Positioning Strategies for Obtaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage

Abstract

Brand positioning is essential for brand differentiation and building brand equity. Obtaining and sustaining competitive advantage through brand positioning is a complex process in the context of increasing competition and complicated consumers. However, many positioning strategies are prone to follow similar pitfalls by aligning to market tendencies and thus failing to provide significant brand differentiation. This paper analyzes new positioning strategies for gaining sustainable competitive advantage. By using anti-market reactions such as transformation, subtraction and division, companies are able to build effective positioning strategies by making the problem of competition irrelevant. We relate these new positioning strategies to the classic positioning process and identify the key elements which make them successful. We describe the value proposition of new positioning strategies from the means-end theory perspective. Finally, the managerial implications of new positioning strategies are reviewed. We suggest directions for effective positioning and propose avenues for future positioning research.