Arguments against brand positioning

Arguments against brand positioning Maxwell Winchester & Dr. Byron Sharp

Marketing theory or marketing rubbish? • Most marketing theories developed on single cross-sectional studies • Rarely replicated • When replicated usually results in contrary findings • e.g. Hubbard & Armstrong (1994) • Research & Development Initiative into Marketing (school of empirical generalisationalists) • Study marketing phenomena across MSOD • In different countries • Across different market structures

Brand positioning • First appeared in the Advertising Age • Reis and Trout (1972) • Now in every marketing textbook • Seen as a fundamental aim of marketing • Yet not scientifically tested • Position brand in consumers’ minds • Make it the preferred brand for your brand’s target market

The arguments… • Brand image varies with usage • Attributes that are prototypical are prototypical for every brand • Attitudes are fickle • Brand image remains stable over time • Consumers have repertoires of brands • There is no brand segmentation

1) Brand image varies with usage • Evaluative brand attributes vary with usage • e.g. “reliable”, “a bank I can trust”, “good value for money” • Users respond to an attribute more often than non-users

1) Overall scores

2) User & non-user response level

2) Response level and usage? • Big brands score higher than smaller brands and users respond to attribute more often than non-users • Usage drives brand image/brand attitudes? • This pattern has held up: • Different countries • Different market structures • Different industries • If positioning theory held, wouldn’t we expect • Smaller ‘niche’ brands to show significantly higher response levels on specific attributes (e.g. Volvo - safety) • This response level would drive usage

2) Attributes are protototypical consistently • Prototypicality comes from taxonomy • How we categorise things • In this case - brands • Attribute that is scored highly for one brand is so for others • E.g. “Up to date with technology”

2) Attributes scores & prototypicality

2) Prototypicality arguments… • This pattern has held up: • Different countries • Different market structures • Different industries • If positioning theory held, would we not expect brands to score highly on different attributes? • i.e. the ones they were positioned on

3) Attitudes are fickle/unstable • Only about half of the people who gave a particular attitudinal response on one occasion do so on the second interview

4) Brand Attitudes are fickle • Table of % of respondents who responded on 1st interview who also responded on 2nd interview

3) Attitudes are fickle/unstable • Individuals' responses are as-if random • But this variability cancels out at aggregate level - this is why so few researchers know about the individual variability • If positioning theory held, we would expect • Consistent responses to the attributes brands were positioned on • By the same respondents

4) Brand image remains stable over time • While we have seen at an individual level, image responses are fickle • At an aggregate level, over time, brand image remains stable in stable markets • Whether it 3 weeks or one year between interviews results tend to be relatively the same • These results are from a longitudinal study in the insurance market • Interviews were 3 months apart

4) Brand image @ t1 and t2

4) Brand image remains stable over time • We see little change in the aggregate results • So brand image does not change much • Except with changes in market share • If positioning theory held, we would expect • Dramatic changes in brand perceptions as different competitors re-positioned their brands in the marketplace

5) Consumers have repertoires of brands • Proponents of positioning theory believe: • If you position your brand well, people will prefer your brand over all of the others • But! • Consumers have brand repertoires • They are generally not loyal to one brand in repertoire markets • “Your buyers are buyers of other brands who occasionally buy you” • Professor Andrew Ehrenberg

6) There is no brand segmentation • Are Ford buyers different from GM buyers? • A fundamental argument provided by proponents of the positioning theory • Different brands are bought by different types of people • Study in Research & Development Initiative into Marketing • Ehrenberg & Kennedy • 42 industries, 200+ segmentation variables • Only minor differences found

6) There is no brand segmentation Av. MAD Credit Card 1 -3 3 3 Credit Card 2 -3 3 3 Credit Card 3 0 0 0 Credit Card n 2 -2 2 Av. MAD 2 2 2 . . . .. .. .. . . . .. .. ..

6) There is no brand segmentation • If positioning theory held… • We would expect to see large demographic, behavioural and psychographic differences between brands • This assumes we do not hold brand repertoires • This assumes we can target different competing brands at different segments • We are not saying that… • You cannot segment markets • Cat food is generally bought by cat owners!

So where does this leave us ? • Evidence is not conclusive, BUT • You’ve seen a sufficient challenge to the tradition of brand positioning • Assumptions about the existence of 'ideal' or 'killer' attributes or image positions may be unfounded • Users of different brands think pretty much the same thing about their brands • Just because you tell consumers something, doesn’t mean they’ll act on it!

An interesting study… • Romaniuk & Sharp (2000) found that: • Image perceptions are linked to future buying behaviour in a systematic and predictable manner • Mentioning a brand for any attribute means you are slightly more likely to keep buying it • Mentioning one particular brand attribute does not lead to purchase

Where to from here? • We’re not saying that your brand can not be distinct from other brands • But we do compete in a competitive market • More scientific studies required • Such as those conducted as part of the Research and Development Initiative into Marketing • The marketing task does not seem to be about repositioning to some desirable spot • but rather is very much about taking into account what people already think of you • Building salience for your brand may be the answer • Perhaps brand positioning is marketing rubbish rather than marketing theory? • Replicate & extend • Longitudinal studies

Arguments against brand positioning