Positioning Essay -- Marketing Advertising Advertisements Essays

Positioning Many people consider marketing as a means to let creative juices flow. In many ways, this can be true. But what many do not realize is that marketing needs common sense and logic to a certain extent. This applies to both internal and external marketing. Companies tend to lose focus – whether it be because it is having a difficult time dealing with high growth or because a few upper management ‘wanna-be’s’ try something bold (without thinking). This is where positioning comes into play – if you want to survive or prosper, that is. So what is positioning about? Positioning is a concept that sparked a revolution in advertising. It was developed in by the authors of â€Å"Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind†, Al Ries and Jack Trout. The book was published in 1981 and became one of the top sellers or all time. Positioning was the first concept to deal with the problems of communication in an over-communicated society. With positioning you can beat the competition and win the battle for recognition in an overcrowded, media-blitzed marketplace. With this approach, a company creates a ‘position’ in the prospect’s mind, one that reflects the company’s own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors. Product positioning is an important strategy for achieving differential advantage. Positioning reflects the â€Å"place† a product occupies in a market or segment. A successful position has characteristics that are both differentiating and important to cons...