The slides are prepared by Prof. Sameer Mathur.

1. Prof. Sameer Mathur,
Ph.D.
Brand
Positioning
© Sameer Mathur 1

2. Overview
© Sameer Mathur 2
A) Defining Brand Positioning
B) Determining a Frame of Reference
C) Points of Parity (POP) & Difference
(POD)

3. Sameer Mathur
Marketing Professor 2009 – 2013
Ph.D. and M.S. (Marketing) 2003 – 2009
Marketing Professor 2013 –
Indian Institute of Management,
Lucknow
3
© Sameer Mathur
Harshit Khaitan
BTech, IIT Kanpur
3

4. Brand Positioning
“. . . the act of designing the
company’s offer and image so
that it occupies a distinct and
valued place in the target
customer’s minds.”
Philip Kotler
© Sameer Mathur 4

5. POP’s & POD’s
• Attributes or benefits that
consumers strongly associate with
a brand
• Positively evaluated
• Belief that they cannot find to the
same extent with a competitive
brand
POD’s
• Not necessarily unique to the brand
• May in fact be shared with other
brands.
POP’s
© Sameer Mathur 5

6. Point of
Difference(POD)
= ALL WHEEL DRIVE 6
Subaru Outback

7. Determining a frame of reference
Point of
Difference(PODs)
Point of Parity(POPs)
© Sameer Mathur 7

8. 4 Steps:
1. Who the target consumer is
2. Who the main competitors are
3. How the brand is similar to these
competitors
4. How the brand is different from them
Determining a frame of reference
© Sameer Mathur 8

9. Brand Positioning Guidelines
Defining and communicating the
competitive frame of reference
Choosing and establishing points-
of-parity and points-of-difference
© Sameer Mathur 9

10. Competitive Frame of Reference
Defining it for brand positioning is to
determine category
membership.
Inform consumers of a brand’s
membership before stating its point of
difference in relationship to other
category members
© Sameer Mathur 10

11. Point of
Difference(POD)
= ALL WHEEL DRIVE 11
Nova Scotia, Canada

12. 12
Eureka, Canada

13. Point of
Difference(POD)
= ALL WHEEL DRIVE 13
Nova Scotia, Canada

14. Choosing POP’s & POD’s
Desirability
criteria
Consumer
perspective
1. Personally
relevant
2. Distinctive and
superior
3. Believable and
credible
© Sameer Mathur 14

15. Choosing POP’s & POD’s
Deliverability
criteria
Firm
perspective
1. Feasible
2. Profitable
3. Pre-emptive,
defensible, and
difficult to attack
© Sameer Mathur 15

16. Summary
© Sameer Mathur 16
A) Defining Brand Positioning
B) Determining a Frame of Reference
C) Points of Parity (POP) & Difference
(POD)

17. Credits
• http://vwmarketingsolutions.ca/2011/07/branding-part-3-brand-strategy-2/
• K. L. Keller, M. G. Parameswaram, I. Jacob. (2011) . Strategic Brand
Management(3rd edition). India: PEARSON
• Subaru All Wheel Drive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlVPiWsrzLA
© Sameer Mathur 17