Topics: Positioning

Meaning and Definition

‘The distinctive position created for an offering that ensures clear identification and diffraction by consumers’ (Slade-Brooking, 2016)

A brand position is the consumer’s impression of a brand within the brands market. It determines where each brand is positioned in relation to other competitor brands.

For example, New Look and Topshop sell in the same market, however, Topshop is known for better quality clothes at a higher price point. Therefore, Topshop’s position is higher than that of New Looks.

Scholarly Point of Views

‘Brand positioning in fashion is increasingly based on aspirational lifestyles and personalities which are designed to appeal to the target audience.’ (Jackson and Shaw, 2009)

It is the consumer’s lifestyles and behaviours that establishes the position of a fashion brand. A brands position will only be completed in the same market of that brand. For instance, a luxury brand such as Chanel would never be in the same position mix as a value brand such as George.

‘Positioning is how customers see the market, although that perception may have been influenced by marketing action.’ (Easey, 2009)

Consumers make buying decisions based on their feelings towards a brand. This can be influenced by previous experience, packaging or the brands values. Though marketing can arguably have the biggest impact or influence on buying decisions. Thus, advertising and promotional work done by each brand effects its brand positioning in the market overall.

Take for example the British brand ‘Burberry’. The brand started out as an outerwear attire brand known for their trench coats and house check. Thanks to the high price point, Burberry was seen as a high-end brand.

However, by the mid 2000’s Burberry “became inextricably linked with “chav culture”, a pejorative stereotype of the British working class that sent sales plummeting” (Hope, 2017). As a way to combat this negative image, Burberry started to embrace “social media, live streaming of fashion shows and digital engagement with consumers”. They also redesigned their “Regent street store to reflect the burberry.com website” this, to provide a holistically smooth experience both digitally and physically. Furthermore, the brand hired photographer Mario Testino to shoot their campaigns that featured all British models in the English countryside as a nod to their heritage (see figure 1).

Figure 1, Burberry S/S 2009 campaign

The brands distinguished check was now “limited to less than 10% of products, it still peeked out under shirt collars in advertising”. All of these marketing actions have managed to change the consumers mind on Burberry. Today Burberry is regarded as being a high-end brand once again, and in addition, the brand is also “the most popular British brand on Instagram” (Hendriksz, 2017). This proves that marketing and advertising does indeed influence the buying habits on consumers.

‘The best positioning builds on a deep understanding of consumer needs and aspirations, the completion, the strengths and weaknesses of a brand, changes in demographics, technology and trends.’ (Wheeler, 2013)

To identify a brands position, you need to recognize the different components that make the brand. What are they selling? Who are they targeting to? And how do they utilize marketing communications? Furthermore, it is beneficial to prepare at SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis on the brand in order to pin point the exact position of the brand within its own market.

Real Life Example

And Other Stories Brand Position

And Other Stories is a European clothing store owned by H&M. Their prices vary from £15 to £60 for a top, and £35 to £259 for bottoms. In addition to clothing, they have a beauty range as well as a stationery range. Furthermore, they also sell other shoe brands such as Nike and Reebok in their stores. Their target audience are fashion forward females in their 20-30’s who live in urban cities, have comfortable jobs and are sociable.

And Other Stories competitors includes Zara, Cos and Whistles. These are all brands who share the same market and target audience so therefore they will be considered in the positioning (see figure 2).

Figure 2, &Other Stories marketing position map

This positioning map shows that the &Other Stories brand is located in the middle within its own competitors. Brands such as Mango, Topshop and Zara are fast fashion brands that are known for keeping up to date with trends and constantly restocking clothing. The additional brands featured in this map are less known for their constant restock and more known for appealing to woman who do not necessarily keep up with trends, rather they have established their own style and would shop in these sorts of stores for clothing.

According to this SWOT analysis table (see figure 3), &Other Stories has its fair share for threats and weaknesses. However, I think they are hurdling those challenges by collaborating with various brands such as vans (see figure 4) and becoming more eco-conscious (see figure 5).

Figure 3, &Other Stories SWOT chart

and keeping an open mind towards sustainability which is important for brands to do in today’s era.

Figure 4, Vans x &Other Stories collaboration

Figure 5, &Other Stories using recycled shells to make sustainable jewellery

Personal Evaluations

Knowing your brands position is essential as it is the manner in which marketers decide how best to communicate the brand to the target audience based on their needs and desires. In addition, positioning takes into consideration the competitor’s position as well since it is important to address their practices in order to analysis how to further improve the brand. In order to progress the brands service, brands need to recognise and acknowledge their own weak points. Which makes positioning necessary for the brands who want to grow, evolve and potentially generate a wider consumer base.