
Create powerful brand positioning with this comprehensive guide. Includes examples, templates, and strategies to differentiate in the market.
A new website is built every three seconds. Millions of businesses are vying for attention, each one hoping to attract customers and stand out.
But here’s the thing:
In a world so noisy, how do you ensure your brand isn’t just seen, but remembered?
The answer lies in strategic brand positioning.
Positioning your brand is one of THE most strategic things you can do to establish your business in the market for growth.
It’s also one of the most challenging, because of all the competition out there to compare to and stand out from!
When you are in the mix with all the other options out there –
💡 The key is to position your brand as the solution to your customer’s problem (or desire) in a way that they already know they need to buy from YOU.
But how?
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll break down everything you need to know about brand positioning and finding your gap in the market.
I’m covering:
- The definition and goal of brand positioning
- Brand positioning in everyday life
- Creating a brand positioning statement
- 7 effective brand positioning examples
Come with me…
Let’s start with a definition:
➡️ What is brand positioning?
Brand positioning is the place you want to own or occupy in the minds of your ideal consumers. It is how people find you distinct from the competition.
The way your brand is positioned determines:
- How your customers view you and your ability to meet their needs
- Who you compete with in your industry
- How much people may pay you for your products or services
If you spend time defining your brand positioning in the most optimal way for your business, you are going to be more relevant, more distinctive, and more valuable than your competitors or other options people have.
As you work on your brand positioning, always have these three questions in the back of your mind:
👍🏼 How can you be more RELEVANT to your consumers?
Being relevant to people as a brand is truly understanding what they
want, and consistently delivering in a way that surpasses their expectations.
🌟 How can you be more DISTINCTIVE in comparison to others?
Being distinctive to people as a brand is becoming recognizable and different in a way that cannot be associated with a competitor.
💎 How can you present more VALUE with your offers?
Being valuable to people as a brand is maximizing the perceived benefits of your product or service so that they outweigh the cost.
Read those again!
Learn More: Brand Strategy Framework: A Five-Step Process To Help You Stand Out
What is the Goal of Brand Positioning?
The goal of brand positioning is to intentionally create a clear, consistent, and memorable impression of your brand that resonates with your target audience.
Effective brand positioning does the following…
❄️ Differentiates your brand from competitors.
❤️ Builds trust and loyalty with your audience.
📈 Drives growth by making your brand the preferred choice.
💗 Reinforces your brand’s core values and purpose.
Positioning is an overlap of three things – it relies on a clear understanding of:
1. Your customer’s needs
2. The competitor’s strengths
3. Your brand’s strengths

The overarching question that needs to be answered with the way you position your brand is:
➡️ Why you, and not the others?
You need to secure that distinct place in the mind of your consumer in order to guide them into making the decision to buy from you.
Differentiating is the only way to really future-proof your business…so that you’re the go-to choice.
How do we do this?
💡 It’s about cutting out all of the things you can be to all of the people, in order to focus on the one thing you should be to the most relevant people.
And how do you continue to uphold your brand positioning?
It’s simple:
By delivering an experience that matches up to people’s expectations – more importantly, how YOU have set those expectations up for them.
Here’s why brand positioning truly matters:
💎 Clarity. A clear brand position helps customers understand who you are, what you stand for, and why you’re relevant.
😎 Consistency. It ensures that every touchpoint—logo, messaging, product, or service—aligns with your brand’s identity.
🏆 Competitiveness. Clear brand positioning gives you an edge by highlighting your unique value proposition.
🫶 Customer Loyalty. A brand that’s well-positioned fosters deeper emotional connections, leading to long-term loyalty.
Learn more: Business Branding: 10 Things You Need To Create A Brand
Brand Positioning in Everyday Life
Let me share with you a true story that explains brand positioning very effectively in a simple way:
In 2007, the Washington Post newspaper did an experiment with Joshua Bell, a critically acclaimed concert violinist with international fame.
The cost to see Joshua Bell at a concert hall averaged:
$300 per ticket.
The Washington Post had Joshua pretend that he was a busker at a busy Washington DC metro stop.
They wanted to gauge people’s reaction to the quality and skill of this amazing musician in contrast to their preconceived notions of street/subway musicians.
Joshua in the metro station, went on to give a concert-worthy performance (watch it here), with the symphony sounds carrying throughout the station.
He gave it nothing less than his best.
You can see for yourself here:
In the timespan of around 45 minutes, around 27 people tossed him money for the performance.
The total accumulated in under an hour:
$52 and change.
Over 1,000 people walked by without paying any attention.
Joshua playing remarkably in the dingy metro was not enough to change the perception of his “brand” in the eyes of the people in that environment.
He was positioned as a street musician, and therefore did not command the same attention or value to people as if he were performing at an exclusive venue like the concert hall!
This perception can be attributed to your business in the same way, if you are not crafting the impression you want people to have.
Think about it some more.
Are you giving off $300 per ticket vibes (filling concert halls)? Or $52 per hour vibes?
Which one matters to your ideal consumer?
How to Create a Brand Positioning Statement
What is a brand positioning statement?
This piece of communication describes your value to a consumer and how you fill a need in the market in a unique way.
One powerful and challenging exercise to perform when developing your brand positioning is called The Onlyness Statement.
This concept was created by global brand strategist, Marty Neumeier, and outlined in his book, Zag. In fact, he considers it a test.
It will seem so simple, but can be one of the more challenging ideas to establish.
You’re essentially answering the question:
What makes you the “only”?
Exploring this idea will help you hone in on the gap(s) that exist in the market so that you differentiate and be very clear on one direction to go all in.
When you go all in on one thing, you become known for it. Your ideal customer truly understands the value that only you can provide to them.
It’s not always easy to find one idea in a saturated market.
However:
By understanding your purpose, the people you want to serve and what they need, plus looking at the competitive landscape – you have a great head start.
In its more simple form, the Onlyness Statement looks like this:
Our [product/service] company is the only [category] that [point of differentiation; benefit-driven].
An expanded version of this brand positioning statement consists of 6 elements:
WHAT: your company category
HOW: your point of (radical) differentiation
WHO: your audience segment
WHERE: the geographic location
WHY: the customer’s need
WHEN: the underlying trend
Our company is the only [WHAT] that [HOW] for [WHO] in [WHERE] who want [WHY] in an era of [WHEN].
What is the one thing you do better and differently than any of the competitors that adds value to your audience and enhances their experience?

Now, condense it to the simplified version:
Our product/service company is the only category that point of differentiation.
When you fill out formulas, there is a tendency to be safe and, well, formulaic.
So here’s where you’ll assess your statement:
Replace your brand name with one of your COMPETITORS.
➡️ Is the statement still true?
If yes, you need to make some adjustments.
If no, you’re headed in the right direction.
Here’s the beauty of using this tool –
You can use it not only for your overall brand, but for your products, services, offers, events, etc.
Thinking about it this way will always have you thinking about how to stand out.
REMEMBER: it’s about cutting out all of the things you can be to all of the people, in order to focus on the one thing you should be to the most relevant people!
7 Effective Brand Positioning Examples
Below are seven examples of well-known brands that have strategically captured an audience based on their brand positioning.
There may be one or two brand positioning ideas that help you shine and stand out.
Think about the ones that can apply to your business brand as you start to position it in a way that is –
…more relevant 👍🏽
…more distinct 🌟
…more valuable 💎
1. Underserved Niche 🎯
An underserved niche means there is a gap in the market that isn’t getting the attention it needs to solve its problem or fulfill a desire.
An example of this brand positioning is Tesla.

This brand came into the car market, which is overly saturated with so many different options of car brands and vehicles within them.
What’s more, there are so many types of car buyers – a person who buys a Jeep may have different needs and interests than someone buying a Rolls Royce or a Volvo station wagon.
Tesla saw that there were electric or hybrid vehicles out there, but not for a luxury market.
It didn’t exist yet at the time.
Their product was for a more high-end, luxury buyer who wanted a more eco-friendly solution with electric or hybrid car.
This was an underserved niche, and Tesla fulfilled that.
Now, you see other high-end car makers offering their version of a luxury electric vehicle – but they have followed Tesla’s lead.
Tesla validated the need and has stayed at the top.
As of 2021, their Tesla Model Y was the best-selling electric vehicle on the market and they commanded 72% of the electric vehicle market share.
Ask yourself:
➡️ Is there a NICHE in your audience that is being underserved?
2. A Belief or Value 🙏🏼
Dove, a global health and beauty brand, has a campaign called “Real Beauty”. It revolves around building self-confidence in women and young children.
This is a value that is important to the brand, as well as their audience.

The campaign becomes a connection point to where their consumers begin sharing stories about it, or actively promoting it within their communities or across generations.
Dove helped facilitate this with brand campaigns that showed women and children of all sizes, gender preferences, cultures, and demographics – to build the confidence that everyone is different and everyone is beautiful.
The idea has solidified their brand because it is something that their audience can subscribe to – and that the Dove brand can support themselves.
It creates an emotional connection with their customers. The emotional connection drives loyalty.
This brand positioning example is a well-known and successful one.
Ask yourself:
➡️ Can you connect people to a BELIEF or VALUE?
3. Connecting with Emotion ❤️
A brand positioning example of consistently representing emotions is Coca-Cola.
The one emotion they have subscribed to that supports everything they do and produce for their consumer is Happiness.
Coca-Cola has owned this emotion to align with their product and business in their carbonated soda market, so that their ideal buyers become big fans and very loyal.

You can see this where it has been passed down for generations, with Coke products being a staple in households from parents to their kids and then their kids.
Their advertising often depicts pool parties and cookouts, concerts, picnics, and birthday parties – all happy events that create memories for people.
Using a strong emotion is a thread throughout their campaigns, stories, and communications.
Ask yourself:
➡️ Is there one EMOTION that can weave throughout your brand stories?
4. Buying Experience 🛍️
You may think that a shopping experience is only for products; however, this is very relevant for service-based businesses as well.
With this brand positioning example, I want to turn to a familiar environment or experience – a grocery store.
Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, two U.S.-based grocery stores, offer alternative shopping experiences.
Whole Foods carries more organic and higher-end boutique items for a more upscale consumer. Prices are much higher than the average grocery store.
The experience at a Whole Foods store is very clean and pristine, with nicely displayed food & beverage products in a spacious environment. If you cannot find something, the employees will walk you to exactly where an item is when you ask (even if they are in the middle of doing something).
Trader Joe’s does things their own way as well. Customers are given a very simple shopping experience because the majority of items are Trader Joe’s brand. These items are high quality but offered at a great price – there are no hidden markups.
The employees at Trader Joe’s are very carefully selected for their personality, and each one wears a Hawaiian shirt to work (and a smile is required). Employees are trained to engage and entertain customers through their shopping experience.
Each grocery store has loyal customers because their brand experience is so prominent in their minds, that it becomes sticky.
Ask yourself:
➡️ Can you create a distinct EXPERIENCE for people that keeps them coming back?
⚠️ The next three ideas for differentiation should be used with some caution, because most business owners gravitate towards these.
You want to try to be different with your own example of brand positioning.
These days, consumers are finding that quality, price, and service should be required for anything they buy – they look deeper than that for a connection to a brand.
If your product or service can effectively find a gap in the area of quality, price, or service, then it’s worth looking into.
However:
If any of these three brand positioning examples become a default because you simply haven’t done the work to discover your unique distinguishing factors – it can cause you to become a commodity or just one of the others in the pack.
Tread lightly with the following positions.
5. Quality ⭐
A good brand positioning example emphasizing quality is Chipotle.
Originally, the go-to Mexican fast food restaurant was Taco Bell. You’re going through a drive-thru and getting 10 tacos, so they emphasize being cheap and fast. The locations even stay open after the bars close, calling it the “fourth meal”.
Chipotle came into the market with a big emphasis on quality – not being fast and cheap.

Chipotle focused on ingredients – communicating that the meats and vegetables are fresh, high-quality, and non-GMO.
They even say they “prepare food with integrity”. Plus, all their packaging is 100% recyclable.
Ask yourself:
➡️ Can you communicate QUALITY so that it distinguishes you?
6. Price 💰
Price isn’t always the easiest position to take because your business has to be competitive and make margins to be sustainable.
Let’s look at Gilette vs. Dollar Shave Club.
Although Gilette has many types of products, they are most known for their shaving razors – monopolizing the market.
Dollar Shave Club came into the market taking the stance that you don’t have to spend that much on razors. (Razors are typically pricey for the frequency that men or women need to use them.)

Dollar Shave Club also knew that people needed this product over and over again – so they created a convenient subscription service that delivered high-quality razors to your door at a very low cost.
The company was able to drastically cut their prices and still make margins to sustain their business very well.
Dollar Shave Club was acquired by Unilever for over $1 billion dollars in cash.
Now, price doesn’t always have to be lower as an incentive.
Positioning your brand to the right buyer may rely on increasing your price, or offering something of more value at a higher price.
In this case, think about luxury or premium items and how brands can charge more because of the perception they have in the mind of the consumer.
Many buyers will only choose a higher-priced item because of the perceived value. The key is to know your particular customer and what they desire.
Ask yourself:
➡️ Does price become a factor for your position in the buyer’s mind?
7. Service 😊
These days, this is a given. Everyone should have great service.
This brand positioning example comes from the airline industry.
JetBlue came into the market at a time when other airlines were cutting things of value but increasing prices.

There was no leg room, there were no free snacks, there was no free luggage check-in.
JetBlue did the opposite – they offered free snacks during the flight, no cost luggage check-in, personalized in-flight entertainment (TVs for each seat!), and much more legroom for a regular fare.
In addition, they prioritized customer service (rare in the airline industry at the time).
Customers started to become very loyal to the airline and converted from the less accommodating ones.
Ask yourself:
➡️ How can your service become outstanding enough to convert loyal customers from other brands?
So:
What place do you want to own in the minds of your consumers?
These brand positioning examples highlight the power of a strong, clear, and audience-focused brand positioning.
The ideas should help jumpstart your own. Use them as fuel, but never copy. The point is to stand out!
Unsuccessful Brand Positioning Examples
While the right brand positioning can create enduring success, missteps can be costly and/or fatal.
Here are examples of brands that missed the mark—and the lessons we can learn from them.
❌ J.C. Penney
In 2011, CEO Ron Johnson, attempted to reposition J.C. Penney as an upscale retailer.
They eliminated discounts, introduced boutique-style store layouts, and focused on “everyday low prices” instead of promotions.
The problem? J.C. Penney’s most loyal customers were bargain hunters who loved sales and promotions.
The new positioning alienated them while failing to attract higher-end shoppers, who already had their preferred brands. Sales dropped, and the brand struggled to regain its footing.
The Lesson:
➡️ Before you launch a new brand positioning strategy, validate it through research.
❌ Blackberry
Blackberry’s brand positioning relied heavily on its status as a business-oriented, secure device.
While that brand positioning strategy appealed to corporate users, it neglected the growing consumer demand for user-friendly, feature-rich smartphones.
Its inability to evolve led to a massive loss of market share.
Once a leader in the smartphone market, Blackberry failed to adapt as competitors like Apple and Android gained ground.
The Lesson:
➡️ Continue to monitor and adapt your brand positioning as times and consumers change.
❌ Kodak
Kodak was positioned as a leader in film photography for much of the 20th century.
However, its failure to adapt to digital photography led to its decline. Kodak was slow to pivot its brand to embrace digital technology.
By the time it attempted to reposition, competitors like Canon and Nikon had captured the market, and smartphone cameras were dominating casual photography.
The Lesson:
➡️ Keep an eye on what competitors and others in your market are doing, and adjust/adapt if things are heating up.
❌ Sears
Sears used to be a retail giant, but struggled to remain relevant as shopping habits changed from catalogue sales to e-commerce.
Sears failed to update its brand positioning and was perceived as outdated and unfocused, offering no compelling reason for customers to choose it over specialized competitors like Best Buy or Walmart.
Its inability to carve out a unique position in modern retail led to its decline.
The Lesson:
➡️ Work on your Unique Value Proposition and determine how you’re different from others in your industry and lean in on that.
❌ MySpace
Myspace was a leader in the early days of social media.
The problem was that Myspace’s brand positioning was inconsistent.
It tried to be everything to everyone, from a music platform to a social networking site, and failed to maintain a clear identity.
Facebook’s cleaner, more focused user experience left Myspace struggling to remain relevant.
The Lesson:
➡️ Focus on being the brand that matters to a clearly defined target audience instead of trying to be everything to everyone.
Brand positioning is the foundation of any successful brand strategy.
It’s what sets you apart, connects you to your audience, and makes sure your brand leaves a lasting impression.
Conclusion
Brand positioning is how you own a space in your customers’ minds and set yourself apart in a crowded market.
When done right, brand positioning creates clarity, consistency, and connection. It helps you communicate your unique value, build trust, and foster loyalty.
Whether you’re the next Patagonia or striving for the staying power of Coca-Cola, strong brand positioning is the secret behind every legendary brand.
But here’s the thing:
Successful brand positioning doesn’t happen by accident.
It requires –
- deep audience insight,
- a clear understanding of your competitive landscape, and
- a framework that keeps your messaging aligned with your goals.
At FreshSparks, we believe in building brands that are more than just pretty logos and graphics. We start with strategy—because your brand deserves to be bold, brilliant, and unforgettable.
Ready to position your brand for success? Let’s craft a brand positioning strategy that turns your business into a brand people can’t ignore.
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