Brand Positioning Components

Brand positioning components will likely vary depending on which brand consultant or marketing agency you use. These are the core elements that most consultants or agencies use:

• Target customer definition (demographics, psychographics (lifestyles, attitudes, values, behaviors, job titles, etc.)
• Brand essence (the heart and soul of the brand - it's timeless quality - in the form of 'adjective adjective noun')
• Brand promise ('Only [brand] delivers [relevant differentiated benefit or shared value]')
• Brand personality (seven to twelve adjectives that describe the brand as if it were a person)

Brand mission, vision and values are often added. Its mission is its reason for being, its purpose. Its vision is what it wants to be, its aspirations. Its values can best be communicated through "We believe..." statements.

Some people talk about a brand's DNA. This is roughly equivalent to its essence. 

Some people talk about a brand's unique value proposition. This focuses on the same thing the brand promise does - the brand's unique and compelling point of difference.

People often support the brand promise with proof points and "reasons to believe" the promise.

Sometimes, people will articulate the brand promise or unique value proposition within the context of a specific product or service category or competitive frame of reference. How this is defined can make a big difference in the overall brand positioning.  

Some people add brand archetype to the mix. The brand archetype speaks to the brand's underlying motivation and is roughly based on Jungian archetypes.

Some include core brand attributes in the brand positioning statement. 

Fewer people add brand pricing and distribution strategies to the brand positioning statement, though most people consider these to be more tactical and less strategic. However, for some very upscale brands, these can be a very strategic part of the brand's positioning. 

The brand positioning statement is a strategic internal document that guides almost all of the brand's marketing activities. It is always included in agency or creative briefs. 

To a large degree, the brand positioning statement is the roadmap for how a brand takes on human qualities and what human qualities it takes on. It is also a roadmap for how the brand will succeed in the marketplace.

Other blog posts on brand positioning:

• Brand Research a Must for Brand Positioning
• Determining the Current Brand Position
• Brand Positioning
• Brand Positioning 501
• Six Approaches to Brand Positioning
• Unique Value Proposition
• In a Way, It's All the Same
• 50 Ways to Differentiate Your Brand
• Brand Positioning is Easy
• When to Reposition a Brand
• How Does Your Organization Approach Brand Repositioning? 
• Brands and Competitive Frame of Reference
• Choosing the Right Competitive Frame of Reference
• Rebranding Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Rebranding Footjoy 
• Repositioning RCI
• Brand Associations
• Brand Archetypes
• Brand Personality as a Point of Difference
• Differentiating on the Unexpected
• Creating "Category of One" Brands
• Creating New Categories Versus Battling it Out for Marketshare
• Repositioning Your Competitor's Brand
• The Creative Brief
• Writing the Agency Brief
• Delivering on Your Brand's Promise
• Creating a Sustainable Competitive Advantage
• Ten Proven Ways to Align Your Organization with Its Brand's Promise

And here is BrandForward's online step-by-step brand positioning workshop, everything you need to successfully position or reposition your brand:

• Positioning Your Brand to Win!