Brand Positioning · The positioning statement · Component
The statement
The sentence itself, with its four parts — target, frame, difference and reason to believe — written for the organisation rather than the market.
The deliverable
What it is
The statement is a decision record. Its job is to settle arguments about what the brand is claiming, and confusing it with a tagline is the most common way the work is wasted.
All four parts are required. Dropping the reason to believe is the usual omission and it turns the statement into a wish.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The four parts
Target, frame, difference and reason to believe.
3 attributes: Part · Content · Derived from
LearnThe sentence
The assembled statement, in its agreed wording.
3 attributes: Positioning statement · Approved by · Effective
Learn
A statement quoted only when reviewing finished work has no influence on the work. Put it at the brief.
The other components in the positioning statement
The reason to believe
What makes the claim credible — the part usually missing, and the part that turns a position into something arguable.
LearnThe version record
How the position has changed, and why — because a position that moves with each planning cycle never accumulates.
Learn