.com/effective-positioning/. Last accessed 15th Apr 2012. Oliver, E. (2010). Absolut Vodka. Available: http://oliver.efri.hr/~medmark/dokumenti/absolute_vodka.pdf. Last accessed 16th Apr 2012. Supermarket own brand guide. (2012). Spirits. Available: http://www.supermarketownbrandguide.co.uk/search.php?SearchString=vodka&Search.x=69&Search.y=18&score&price=0&pricevalue=0.00&table=spirits. The Times 100 & Wilson and Wilson Publishing Ltd. (2011). Marketing mix. Available: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/marketing/marketing-mix-price-place-promotion-product.html#ixzz1s6QeVriC. Last accessed 15th Apr 2012. Mintel Vodka, UK, March (2009) White Spirits and RTDs, UK, March (2011). Competitive Context. [Online]. Available at: http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=545336/display/id=569847 [Accessed: April 2012].