Page 303 - Marketing Management

280 PART 4 BUILDING STRONG BRANDS

Identifying Optimal Points-of-Difference
and Points-of-Parity

Once marketers have fixed the competitive frame of reference for positioning by defining the cus-
tomer target market and the nature of the competition, they can define the appropriate points-of-
difference and points-of-parity associations. 13

POINTS-OF-DIFFERENCE Points-of-difference (PODs) are attributes or benefits that
consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe they could not find to
the same extent with a competitive brand. Associations that make up points-of-difference may be
based on virtually any type of attribute or benefit. Strong brands may have multiple points-of-
difference. Some examples are Apple (design, ease-of-use, and irreverent attitude), Nike
(performance, innovative technology, and winning), and Southwest Airlines (value, reliability, and
fun personality). Creating strong, favorable, and unique associations is a real challenge, but an
essential one for competitive brand positioning.
Three criteria determine whether a brand association can truly function as a point-of-difference—
desirability, deliverability, and differentiability. Some key considerations follow.
• Desirable to consumer. Consumers must see the brand association as personally relevant to
them. The Westin Stamford hotel in Singapore advertised that it was the world’s tallest hotel,
but a hotel’s height is not important to many tourists. Consumers must also be given a com-
pelling reason to believe and an understandable rationale for why the brand can deliver the de-
sired benefit. Mountain Dew may argue that it is more energizing than other soft drinks and
support this claim by noting that it has a higher level of caffeine. Chanel No. 5 perfume may
claim to be the quintessentially elegant French perfume and support this claim by noting the
long association between Chanel and haute couture. Substantiators can also come in the form
of patented, branded ingredients, such as NIVEA Wrinkle Control Crème with Q10 co-enzyme
or Herbal Essences hair conditioner with Hawafena.
• Deliverable by the company. The company must have the internal resources and commitment
to feasibly and profitably create and maintain the brand association in the minds of con-
sumers. The product design and marketing offering must support the desired association.
Does communicating the desired association require real changes to the product itself, or just
perceptual shifts in the way the consumer thinks of the product or brand? Creating the latter is
typically easier. General Motors has had to work to overcome public perceptions that Cadillac
is not a youthful, modern brand and has done so through bold designs and contemporary im-
ages. The ideal brand association is preemptive, defensible, and difficult to attack. It is gener-
ally easier for market leaders such as ADM,Visa, and SAP to sustain their positioning, based as
it is on demonstrable product or service performance, than it is for market leaders such as
Fendi, Prada, and Hermès, whose positioning is based on fashion and is thus subject to the
whims of a more fickle market.
• Differentiating from competitors. Finally, consumers must see the brand association as dis-
tinctive and superior to relevant competitors. Splenda sugar substitute overtook Equal and
Sweet’N Low to become the leader in its category in 2003 by differentiating itself on its au-
thenticity as a product derived from sugar, without any of the associated drawbacks. 14

Any attribute or benefit associated with a product or service can function as a point-of-differ-
ence for a brand as long as it is sufficiently desirable, deliverable, and differentiating. The brand
must demonstrate clear superiority on an attribute or benefit, however, for it to function as a true
point-of-difference. Consumers must be convinced, for example, that Louis Vuitton has the most
stylish handbags, Energizer is the longest-lasting battery, and Fidelity Investments offers the best
financial advice and planning.

POINTS-OF-PARITY Points-of-parity (POPs), on the other hand, are attribute or benefit
associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may in fact be shared with other
15
brands. These types of associations come in two basic forms: category and competitive.
Category points-of-parity are attributes or benefits that consumers view as essential to a legiti-
mate and credible offering within a certain product or service category. In other words, they repre-
sent necessary—but not sufficient—conditions for brand choice. Consumers might not consider a