Brand Positioning via Unique Value Proposition

Ask five people on the street, "What is branding?" and you might get five different answers. That's not surprising. But ask five agencies and you may get the same results. There's a lot of jargon floating around out there. "Brand positioning" was first thought of as defining a "unique value proposition" (UVP). Then, some experts proclaimed that it really is a "superior value proposition" (SVP), therefore unique by its exclusivity.

At MicroArts Creative Agency, we think of brand positioning as the brand's promise of value—a UVP or SVP to be sure, but one that targets human emotion and builds value in the psyche of the target consumer or demographic.

BRAND POSITION STARTS WITH THE BRAND NAME.

Brand names that embody the brand's unique value is smart branding. As a brand launch agency, our strategy is to pair that differentiating name prefix with a suffix that states the actual business of the brand—Firebrand Technologies or 2N+1 Data Centers | Boston—for example.

BRAND TAGLINES HAVE A KEY JOB IN BRAND POSITIONING.

At MicroArts Creative Agency, we like to pair the brand name with a tagline to answer three simple but important questions (especially if the brand name alone hasn't or can't already):

• What business is this brand in?
• What is its difference?
• Why should your consumers value this difference?

The combination of brand name and brand tagline must be a strong promise of value to entice the masses to buy your brand over a competitor's brand. For new brands, this brand name and brand tagline combination is vital in communicating the value story.

To test if the marriage of your brand name and tagline is strong, see what happens if your tagline "steps out" with the competition. Does your line work well with the competition's name and logo, too? If so, it's not a tagline candidate to position your brand in the psyche of your target market.

A BRAND SLOGAN IS A KEY ELEMENT IN
POSITIONING A BRAND.

We leverage a brand slogan to emotionally connect with a brand's target market. Often a slogan is an emotional call-to-action.

Ignite. Learn something. Spark everything.™
OhMiBod.® Feel the music.™

The brand slogan lives on most communications. And in the early days of a brand launch, it works closely with the brand name and brand tagline to tell the story of value. A strategically positioned brand becomes known for the business it is in and its unique value; and the brand logo intrinsically symbolizes this value. Once this brand position is established, the logo can be paired up with the brand slogan and often the brand tagline can be retired.

Over time, if your brand position is successful, the brand logo itself will symbolize your unique proposition of value. FedEx. ... Xerox. ... iPod. Is there anyone out there who still doesn't know what these do (or how well they do it)?

A BRAND STORY MAKES A BRAND POSITION BELIEVABLE AND TANGIBLE.

The job of the brand story is to make the unique value propositions made in the tagline, brand name and slogan believable and tangible for the consumer. Typically, it is four to six sentences in length and creates a picture of truth in the minds of the target consumer. A brand story finds its way into multiple mediums, including press kits, press releases, consumer packaging, company entrances, sales pitches, websites and collateral. The brand story can even go on the backside of an invoice or at the end of an email sign off.

Our brand positioning process is nearly a carbon copy of our brand naming process. Positioning a brand relies on strong intelligence surrounding the competitive landscape and the target market’s need, awareness of this need and their attitudes and preferences surrounding this need. Once we understand the brand opportunities, we can laser focus the brand position to capture the most lucrative opportunity that is feasible to attain.

STEP 1. IDENTIFY

STEP 1. IDENTIFY

List all the selling features of the product or service.

STEP 2. HIGHLIGHT

STEP 2. HIGHLIGHT

Highlight the key differentiator or the features that collectively make this brand unique.

STEP 3. NAME IT

STEP 3. NAME IT

Name the brand. This is arguably the most critical element of the brand position.

STEP 4. TAG IT

STEP 4. TAG IT

Create a tagline that supports the name.

STEP 5. WRITE

STEP 5. WRITE

Write the brand story.

STEP 6. DESIGN

STEP 6. DESIGN

Develop a logo. Logos need to work on everything from print to online to logowear. Shrink it, expand it, make sure people can still see it.

STEP 7. BRING IT TO MARKET

STEP 7. BRING IT TO MARKET

Weave all the elements, either individually, paired or grouped, into all marketing and sales processes and communications.

STEP 8. SUCCEED

STEP 8. SUCCEED

Brand positioning strategies have achieved the ultimate success when the visual of a logo can stand alone. Picture Nike.

Discover how brand positioning strategies that work are a must for your product or service.