Classical vs. A Meaningful Position

Classical positioning is the process of finding a unique place for your brand in the minds of people.

Meaningful positioning, on the other hand, is the art of earning a treasured space within the minds and hearts of people.

Before we examine the differences between positioning vs. meaningful positioning, we should say that we abide by these principles:

• There is an increasingly large – and disruptive – gap between the way brands think and act, and what it takes to engage, influence and matter to people.
• This gap is holding both brands and people back from realizing their full potential.
• The way to bridge this gap is to first, rethink the brand in light of what will interest, intrigue, involve and motivate people; and second, to evolve the brand’s attitudes and behavior so that all interactions with the brand are more meaningful.

The Shift

Once a brand changes the way it reaches out to people, people start changing the way they respond back to the business.

• Employees respond through aligned, inspired and proactive behavior among themselves and with the outside world. Customers become loyal advocates.
• Prospects turn away from the competition.
• Partners and suppliers give the business top priority.
• Media reports become positive.
• Investors invest.
• Communities embrace.

Starting a Journey Toward a Meaningful Position

When our clients decide that they want their brand to occupy a meaningful position, they start on a journey of becoming more personally relevant and emotionally important to people.

For our clients, the key is meaning – a clear articulation of the reason why what their business aims to do matters to people. Our clients humanize their meaning through feelings–how the business strives to make people feel every time they interact. Indeed it is nature of the hundreds and thousands of interactions which occur each day which, over time, pulls the brand from where it stands now to a far more meaningful position.

Now, let’s talk about why it’s better to seek a meaningful position.

Every brand seeks a unique positioning in the minds of people, but positioning is more often product based, and usually defines the brand’s relative position to other brands within a defined category or marketplace.

A meaningful brand takes that thinking much further by striving for a treasured space in the minds and hearts of people. The aim of attaining something unique is the same, but the route taken is significantly different. Products and competitors take a back seat to the people who will make, sell, buy and use your products or services. The difference these people will see is not based on price-points, slogans or advertising spend, but on the attitude, intent and behavior of the brand reaching out to them.

A brand holding a meaningful position doesn’t own a specific place, rather it earns the right to occupy a multidimensional “space” within the hearts and minds of people. As such, the brand doesn’t own a finite idea–but rather it accumulates respect and admiration based on how it addresses the individual’s values, beliefs, interests and aspirations. In other words, the brand earns its meaningful position by becoming personally relevant to people. It doesn’t make people feel one way, but rather comes to occupy a multi-faceted emotional space that makes the brand emotionally important across a spectrum of brand interactions.

Emotive Branding

Emotive branding propels brands toward a more meaningful position. It defines a meaningful ambition for the brand to pursue. Provides tools the people behind a brand can use to make every interaction with the brand more personally relevant and emotionally rewarding. It is the way to move from merely positioning your brand to finding a meaningful space in the hearts and minds of the people vital to your brand’s success.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco brand strategy firm.