Positioning: Create a Distinct Image for Your Brand - Essay Sample

Introduction

The positioning strategy an employed by a company gives customers an image of its products, making the companies stand out from the other competing brands. The image is created in the minds of the potential customers, giving them a picture of the benefits associated with their brands. The strategy is conducted through extensive communication dine through brand commercials (Heinberg, Katsikeas, Ozkaya & Taube, 2019). The benefits expressed through brand positioning have to be relevant for consumers, otherwise, it will not help to create a brand positioning strategy. It is easy and logical if our brand does not offer anything different, consumers have no reason to choose it over other competitors.

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Guinness, for instance, has different brand positioning in its different markets over the world. There are some factors that lead to the different positioning displayed by major brands in their marketing process. As displayed in various ads and television commercials, the marketing strategy of this company in terms of advertisements in Africa is different from that of Europe. Positioning strategy aims at creating the benefits associated with the brand. Thus, having an accurate idea on the customers' perspective on the company's offers and identifying what the target customers want from our offer and that of the competitors. Generally, the position of the products depends on the attributes that are most important for the target consumer (Heinberg et al., 2019).

The segmentation strategy in brand positioning identifies customers who will be the target, the positioning strategy refers to the selection of a marketing mix for each target market segment. Therefore the positioning of a product or brand of a company is determined by the buyer, along with the actions of the competition; consequently, the positioning of a brand is the way in which the buyer perceives it in relation to the brands of the key competitors of the company. Frequently, the product is the focal point of the positioning strategy (Heinberg et al., 2019). Guinness has different positioning strategies for different markets. The company capitalizes on a certain customer profile, targeting a different audience. For instance, when a brand is associated with a certain celebrity, brand position in the minds of the celebrity fans will work efficiently.

The competition in today's market is based on the consumers' minds and efficient positioning yields the success to business organizations. Having the best positioning is to always consider the minds of consumers -which is normally associated with greater market share and profitability- and be able to maintain that position over time through the flexibility in marketing programs, continuous innovation and the reputation of having good products.

Different Brand Positioning

Different positioning occurs when marketing a brand that requires an appeal to different audiences. Companies make overall brand positioning on the benefits of their products but may also make an advertisement to individual audiences that focuses on specific benefits depending on the audience market. This is done to fit the requirements of customers in different demographic settings (Heinberg et al., 2019). Different positioning may work efficiently, although it has some associated problems. One of the problems is associated with creating general messages on a brand which could make it trite or lose meaning. Different adverts may also bring in confusion to consumers on how different messages define the overarching brand position.

New Products Development

Rethinking a brand and repositioning does not consist of a simple change of name, logo or color. There must be a perfectly structured strategy in the background that includes all the elements that are affected by this change. Announcing a new brand name is just the tip of the iceberg of what is to come. Thus, a repositioning must be reinforced with marketing strategies and advertising and communication campaigns that boost the presence of the new brand, both internally and externally, achieving a connection equal to or greater than what was available. The success of communication lies in the fact that these connections are associated with the brand, generating notoriety and promoting a positioning from the base.

After the crisis of the economic crisis of the 1970s, AMC turned to the Renault, a leading French company. Jeep Cherokee was redesigned by Renault, gaining popularity for years in the United States (Spirit, 2017). The repositioning of a brand is necessary when a brand has a bad image, confused or nonexistent. Also, new product development becomes significant when the main benefit of a brand has gone from being a differentiating benefit to an entry cost benefit.

Renault Development of the New Cherokee Model

Introduction of new features on an already existing product is referred to as evolutionary innovations. Repositioning brings in new competitive advantages or the new market niches business this scenario generates new opportunities and above all, a commitment to consolidation as a business group. Evolutionary or incremental innovation is the one practiced by the vast majority of companies and consists of gradually improving their products to increase profits, without worrying too much about making big changes that imply breaking their processes or creating new products (Spirit, 2017).

In addition, these companies do not take into account the new products or services offered by other companies because a priori they do not believe that they can pose any threat. It is precisely at this point that new organizations can take advantage of the "carelessness" of other companies. Although the newcomers play in inferior conditions, they offer their innovative products at better prices.

Challenges Faced By Renault in Capitalizing Its New Product

After years of success in the automobile industry, Renault faced market challenges, slowing its profit growth. Although the Renault Company helped the AMC to manufacture a new compact model, the company's alliance with the AMC was dysfunctional. This is because Renault provided the design and tools of manufacturing exacting production prices to the American AMC (Spirit, 2017). Some government policies greatly affected the success of the Renault Company. The manufacturer as forced to end the production of some of its commercial and military vehicles. The government regulations didn't allow foreign companies in the production of certain models. With most of its profitable models in this line of these vehicles, the regulations were a big blow to the automobile company.

The emergence of new models under different companies was another blow to the French company. With the increased sales of the Alliance sedan, Renault ceased the production of its other models. It also failed to develop multiple models, making it not match the competitive market, which offered a wide range of models. This slowly slowed the dominance of the automaker. Renault also failed to align their European origin cars with the tastes of US market trends. Some of its old models failed to adjust to the government's emission regulations. The cars also lacked some feature required in the US market setting, like the air-conditioning feature (Spirit, 2017).

The Cherokee Success

Being a sport utility vehicle, Cherokee's design made it popular. The new model now had an improved body design with a suspension system, giving it a sporty touch. The car also had compact dimensions that suited the requirements of the US markets. The introduction of the automatic transmission also gave it a boost in sales.

The Future of Renault in the US

The future of Renault in the United States is shaky with the competitive state of the American market. With companies like Nissan and Infiniti dominating the market, it will be a challenge for Renault to remain significant in the market, considering the features of the new car models are getting improved every day.

References

(n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2019, from https://csusb.zoom.us/recording/play/prA2rr6jzAOKwpodKFMUdluX6w8JumMnvu9nmHBauBe1rDrha2xsBH-fj5Lr_859?autoplay=true&startTime=1529513113000

(n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2019, from https://csusb.zoom.us/recording/share/pexTAaH2ZCd9zUYb4xymZhvKZi2qJo4-Z5wTR0maR8WwIumekTziMw?startTime=1529658936000

Heinberg, M., Katsikeas, C. S., Ozkaya, H. E., & Taube, M. (2019). How nostalgic brand positioning shapes brand equity: differences between emerging and developed markets. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1-22. Retrieved from <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-019-00637-x>

Spirit, A. M. C. (2017). AMC Spirit. AMC, 56. Retrieved from <https://howlingpixel.com/i-en/AMC_Spirit>