OSAF Branding Research

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Slide 1: Excerpts from TechnoBrands:

How to create & use "Brand Identity" to market, advertise & sell technology products , by Chuck Pettis

Slide 2: Qualitative Study

1. a situation analysis
2. communications audit
3. soft-soundings of users, pundits, key influencers, management
4. positioning and brand association research

(C. Pettis, Technobrands, p. 87-88)

Slide 3: Defining the Brand

When defining your brand, apply the following criteria. Your brand should

• Communicate a highly ranked customer need or want
• Be easily understood and remembered
• Not be owned already by a competitor
• Be credible and appealing

(C. Pettis, Technobrands, ch. 6)

Slide 4: The Positioning Statement

A positioning statement is a one or two-sentence statement that clearly and succinctly explains how your product is different from your competitors' It is customer- and benefit-oriented. It ensures delivery of a consistent product message and the best product message.

A positioning statement is not a tagline, a slogan, or a mission statement. ... Mission statements are the company talking to itself.

The positioning statement and brand associations are not intended to be quoted word for word: rather, they are to be used as the source or guide for all messages.

A positioning statement should:

• Define your prime prospects by their concerns, wants, and needs, as concretely and personally as possible.
• Establish you one point of difference that gets people to buy your product instead of the competitions’.
• Be your declared "position," your most repeated message to the world.

(C. Pettis, Technobrands, ch. 6

(see also Eric Sink article on creating Positioning Statements

Slide 5: Positioning Statement template

For people who {describe the target users], [insert your company or brand name], is the company/brand of [describe your competitive set] that provides [tell the benefit that makes you different and better]"

for example

"For people who are male, seven to sixteen years old, and living in middle-class neighborhoods Radway is the brand of the skateboards that maximizes maneuverability."

Slide 6: Nodal Maps

(C. Pettis, Technobrands, p. 121) examples of Chandler Node Maps

Slide 7: Brand Ladders

(C. Pettis, Technobrands, p. 125) Example of a Shared Calendar feature Brand Ladder

-- PieterHartsook - 06 Jun 2006