Position to beat the opposition
When you’ve only got a few seconds to connect with your customers and get your brands key message across, you may as well make it the best damn few seconds you can.
A brand positioning is there to help get your business proposition across, it helps your Brand Mark (or logo) talk out loud; in a short, punchy, meaningful and hopefully interesting way – if you get it right it can work really hard for you, and a good positioning will also give you a solid platform to generate ideas to build your business from. For example YouTube ‘Broadcast Yourself’ two words, simply put, but these two words say everything about their business, in a simple, engaging and inspiring way.
Driving in to work the other day I heard a classic ad on the radio and I could not forget the positioning of this business. It was for a portable toilet business and I needed one after I heard the ad as I almost pissed my pants laughing – but it was their positioning line that was the main thing that really stood out for me. This company positioned themselves as ‘The experts at taking the piss’ – pure gold right there! But unfortunately this line was so strong that I couldn’t remember the business name. They hadn’t considered SEO or SEM to work alongside their radio campaign so googling their strong positioning line didn’t help me find them online to give them a plug in the post. If they had of owned the positioning line online and invested a little in SEO they would have captured all the potential customers who couldn’t recall the company name. And with a line that polarising the risk that the company name will not be remembered is exceptionally high, particularly on radio. Your customer isn’t doing what you think they are when hearing your radio ad; sitting patiently with their phones in hand, whilst driving, desperately waiting for your number to drop. The reality is that people switch off when radio ads are on (we all do), that’s why you need to stand out and back it up so they can find you. Most of them will research you first online. And if they can find you, you get another opportunity to share your brand experience even further and hopefully convert you customer before they do any further research.
Position your brand the right way to capture the best customers, so you can show them who you are and what you can do for them, then convert them – In short: Position to beat the opposition.
Paul Findlay
Paul is the Creative Director at Brands to life® with over 25 years experience building brands. He has founded two of Melbourne’s most successful independent agencies with many highlights along the way including ‘BRW Fast 100’ and ‘B&T Agency of the Year’. Paul creates memorable and authentic brand experiences through engaging Strategies, Identities, Visual Languages and Brand Stories, whatever it takes to breathe new life into brands.
