Positioning Your Product

David A. Aaker and J. Gary Shansby

56
David A. Aaker is a professor of marketing and J. Gary Shansby a professor
of marketing strategy, both at the University of California at Berkeley. The
authors thank J o h n G. Myers for his
helpful and stimulating comments.

Sophisticated analysis of all the positioning

alternatives can, and should, be done.
ow should a new brand be
positioned? Can a problem
brand be revived b y a repositioning strategy? Most marketing managers have addressed
these and other positioning questions;
however,
"positioning"
means different things to different
people. To some, it means the
segmentation decision. To others it
is an image question. To still others
it means selecting which p r o d u c t
features to emphasize. Few managers consider all of these alternatives. Further, the positioning decision is often made ad hoc, and is
based u p o n flashes of insight, even
though systematic, research-based
approaches to the positioning decision are now available. An understanding
of these approaches
should lead to more sophisticated
analysis in which positioning alternatives are more fully identified
and evaluated.
A product or organization has
many associations which combine
to form a total impression. The
positioning decision often means
selecting those associations which
are to be built u p o n and emphasized and those associations which
are to be removed or de-emphasized. The term "position" differs
from the older term "image" in

that it implies a frame of reference,

the reference point usually being
the competition. Thus, when the
Bank of California positions itself
as being small and friendly, it is
explictly, or perhaps implicitly,
positioning itself with respect to
Bank of America.
The positioning decision is
often the crucial strategic decision
for a c o m p a n y or brand because
the position can be central to
customers' perception and choice,
decisions. Further, since all elements of the marketing program
can potentially affect the position,
it is usually necessary to use a
positioning strategy as a focus for
the development of the marketing
program. A clear positioning strategy can insure that the elements of
the marketing program are consistent and supportive.
What alternative positioning
strategies are available? H o w can
positioning strategies be identified
and selected? Each of these questions will be addressed in turn.

Positioning Strategies
A

first step in understanding

the scope of positioning
alternatives is to consider
some of the ways that a posiBusiness Horizons [ May-June 1982

Positioning Your Product

tioning strategy can be conceived

and implemented. In the following,
six approaches to positioning strategy will be illustrated and discussed: positioning by (1) attribute, (2) price-quality, (3) use or
applications, (4) product-user, (5)
the product-class, and (6) the competitor.

cavity-fighting and breath-freshening benefits.

It is always tempting to try to
position along several attributes.
However, positioning strategies
that involve too many attributes
can be most difficult to implement. The result can often be a
fuzzy, confused image.

Positioning by Attribute

Positioning by Price/Quality

Probably the most frequently used

positioning strategy is associating a
product with an attribute, a
product feature, or customer benefit.
Consider imported
automobiles. Datsun and T o y o t a have
emphasized e c o n o m y and reliability. Volkswagen has used a
"value for the m o n e y " association.
Volvo has stressed durability,
showing commercials of "crash
tests" and citing statistics on the
long average life of their cars. Fiat,
in contrast, has made a distinct
effort to position itself as a European car with "European craftsmanship." BMW has emphasized
handling and engineering efficiency, using the tag line, "the
ultimate driving machine" and
showing BMWs demonstrating their
performance capabilities at a race
track.
A new product can upon occasion be positioned with respect to
an attribute that competitors have
ignored. Paper towels had emphasized absorbency until Viva
stressed durability, using demonstrations supporting the claim that
Viva "keeps on working."
Sometimes a product will attempt to position itself along two
or more attributes simultaneously.
In the toothpaste market, Crest
became a dominant brand by positioning itself as a cavity fighter, a
position supported by a medical
group endorsement. However, Aim
achieved a 10 percent market share
by positioning along two attributes, good taste and cavity prevention. More recently, Aqua-fresh
has been introduced by Beecham
as a gel paste that offers both

The price/quality attribute dimension is so useful and pervasive that

it is appropriate to consider it
separately. In many product categories, some brands offer more in
terms of service, features, or performance and a higher price serves
to signal this higher quality to the
customer. Conversely, other brands
emphase price and value.
In general merchandise stores,
for example, the department stores
are at the top end of the price
quality
scale.
Neiman-Marcus,
Bloomingdale's, and Saks Fifth
Avenue are near the top, followed
by Macy's, Robinson's, Bullock's,
Rich's, Filene's, Dayton's, Hudson's, and so on. Stores such as
Sears, Montgomery Ward, and J.C.
Penney are positioned below the
department stores but above the
discount stores like K-Mart. Sears
efforts to create a more upbeat
fashion image was thought to have
hurt their "value" position and
caused some share declines. 1 Sears'
recent five-year plan details a firm
return to a positioning as a family,
middle-class store offering top
value. Sears is just one company
that has faced the very tricky
positioning task of retaining the
image of low price and upgrading
their quality image. There is always
the risk that the quality message
will blunt the basic "low-price,"
"value" position.

Positioning with Respect to Use or

Application
Another positioning strategy is as1. "Sears' New 5-year Plan: To Serve Middle America," Advertising Age, December 4,
1978.

sociating the product with a use or

application. Campbell's Soup for
many years was positioned for use
at lunch time and advertised extensively over noontime radio. The
telephone company more recently
has associated long distance calling
with communicating with loved
ones in their "reach out and touch
someone" campaign. Industrial
products often rely upon application associations.
Products can, of course, have
multiple positioning strategies, although increasing the number involves obvious difficulties and
risks. Often a positioning-by-use
strategy represents a second or
third position designed to expand
the market. Thus, Gatorade, introduced as a summer beverage for
athletes who need to replace body
fluids, has attempted to develop a
winter positioning strategy as the
beverage to drink when the doctor
recommends drinking plenty of
fluids. Similarly, Quaker Oats has
attempted to position a breakfast
food product as a natural wholegrain ingredient for recipes. Arm &
Hammer baking soda has successfully positioned their product as an
odor-destroying agent in refrigerators.

Positioning by the Product User

Another positioning approach is
associating a product with a user or
a class of users. Thus, many cosmetic companies have used a
model or personality, such as
Brut's Joe Namath, to position
their product. Revlon's Charlie cosmetic line has been positioned by
associating it with a specific lifestyle profile. J o h n s o n & Johnson
saw market share move from 3
percent to 14 percent when they
repositioned their shampoo from a
product used for babies to one
used by people who wash their hair
frequently and therefore need a
mild shampoo.
In 1970, Miller High Life was
the "champagne of bottled beers,"
was purchased by the upper class,

57

"The identification and

selection of a positioning strategy
can draw upon a set of concepts and procedures
that have been developed and refined over
the last few years."

58
and had an image of being a
woman's beer. Phillip Morris repositioning it as a beer for the
heavy beer drinking, blue-collar
working man. Miller's Lite beer,
introduced in 1975, used convincing beer-drinking personalities
to position itself as a beer for the
heavy beer drinker who dislikes
that filled-up feeling. In contrast,
earlier efforts to introduce lowcalorie beers positioned with respect to the low-calorie attribute
were dismal failures. One even
claimed its beer had fewer calories
than skim milk, and another featured a trim personality. Miller's
positioning strategies are in part
why its market share has grown
from 3.4 percent in 1970 to 24.5
percent in 1979. 2
Positioning with
Product Class

Respect

to

Some critical positioning decisions

involve product-class associations.
For example, Maxim freeze-dried
coffee needed to position itself
with respect to regular and instant
coffee. Some margarines position
themselves with respect to butter.
Dried milk makers came out with
instant breakfast positioned as a
breakfast substitute and a virtually
identical product positioned as a
dietary meal substitute. The hand
soap "Caress" b y Lever Brothers
2. "A-B, Miller Brews Continue to Barrel
Ahead," Advertising Age, August 4, 1980: 4.

positioned itself as a bath oil

product rather than a soap.
The soft drink 7-Up was for a
long time positioned as a beverage
with a "fresh clean taste" that was
"thirst-quenching." However, research discovered that most people
regarded 7-Up as a mix rather than
a soft drink. The successful "uncola" campaign was then developed to position 7-Up as a soft
drink, with a better taste than the
"colas."
Positioning with Respect to a Competitor
In most positioning strategies, an
explicit or implicit frame of reference is the competition. There are
two reasons for making the reference competitor(s) the dominant
aspect of the positioning strategy.
First, a well established competitor's image can be exploited to
help communicate another image
referenced to it. In giving directions to an address, for example,
it's easier to say, it is next to the
Bank of America building than it is
to detail streets, distances, and
turns. Second, sometimes it's not
important how good customers
think y o u are; it is just important
that they believe y o u are better (or
as good as) a given competitor.
Perhaps the most famous positioning strategy of this type was
the Avis "We're number two, so we
try harder" campaign. The strategy
was to position Avis with Hertz as a

major car rental agency and away

from National, which at the time
was a close third to Avis.
Positioning explicitly with respect to a competitor can be an
excellent w a y to create a position
with respect to an attribute, especially the price/quality attribute
pair. Thus, products difficult to
evaluate, like liquor products, will
often be compared with an established competitor to help the positioning
task.
For
example,
Sabroso, a coffee liqueur, positioned itself with the established
brand, Kahlua, with respect to
quality and also with respect to the
type of liqueur.
Positioning with respect to a
competitor can be aided b y comparative advertising, advertising in
which a competitor is explicitly
named and compared on one or
more attributes. Pontiac has used
this approach to position some of
their cars as being comparable in
gas mileage and price to leading
import cars. By comparing Pontiac
to a competitor that has a welldefined e c o n o m y image, like a
Volkswagen Rabbit, and using
factual information such as EPA
gas ratings, the communication
task becomes easier.

On Determining

the Positioning

Strategy

hat should be our positioning

strategy? The
identification and selec-

Positioning Your Product

to identify such groupings will be competitors even when market reof conceptual as well as practical search is not employed. A managevalue. One approach is to deter- ment team or a group of experts,
mine from p r o d u c t buyers which such as retailers, could employ one
brands they considered. For ex- or b o t h of these conceptual bases
ample, a sample of Triumph con- to identify competitive groupings.
vertible buyers could be asked
what other cars they considered
Determine How the Competitors
and perhaps what other showare Perceived and Evaluated
rooms they actually visited. A Tab
b u y e r could be asked what brand The challenge is to identify those
associations used b y
would have purchased had Tab product
been out of stock. The resulting buyers as they perceive and evaluanalysis will identify the primary ate competitors. The product assoand secondary groups of competi- ciations will include product attritive products. Instead of cus- butes, product user groups, and use
tomers, retailers or others knowl- contexts. Even simple objects such
edgeable about customers could as beer can evoke a host of physiprovide the information.
cal atrributes like container, afterAnother approach is the de- taste, and price, and relevant assovelopment
of associations
of ciations like "appropriate for use
products with use situations?
while dining at a good restaurant"
Twenty or so respondents might be or "used b y working m e n . " The
asked to recall the use contexts for task is to identify a list of product
Tab. For each use context, such as associations, to remove redunan afternoon snack, respondents duncies from the list, and then to
Identify the Competitors
are then asked to identify all ap- select those that are most useful
This first step is not as simple as it propriate beverages. For each bev- and relevant in describing brand
might seem. Tab might define its erage so identified respondents are images.
One research-based approach to
competitors in a number of ways, then asked to identify appropriate
use
contexts.
This
process
would
product association list generation
including:
continue until a large list of use is to ask respondents to identify
a. other diet cola drinks
contexts and beverages resulted. the two most similar brands from a
b. all cola drinks
Another
respondent group would set of three competing brands and
c. all soft drinks
then
be
asked
to make judgments to describe why those two brands
d. nonalcoholic beverages
as to h o w appropriate each bev- are similar and different from the
e. all beverages
A Triumph convertible might de- erage would be for each use situa- third. As a variant, respondents
tion. Groups of beverages could could be asked which of two
fine its market in several ways:
a. two-passenger, low-priced, then be clustered based u p o n their brands is preferred and why. The
imported, sports car convertibles similarity of appropriate use situa- result will be a rather long list of
b. two-passenger, low-priced, tions. If Tab was regarded as ap- product associations, perhaps over
imported sports cars
propriate with snacks, then it a hundred. The next step is to
c. two-passenger, low- or medi- would compete primarily with remove redundancy from the list
um-priced, imported sports cars
other beverages regarded as appro- using logic and judgment or factor
d. low- or medium-priced priate for snack occasions. The analysis. The final step is to idensports cars
same approach would work with tify the most relevant product ase. low- or medium-priced im- an industrial p r o d u c t such as com- sociations b y determining which is
puters, which might be used in correlated highest with overall
ported cars
In most cases, there will be a' several rather distinct applications. brand attitudes or b y asking reThe concepts of alternatives spondents to indicate which are
primary group of competitors and
one or more secondary competi- from which customers choose and the most important to them.
tors. Thus, Tab will c o m p e t e pri- appropriateness to a use context
marily with other diet colas, but can provide a basis for identifying
Determine the Competitors' Posiother colas and all soft drinks
3. George S. Day, Alan D. Shocker, and tions
could be important as secondary
Rajendra K. Srivasta, "Customer-Oriented Apcompetitors.
The next step is to determine how
proaches to Identify Product Markets,"
A knowledge of various ways Journal of Marketing, Fall 1979: 8-19.
competitors (including our own
tion of a positioning strategy can
draw u p o n a set of concepts and
procedures that have been developed and refined over the last
few years. The process of developing a positioning strategy involves six steps:
1. Identify the competitors.
2. Determine how the competitors are perceived and evaluated.
3. Determine the competitors'
positions.
4. Analyze the customers.
5. Select the position.
6. Monitor the position.
In each of these steps one can
employ marketing research techniques to provide needed information. Sometimes the marketing research approach provides a conceptualization that can be helpful
even if the research is not conducted. Each of these steps will be
discussed in turn.

59

60

entry) are positioned with respect

to the relevant product associations and with respect to each
other. Although such judgments
can be made subjectively, research-based approaches are available. Such research is termed multidimensional scaling because its
goal is to scale objects on several
dimensions (or product associations). Multidimensional scaling
can be based u p o n either product
associations data or similarities
data.
Product-association-based multidimensional scaling. The most direct approach is simply to ask a
sample of the target segment to
scale the various objects on the
product association dimensions.
For example, the respondent could
be asked to express his or her
agreement or disagreement on a
seven-point scale with statements
regarding the Chevette"With respect to its class I
would consider the Chevette to be:
sporty
roomy
economical
good handling."
Alternatively, perceptions of a
brand's users or use contexts could
be obtained:
"I would expect the typical
Chevette owner to be:
older
wealthy
independent
intelligent."
"The Chevette is most appropriate for:
short neighborhood trips
commuting
cross country sightseeing."
In generating such measures
there are several potential problems and considerations (in addition to generating a relevant
product association list) of which
one should be aware:
I. The validity of the task. Can
a respondent actually position cars
on a " s p o r t y " dimension? There
could be several problems. One, a
possible unfamiliarity with one or
more of the brands, can be handled

by asking the respondent to evaluate only familiar brands. Another

is the respondent's ability to understand
operationally
what
" s p o r t y " means or how to evaluate
a brand on this dimension.
2. Differences among respondents. Subgroups within the population could hold very different
perceptions with respect to one or
more of the objects. Such diffused
images can have important strategic implications. The task of
sharpening a diffused image is
much different from the task of
changing a very tight, established
one.

3. Are the differences between

objects significant and meaningful?
If the differences are not statistically significant, then the sample
size may be too small to make any
managerial judgments. At the same
time, a small difference of no
practical consequence may be statistically significant if the sample
size is large enough.
4. Which product associations
are not only important but also
serve to distinguish objects? Thus,
airline safety may be an important
attribute, but all airlines m a y be
perceived to be equally safe.
Similarities-based multidimensional scaling. Product-association
approaches have several conceptual
disadvantages. A complete, valid,
and relevant product association
list is not easy to generate. Further, an object may be perceived or
evaluated as a whole that is not
really decomposable in terms of
product associations. These disadvantages lead us to the use of
non-attribute d a t a - n a m e l y , similarity data.
Similarity measures simply reflect the perceived similarity of
two objects. For example, respondents may be asked to rate the
degree of similarity of assorted
object pairs without a product
association list which implicitly
suggests criteria to be included or
excluded. The result, when averaged over all respondents, is a
similarity rating for each object

pair. A multidimensional scaling

program then attempts to locate
objects in a two-, three- (or more if
necessary)
dimensional
space
termed a perceptual map. The program attempts to construct the
perceptual map such that the two
objects with the highest similarity
are separated by the shortest distance, the object pair with the
second highest similarity are separated by the second shortest distance, and so on. A disadvantage of
the similarity-based approach is
that the interpretation of the dimensions does not have the
product associations as a guide.

Analyzing the

Customers

A basic understanding of the customer and how the market is segmented will help in selecting a
positioning strategy. How is the
market segmented? What role does
the product class play in the customer's lifestyle? What really motivates the customer? What habits
and behavior patterns are relevant?
The segmentation question is,
of course, critical. One of the most
useful segmentation approaches is
benefit
segmentation
which
focuses upon the benefits or, more
generally, the product associations
that a segment believes to be important. The identity of important
product associations can be done
directly b y asking customers to
rate product associations as to
their importance or by asking them
to make trade-off judgments between product associations 4 or by
asking them to conceptualize and
profile "ideal brands." An ideal
brand would be a combination of
all
the
customer's
preferred
product associations. Customers
are then grouped into segments
defined by product associations
considered important by customers. Thus, for toothpaste there
could be a decay preventative seg4. Paul E. Green and Yoram Wind, "New
Ways to Measure Consumers' Judgments,"
Harvard Business Review, July-August 1975:
107-115.

Positioning Your Product

"Positioning usually means

that an overt d.ecision is being made
to concentrate only on certain segments. Such
an approach requires commitment and discipline because it's
not easy to turn your back on potential buyers."

61
ment, a fresh breath segment, a
price segment, and so on. The
segment's relative size and comm i t m e n t to the product association
will be of interest.
It is often useful to go b e y o n d
product association lists to get a
deeper understanding of consumer
perceptions. A good illustration is
the development of positioning objectives for Betty Crocker by the
Needham, Harper & Steers advertising agency, s T h e y conducted
research involving more than 3,000
women, and found that Betty
Crocker was viewed as a c o m p a n y
that is:
honest and dependable
friendly and concerned about
consumers
a specialist in baked goods
but
out of date, old, and traditional
a manufacturer of "old standb y " products
not particularly c o n t e m p o r a r y
or innovative.
The conclusion was that the Betty
Crocker image needed to be
strengthened and to become more
modern and innovative and less old
and stodgy.
To improve the Betty Crocker
image, it was felt that an understanding was needed of the needs
and lifestyle of today's w o m e n and
how these relate to desserts. Thus,
the research study was directed to
5. Keth Reinhard, "How We Make Advertising" (presented to the Federal Trade Commission, May 11, 1979) : 22-25.

basic questions about desserts. background, it is still not possible

Why are they served? Who serves to generate a cookbook solution to
them? The answers were illu- the positioning questions. Howminating. Dessert users tend to be ever, some guidelines or checkbusy, active mothers who are de- points can be offered.
voted to their families. The pri1. Positioning usually implies a
mary reasons for serving dessert segmentation commitment. Positend to be psychological and re- tioning usually means that an overt
volve around the family.
decision is being made to concenDessert is a way to show others trate only on certain segments.
you care.
Such an approach requires commitDessert preparation is viewed as ment and discipline because it's
an important duty of a good wife not easy to turn your back on
and mother.
potential buyers. Yet, the effect of
Desserts are associated with generating a distinct, meaningful
and help to create happy family position is to focus on the target
moments.
segments and not be constrained
Clearly, family bonds, love, and by the reaction of other segments.
good times are associated with
Sometimes the creation of a
desserts. As a result, the Betty "diffuse image," an image that will
Crocker positioning objective was mean different things to different
to associate Betty Crocker uni- people, is a way to attract a variety
quely with the positive aspects of of diverse segments. Such an aptoday's families and their feelings proach is risky and difficult to
about dessert. Contemporary, emo- implement and usually would be
tionally involving advertising was used only by a large brand. The
could
involve
used to associate Betty Crocker implementation
with desserts that contribute to projecting a range of advantages
while avoiding being identified
happy family moments.
with any one. Alternatively, there
could be a conscious effort to
Making the Positioning Decision
avoid associations which create
The four steps or exercises just positions. Pictures of bottles of
described should be conducted Coca-Cola with the words "It's the
prior to making the actual posi- real thing" superimposed on them,
tioning decision. The exercises can or Budweiser's claim that "Bud is
be done subjectively by the in- the king of beers," illustrate such a
volved managers if necessary, al- strategy.
though marketing research, if feasi2. An economic analysis should
ble and justifiable, will be more guide the decision. The success of
definitive. However, even with that any positioning strategy basically

62

depends upon two factors: the

potential market size x the penetration probability. Unless both of
these factors are favorable, success
will be unlikely. One implication
of this simple structure is that a
positioning strategy should attract
a sizeable segment. If customers
are to be attracted from other
brands, those brands shouId have a
worthwhile market share to begin
with. If new buyers are to be
attracted to the product class, a
reasonable assessment should be
made of the potential size of that
growth area. The penetration probability indicates that there needs to
be a competitive weakness to
attack or a competitive advantage
to exploit to generate a reasonable
market penetration probability.
Further, the highest payoff will
often come from retaining existing
customers, so this alternative
should also be considered.
3. If the advertising is working,
stick with it. An advertiser will
often get tired of a positioning
strategy and the advertising used to
implement it and will consider
making a change. However, the
personality or image of a brand,
like that of a person, evolves over
many years, and the value of consistency through time cannot be
overestimated. Some of the very
successful, big-budget campaigns
have run for ten, twenty, or even
thirty years.
4. Don't try to be something
you are not. It is tempting but
naive--and usually fatal--to decide

on a positioning strategy that ex- measurable. To evaluate the posiploits a market need or oppor- tioning and to generate diagnostic
tunity but assumes that y o u r information about future posiproduct is something it is not. tioning strategies, it is necessary to
Before positioning a product, it is monitor the position over time. A
important to conduct blind taste variety of techniques can be emtests or in-home or in-office use ployed to make this measurement.
tests to make sure that the product Hamburger Helper used a "percan deliver what it promises and sonality test," for example. Howthat is compatible with a proposed ever, usually one of the more
im age.
structured techniques of multiConsider Hamburger Helper, dimensional scaling is applied.
successfully introduced in 1970 as
an add-to-meat product that would
A
variety
of
positioning
strategies is available to the
generate a good-tasting,
economical, skillet dinner. 6 In the
advertiser. An object can
mid-1970s, sales suffered when be positioned:
homemakers switched to more
1. by attributes-eg., Crest is a
exotic, expensive foods. An effort cavity fighter.
2. b y price/quality-eg., Sears is
to react by repositioning Hamburger Helper as a base for cas- a "value" store.
3. by c o m p e t i t o r - e g . , Avis
seroles failed because the product,
at least in the consumers' mind, positions itself with Hertz.
4. by application-eg., Gatorcould not deliver. Consumers perceived it as an economical, reliable, ade is for flu attacks.
5. by product user-eg., Miller
convenience food and further felt
is
for
the blue-collar, heavy beer
that they did not need help in
drinker.
making casseroles. In a personality
6. by product class-eg., Cartest, where w o m e n were asked to
nation
Instant Breakfast is a breakdescribe the product as if it were a
fast
food.
person, the most prevalent charThe selection of a positioning
acteristic ascribed to the product
was "helpful." The result was a strategy involves identifying comrevised campaign to position the petitors, relevant attributes, comproduct as being "helpful."
petitor positions, and market segments. Research based approaches
can help in each of these steps b y
Monitoring the Position
providing conceptualization even if
A positioning objective, like any the subjective judgments of manamarketing objective, should be gers are used to provide the actual
input information to the positioning decision. [251
6. Reinhard: 29.