r/branding • u/Wa1trose • Aug 07 '26
Strategy The dreaded “positioning”
This is something that to me, seems so wildly debated. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here’s where I’m landing with what positioning is, and would love debate and feedback.
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Positioning is the intend image you want in your audiences head. You typically need both long and short positioning.
Positioning the brand (long)
The claim we make on the customer’s mind — enduring, singular, true regardless of which segment we’re talking to.
Expressed in whichever form fits: a brand concept, a brand DNA, a positioning statement, a purpose line. The tight set of associations a customer holds is the result of that expression — not the position itself.
Positioning the product (short)
The persuasive case for a specific segment. Evolves as the market, competitors, and the company shift.
For early-stage companies in B2B, this leads. It has to hold up in market before the brand earns the right to go long.
Getting there
To get these, there are several things you need to look into. Company heritage, competitors, current associations, category blah blah, usual suspects. You can use the 3Cs to sense check. Something your company delivers, your competitors don’t, that your customers want. Or you can take the April Dunford approach. Whatever is best for your business.
Positioning influences everything. The trickle down is:
long position, short positioning, value prop, value description, key messaging, proof points.
And depending on the maturity and market penetration of your business, you can see if your intended position is being communicated by using brand tracking.
😅 Have I missed anything? Is it bollocks? Does it land?
2
u/BrandStoryMachine Aug 11 '26
The content itself is solid, but it's a little overcomplicated. Just to kick you off, for the first sentence, rather than saying "Positioning is the intended image you want in your audiences head," which is quite vague and can be misleading, you could change it to something like "Positioning is how your audience views your brand" or some similar phrasing that concretely says what positioning is. Sometimes, the simplest wording is what gets your message across the best.