Positioning shapes everything about your business. How? Let’s make a simple thought experiment. Imagine you have a new business. You want to sell a service — sales training. One way to position it could be “training for sales teams in B2B software companies.” And that would define your: This is clear. Now, another way to…
Category: How Brands Win
Brand Narrative: Why You Need A Bold Narrative To Stand Out (And How To Create One)
In 2003, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) realized the city needed a new story. Las Vegas had been associated with gambling over the years. Casinos were indeed a key feature of the city. But Vegas offered many other things. Shows, restaurants, parties… So they hired R&R (an advertising agency) to create a…
Perceived Value: How To Create More Customer Value (Without Changing The Product)
How can a business create value for customers? And how can you increase it without changing much about the product or service? Let’s think together. 1. Benefits Functional benefits are always a factor. You buy a watch to know the time. And maybe you dive a lot. So water resistance up to a certain pressure…
Mental Availability: How To Make Your Brand The Obvious Choice (At The Purchase Moment)
In 2008, the financial crisis hit the US. People lost their jobs. Banks went bankrupt. Everybody thought the global financial system was about to collapse. And guess what people stopped buying in such an environment? Yes, luxury products. So luxury watchmakers also went into a crisis like many other industries. People didn’t buy expensive watches…
Value Innovation: How To Win In Crowded Markets By Ignoring Competitors
In the 1960s, commercial aviation was booming. And aircraft engine manufacturers wanted to take advantage of this new industry. They had expertise and large production capacity coming from the Second World War. Rolls-Royce was one of them. But they were small compared with American giants like General Electric. And how do you grow in this…
Brand Associations: How To Plant Your Brand In Customers’ Minds (Without Spending More)
In 1963, Aston Martin had to make a challenging decision. They had a successful racing team. But the company was struggling financially. And the costs of maintaining a racing team became unbearable. So despite their passion for racing, they decided to close the team. Now, racing is not only a passion project for car brands.…
Scissors-Rock-Paper: How To Turn Your Company’s Size Into a Competitive Advantage
In 1982, two employees at Xerox —John Warnock and Charles Geschke— decided to quit and start their own business. They were excited about developments in tech. So they wanted to ride the wave. Their idea was simple. As more people used computers, the world needed better ways to work with digital files. So they created…
Customer Inertia: How To Beat It And Increase Sales Beyond Expectations
In the early 1970s, The Fidelity Bank had a lot of money to lend. But nobody was asking for a loan. So they hired Ogilvy & Mather agency to make a new campaign. Now, imagine you are an Ogilvy copywriter. You have to write an ad to sell more loans. But there is a problem.…
Counter-Positioning: Why Your Brand Needs An Enemy To Grow Faster (And How To Choose One)
In the 1970s, BMW was an unpopular brand in the US. The other German brands already captured a place in American drivers’ minds. Mercedes meant comfort. Porsche meant sporty luxury. And Volkswagen meant practicality. But BMW? It had no identity. Some people didn’t even know that it was German — they thought BMW stood for…
Anchoring Beyond Pricing: How To Increase Your Brand’s Perceived Value
In the mid-1940s, the diamond cartel De Beers had a challenge probably no other company ever had. They controlled almost all the diamond mines in the world. And they had an excessive supply after the discoveries of huge mines a few decades earlier. But they had a dilemma. If they reduced the price and made…