What does your brand positioning statement say about you? Is your brand motivational like Nike, environmentally focused like Patagonia or a trend-setter like Outdoor Voices?
Maybe your company doesn’t sell activewear, but you get the gist. Strong brand positioning gives your target audience a solid idea of who your brand is and why they should choose you over your competitors.
As any respectable marketer in need of inspiration does, looking to other brands that you know and love — or know and compete with — will help you determine what you should incorporate in your own brand strategy.
Lucky for you, we compiled some brand positioning statement examples that will do just that.
What Is a Brand Positioning Statement?
Brand positioning is all about setting your brand apart from the crowd. A full strategy includes branding elements like your logo and tagline that build your brand’s identity.
Your brand positioning statement is a grounding summary of your products or services and how they fill specific needs for your target audience. It’s an internal tool used to ensure all brand communication and marketing efforts are consistent with the identity, purpose and values that make your brand different from others in your target market.
By and large, a brand positioning statement conveys the distinct value your brand offers customers.
Why Do You Need a Brand Positioning Statement?
A brand positioning statement helps align your internal teams so that everyone is creating and delivering on-brand user experiences.
Remember that your brand identity is all yours! More important than boiling it down into a statement is whether your brand walks the walk. Your brand strategy should ensure that your company’s values and personality shine through all of your branding, marketing and communications materials. Customers are looking for authenticity and consistency — not a perfectly polished positioning statement.
Internally, though, that perfectly polished statement could be the exact internal tool you need to make sure everyone in the organization is aligned.
What Are the Core Elements of Strategic Brand Positioning?
The elements to consider when crafting your strategic brand positioning include your target audience, target market category, customer pain points, brand promise, brand identity, core values and mission.
To position your brand and stand out from your competition, your positioning should answer questions like these:
- Who do you serve?
- What do you serve them with?
- How do you serve them?
- Why do they need your product or service?
- How do you solve a problem for your target audience?
- What makes your brand trustworthy?
- How is your brand different from others that offer similar products or services?
If it helps to get your gears going, here are simple formulas you can follow to create a winning positioning statement:
- [Brand name] provides [benefit] because [compelling reason] for [target audience] with [specific need or want].
- [Brand name] serves [target audience] who [specific need or want]. [Brand name] offers [how your company responds to need or want] to make customers feel [outcome of buying your product or service].
How Is a Positioning Statement Different From Other Marketing Statements?
It’s worth noting that your brand positioning statement is not the same as other classic marketing statements, including your mission and vision.
For starters, your positioning statement is used internally while your other statements are often shared externally. Your mission statement is the “why” behind your brand, your vision is where you’re headed, and your brand positioning statement is the value that your brand adds to your area of focus.
Your positioning statement is also different from your value proposition, which explains the benefits and desirable outcomes of your product or service. You can use your value proposition as part of your positioning statement, but the latter will also get into your brand’s differentiators.
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12 Brand Positioning Statement Examples We Love
Full disclosure: These examples are not necessarily the exact positioning statements that these brands created! As mentioned above, brand positioning statements generally stay within the four walls of an organization. That said, if executed well, you can get a good idea of how a brand positions itself because it’s woven into the fabric of all of its external messaging.
Insider tip: You can also look at press releases for clues on a brand’s positioning statement. Generally, in the “About Company” section, brands will highlight their products, services and key differentiators.
These examples from well-known brands work on a basic level because we can take a solid guess at the positioning statement that grounds the messages they share with external audiences. We’ll also let you in on more reasons why we think these brand positioning examples work so well so you can use these as inspiration when crafting your own.
1. JetBlue Airways
For travelers across the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America, and between New York and London, JetBlue is a leading airline choice that puts customer safety and comfort first. With features like the most legroom in coach, free Fly-Fi, and award-winning customer service, JetBlue is on a mission to bring humanity back to air travel.
Why it works: Travel can be a hassle, but JetBlue is here to make it more fun and comfortable by caring for its customers and crew members like family.
2. Apple
Apple provides innovative personal technology for individuals who want the best computers and mobile devices. With several product offerings and software platforms, Apple offers a seamless and connected experience that empowers people to easily access breakthrough technology that’s designed to leave the world better than how we found it.
Why it works: With its suite of easy-to-use products, Apple makes the latest in technology accessible to everyone from tech-savvy Genius Bar employees to everyday people trying to keep up with today’s digital world. Nowadays, Apple also relies on its established brand identity and history for credibility, though its consistent branding helps position the company as a mainstay in the circle of technology leaders.
3. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a total beverage company that offers a wide range of refreshing drinks for customers around the world. With a focus on positively impacting lives, Coca-Cola is about creating happiness, reducing environmental impact throughout the supply chain, and providing thousands of economic opportunities in local communities worldwide.
Why it works: Coca-Cola is aware of the Coke vs. Pepsi debate and it distinguishes itself by being an iconic brand focused on happiness and positive impact. The company’s focus on customer needs and current trends is also likely behind their attention to sustainable practices and economic opportunities.
4. Girlfriend Collective
Girlfriend Collective is a slow-fashion and size-inclusive brand for those looking to shop for sustainably and ethically made activewear. With a deep focus on people and the planet, Girlfriend Collective is a community of responsible and well-dressed shoppers.
Why it works: Sustainable fashion is becoming a trend capitalized by greenwashing brands but with transparency from the beginning and a competitive range of sizes, Girlfriend Collective is uniquely positioned as one of the more authentic brands to choose from.
5. HubSpot
Straight from the marketing guru itself: Since 2006, HubSpot has been on a mission to make the world more inbound. Today, over 100,000 total customers in more than 100 countries use HubSpot’s award-winning software, services and support to transform the way they attract, engage and delight customers. Comprised of HubSpot’s CRM, Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub, HubSpot gives companies the tools they need to Grow Better.
Why it works: HubSpot shows off its impressive reach and lineup of services to position the brand as an inbound marketing leader and top choice for effective marketing tools.
6. Slack
Slack is a leading messaging platform for business communication, used by millions to align their teams, unify their systems and drive their businesses forward. No matter the size of the team, Slack allows people to collaborate more effectively and get work done.
Why it works: While Slack serves businesses of various sizes and industries, the company’s brand positioning focuses on the universal outcomes of using the service.
7. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is an all-in-one marketing platform that empowers small businesses to launch, build and grow with help from easy-to-use marketing and commerce tools, award-winning support and inspiring content.
Why it works: With a crowded market of similar business tools, Mailchimp differentiates itself by being an approachable, one-stop shop specifically for smaller businesses that need help scaling.
8. Zoom
For people and businesses who need to meet with others virtually, Zoom offers a seamless video communications platform. As the only platform that started with video as its foundation, Zoom’s platform set the standard for innovation in intuitive, scalable and secure digital connections.
Why it works: Zoom leans on its history of being the first video communications platform to reinforce its credibility and leadership in the market.
9. LUSH Cosmetics
LUSH offers fresh, organic and handmade cosmetics for people who are conscious about the products they use on their skin. From inventing bath bombs and creating new, innovative products to ethical campaigning and fighting animal testing, LUSH has come a long way since its humble beginnings.
Why it works: LUSH isn’t shy about boasting its original inventions and activism, while also remembering its roots. This translates to a welcoming, approachable and authentic brand, as well as messaging that leads with the differentiators that encourage shoppers to choose LUSH over other cosmetic products.
10. Blueland
Blueland is the answer for those who want sustainable alternatives to traditional household cleaning products and personal care items. A cleaner planet starts at home, so Blueland’s effective products eliminate the need for single-use plastic packaging and make it easy, convenient and affordable to be eco-friendly.
Why it works: Sustainable products have a reputation for being more expensive and less effective than their traditional counterparts, so Blueland positions itself to debunk those perceptions.
11. Hollaback!
Hollaback! is a nonprofit organization that’s dedicated to ending harassment in all of its forms. The organization leads a people-powered movement to raise awareness about harassment against women, the LGBTQIA+ community and other marginalized identities as well as to conduct intervention trainings for people who want to take action to ensure equal access to public spaces.
Why it works: Hollaback!’s messaging encourages supporters to attend intervention trainings and donate to the organization by communicating its mission and the impact of getting involved.
12. Volvo
Volvo is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales of 661,713 cars in 2020 in about 100 countries. Volvo aims to provide customers with the Freedom to Move in a personal, sustainable and safe way.
Why it works: We all know that buying a Volvo car isn’t about speed or sex appeal — it’s about safety and quality. And that’s because they’ve focused on this unique position since day one.
What Will Your Brand Positioning Statement Say About You?
We started by asking you what your brand positioning statement says about you and now we’ll leave you with the same question. As you write your own brand statement, ground yourself in your valuable differentiators and use these brand positioning statement examples for inspiration as needed.
And remember: Once you have your statement, make sure you have a strong positioning strategy in place so that your messaging repeatedly demonstrates your value to your audiences.
You know your brand’s worth, now make sure everyone else does!
