Who this article is for:
This article is for business owners, founders, marketers, and brand leaders who want their brand to stand out, feel clear, and be easy to remember.
What’s inside:
- Simple ways brand positioning can fail
- Easy steps to fix weak positioning
- Real examples of bad and great positioning
- Case studies on Dasani and Liquid Death
- Clear rules you can use for your own brand
Key takeaways:
- Strong brand positioning helps people trust you and choose you faster.
- Clear brands can charge more because people see them as more valuable.
- Being different on purpose is better than copying competitors.
- Feelings and meaning matter more than features alone.
- Brands that take a clear stand are easier to remember.
This guide teaches brand positioning in a very simple way. We look at everything that makes a brand fail, then we flip it. When you know the wrong way, the right way becomes clear. This whole blog is written in easy words, below a 5th grade reading level, so anyone can understand it.
What Is Brand Positioning?
Brand positioning is how people see your brand in their mind. Brand positioning shapes consumer perception and influences how your brand is viewed by your audience. It answers three simple questions:
- Who do you help? (This refers to your target market—the specific group of people your brand is designed to serve.)
- What problem do you fix?
- Why should someone pick you instead of someone else?
A clear value proposition is essential to help people understand why they should choose your brand over competitors.
If you are clear about these things, people remember you. If you are not clear, people forget you fast.
The Anti-Positioning Method
Below are the five best ways to make your brand fail. After each failure, you will see the simple opposite you should do instead.
1. Don’t Do Any Research
How to Fail
Do not learn anything about your market. Failing to conduct competitor research means you miss out on understanding your competition and their brand positioning. Do not look up your customers. Make choices based only on guesses. Without research, you cannot identify gaps in the market that your brand could fill.
Why This Fails
If you do not know your market, your brand will drift around with no direction. You will miss your competitive advantage and fail to define your market segment, making it impossible to stand out or connect with the right audience. You will copy trends, change your mind often, and confuse people.
Do the Opposite
Learn the basics. Study other brands. Read reviews. Listen to people’s words. Collect customer feedback to better understand what your audience values. Write one sentence about what customers want and what bothers them.
Example
People say, “Tax offices are slow.” So you say:
“We are the fastest tax team in town.”
2. Have No Idea Who You Help
How to Fail
Say you help “everyone.” When you talk to everyone, you speak to no one.
For effective brand positioning, it’s crucial to clearly define your target customers. Understand their demographics, income, shopping habits, and preferences so you can tailor your messaging and offerings to the specific market segment most likely to engage with your brand.
Why This Fails
People remember brands that speak directly to them. Clear brand positioning ensures your message resonates with a specific target audience, addressing their unique needs and motivations.
They trust brands that understand their real needs. Clear positioning helps shape your brand in consumers’ minds, creating a strong emotional connection and influencing how your brand is perceived.
Do the Opposite
Pick one group of people to help.
- Who are they? (Define your market segment—the specific group of consumers or businesses you aim to serve.)
- What do they want?
- What stops them?
- How do you help them?
Example
Bad: “We remodel homes.”
Good: “We build kitchens for busy families who need more space.”
3. Talk Only About Features
How to Fail
Talk about tiny details. Talk about the features of your product or service. Talk about tools, parts, and numbers. Make everything about features.
Why This Fails
People do not buy features. People buy results. They want life to feel easier, safer, or better. A unique value proposition clearly communicates the real benefit your brand offers, helping customers understand why your solution stands out.
Do the Opposite: The Outcome Ladder
- What does the feature do?
- What outcome does it give?
- Why does that outcome matter?
A clear value proposition ties together your product’s features, the outcomes they deliver, and why those outcomes are important to your customers, helping to differentiate your brand in the market.
Example
Feature: 24-hour support.
Outcome: You get help any time.
Feeling: You feel safe.
4. Copy Your Competitors
How to Fail
Look just like everyone else. Use the same colors, words, and style. Blend in.
Copying traditional competition makes it difficult for your brand to stand out or showcase any unique value.
Why This Fails
If you look the same as everyone else, people have no reason to pick you.
Adopting a differentiation strategy allows your brand to stand out by emphasizing unique or innovative features that set you apart from traditional competitors.
Do the Opposite: The Differentiation Triangle
Choose three simple things that make you different:
- Your personality
- Your process
- Your promise
Be sure to highlight your brand’s differentiating qualities to clearly communicate what sets you apart from competitors.
Example
Others say: “Fresh coffee.”
You say: “Coffee at your table in 5 minutes or it’s free.”
5. Be Very Boring
How to Fail
Do not show emotion. Do not take a stand. Play it safe. Do not show personality.
Without highlighting your brand’s character, your brand becomes forgettable and fails to connect with customers.
Why This Fails
Brands with no feeling disappear. People scroll right past them. A strong brand voice ensures your messaging is consistent and memorable, helping your brand stand out in a crowded market.
Do the Opposite: The Brand Flavor Test
Pick one tone for your brand:
- Bold
- Friendly
- Luxury
- Playful
Use that tone everywhere.
A consistent visual identity, through your logo, color palette, and design style, should reinforce your chosen tone and help your brand positioning stand out across all channels.
Example
Boring: “We offer IT services.”
Better: “We fix tech problems before you even feel them.”
Case Study 1: The Bad Positioning Example — Dasani
Dasani is a popular water brand. For many years, they sold water in plastic bottles like most other brands. They did not stand out in any special way. They tried to be safe and appeal to everyone.
When a new trend started — water sold in cans — Dasani simply copied it. They made water in a can just like other brands. But they did not add a new message, a new feeling, or a new idea. They only copied the packaging. Dasani also lacked a clear brand positioning statement and brand promise, which meant there was no unique value or commitment communicated to customers, making their approach weak.
Why This Positioning Is Weak
- No bold purpose
- No new idea
- No strong voice
- Nothing special for customers
- Looks like a follower, not a leader
Dasani is an example of a brand that stayed “in the middle.” They did not choose a strong position, so customers do not feel anything toward them. Dasani also failed to clearly define what the brand represents, leaving consumers unsure about its core values or identity.
Lesson From Dasani
If you only copy the look, but not the meaning, you do not stand out. This results in weak consumer perception, as audiences struggle to see what makes your brand unique or valuable.
Case Study 2: The Strong Positioning Example — Liquid Death
Liquid Death is also a water brand. But instead of trying to look like other water brands, they took a huge risk. They made their water look like a heavy metal energy drink.
The can design looks bold. The name sounds wild. The brand talks like a rock band. Their message is simple:
“We are water that looks hardcore. We are here to kill your thirst.”
This idea is funny, bold, loud, and very different. No other water brand looks or talks like this. Liquid Death is a brand unique in its category, making it a great example of successful brand positioning.
Liquid Death stands out as one of the best brand positioning examples in the beverage industry.
Why This Positioning Works
- It is clear
- It is bold
- It is easy to remember
- It feels fun
- It gives people a story to tell their friends
Liquid Death is a great example of a brand that wins because it is not safe. It has a clear point of view.
Lesson From Liquid Death
People remember you when you take a stand.
Liquid Death clearly communicates what the brand stands for by advocating for sustainability and irreverent humor, making its brand positioning unmistakable.
Smoothie Shop Story
Smoothie Shop A (Bad)
- Helps “everyone”
- Looks like other shops
- Talks about ingredients only
- No strong voice
Smoothie Shop B (Good)
- Helps athletes
- Sells “recovery smoothies”
- Talks about faster healing
- Uses bold colors
- Sounds energetic
Winner
Shop B wins because it is clear and focused.
The 5 Winning Rules
1. Learn Your Market
Know what people want and dislike. Learn about your customers’ purchasing habits to ensure your brand positioning aligns with what they value and are willing to spend.
2. Know Exactly Who You Help
Pick one group and focus on them. By identifying and targeting your potential customers, you can clarify your brand positioning and ensure your messaging resonates with those most likely to engage with your brand.
3. Sell Outcomes, Not Features
Show how life gets better. Highlight your brand’s unique value to clearly communicate what sets you apart from competitors.
4. Be Different on Purpose
Stand out in a clear way. Highlight your innovative qualities or cutting-edge technology to differentiate your brand from competitors.
5. Have a Point of View
Speak with feeling. Make your brand promise clear in all your communications to reinforce your commitments and differentiate your brand.
Why Positioning Matters
People see many brands every day. In a crowded marketplace, effective brand positioning helps you stand out by establishing a unique identity and attract customers who connect with your message. The brands that win speak simply. They help one clear group. They solve a real problem. And they stand out.
Most brands fail because they try to be everything to everyone.
Your Anti-Positioning Homework
1. What would make your brand fail?
Write five things.
2. What is the opposite of each failure?
These are your action steps.
3. Who do you help?
Pick one clear group.
4. What outcome do they want?
Say it simply.
5. What makes you different?
Pick three things.
Final Lesson: Positioning Is a Choice
Great brands choose their place on purpose. They say:
“This is who we are. This is who we help. This is what we stand for.”
When you choose clearly, your brand becomes strong, bold, and easy to remember.
Frequently Asked Questions About Brand Positioning
What is brand positioning?
Brand positioning is how people think about your brand. It shapes your place in consumers’ minds by influencing their emotional and mental perceptions of your brand. It is the first idea they think of when they hear your name.
Why is brand positioning important?
Brand positioning helps people understand you. When people understand you, they trust you more and remember you longer. Strong brand positioning also fosters brand loyalty by creating meaningful, relatable experiences that resonate with your audience’s values and achievements.
What happens if my brand has no positioning?
If your brand has no positioning, people feel confused. They forget you and only look at the price. This can also lead to the perception of lower production quality, as customers may associate low prices with inferior products. This makes it hard to sell and grow.
How can I tell if my positioning is weak?
Your positioning may be weak if:
- You sound like other brands
- You say you help everyone
- People cannot explain what you do
- You compete only on price—relying on price based positioning can weaken your brand by making it harder to stand out and may lead to perceptions of lower quality.
How long does it take to fix brand positioning?
It can happen quickly. Once you know who you help, what problem you fix, and how you are different, things get better fast. Aligning your marketing efforts with your new brand positioning ensures your messaging is consistent and accelerates the impact of your changes.
Do I need a new logo to fix my positioning?
No. A logo is not positioning. Positioning is about clear thinking, clear words, and clear actions. While your visual identity—including your logo, color schemes, and design style—supports your brand positioning by reinforcing recognition and consistency, it is not the same as positioning itself.
Is copying a trend good positioning?
No. Trends come and go. Positioning lasts a long time. A clear positioning strategy helps your brand stay relevant and distinct, even as trends change. Copying trends makes you look like a follower.
What is one simple step I can take today?
Write one clear sentence: “We help [people] solve [problem] in a different way.” If this sentence is clear, your positioning is already stronger. This clarity forms the basis for a strong positioning statement, which serves as an internal guide to align your brand’s messaging and strategy.
