Editing Positioning (marketing) (section)

{{Short description|Marketing strategy}}
{{Marketing}}
'''Positioning''' refers to the place that a [[brand]] occupies in the minds of [[customer]]s and how it is distinguished from the products of the competitors. It is different from the concept of [[brand awareness]]. In order to position products or brands, companies may emphasize the distinguishing features of their [[brand]] (what it is, what it does and how, etc.) or they may try to create a suitable [[image]] (inexpensive or premium, utilitarian or luxurious, entry-level or high-end, etc.) through the [[marketing mix]]. Once a brand has achieved a strong position, it can become difficult to reposition it. To effectively position a brand and create a lasting brand memory, brands need to be able to connect to consumers in an authentic way, creating a brand persona usually helps build this sort of connection.

Positioning is one of the most powerful [[marketing]] concepts. Originally, positioning focused on the product and with [[Al Ries]] and [[Jack Trout]] grew to include building a product's reputation and ranking among competitor's products. Schaefer and Kuehlwein extend the concept beyond material and rational aspects to include 'meaning' carried by a brand's mission or myth.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Rethinking Prestige Branding - Secrets of the Ueber-Brands|last=Kuehlwein|first=JP|last2=Schaefer|first2=Wolfgang|publisher=Kogan Page|year=2015|isbn=978-0749470036|location=London|pages=15–16, 115–116}}</ref> Primarily, positioning is about "the place a brand occupies in the mind of its target audience".<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Andrei |first=P |last2=Ecaterina |first2=B, R |last3=Ionut |first3=T. C |date=2010 |title=Does Positioning Have a Place in the Minds of our Students? |journal=Annals of the University of Oradea, Economic Science Series}}[https://leading.vn/blog/seo/seo-la-gi/]</ref><ref name=":11" /> Positioning is now a regular marketing activity or strategy. A national positioning strategy can often be used, or modified slightly, as a tool to accommodate entering into foreign markets.<ref name=":10" /><ref name="Bell p. 26">{{cite book|author=Sandra Bell|title=International Brand Management of Chinese Companies: Case Studies on the Chinese Household Appliances and Consumer Electronics Industry Entering US and Western European Markets|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Iz4huRKjRIC&pg=PA26|date=March 29, 2008|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-3-7908-2030-0|page=26}}</ref>

The origins of the positioning concept are unclear. Scholars suggest that it may have emerged from the burgeoning advertising industry in the period following [[World War I]], only to be codified and popularized in the 1950s and 60s. The positioning concept became very influential and continues to evolve in ways that ensure it remains current and relevant to practising marketers.