Page 304 - Marketing Management

CRAFTING THE BRAND POSITIONING | CHAPTER 10 281

travel agency truly a travel agency unless it is able to make air and hotel reservations, provide advice
about leisure packages, and offer various ticket payment and delivery options. Category points-of-
parity may change over time due to technological advances, legal developments, or consumer
trends, but to use a golfing analogy, they are the “greens fees” necessary to play the marketing game.
Competitive points-of-parity are associations designed to overcome perceived weaknesses of the
brand. A competitive point-of-parity may be required to either (1) negate competitors’ perceived
points-of-difference or (2) negate a perceived vulnerability of the brand as a result of its own
points-of-difference. The latter consideration, which we discuss in more detail later in this chapter,
arises when consumers feel that if a brand is good at one thing (easy to use), it must not be good at
something else (having advanced features).
One good way to uncover key competitive points-of-parity is to role-play competitors’ position-
ing and infer their intended points-of-difference. Competitor’s PODs will, in turn, suggest the
brand’s POPs. Consumer research into the trade-offs consumers make in their purchasing deci-
sions can also be informative.
Regardless of the source of perceived weaknesses, if, in the eyes of consumers, a brand can
“break even”in those areas where it appears to be at a disadvantage and achieve advantages in other
areas, the brand should be in a strong—and perhaps unbeatable—competitive position. Consider
the introduction of Miller Lite beer–the first major light beer in North America. 16

Miller Lite The initial advertising strategy for Miller Lite beer had two goals—
Miller Lite ensuring parity with key competitors in the regular, full-strength beer category by stating that

it “tastes great,” while at the same time creating a point-of-difference: It contained one-third
fewer calories and was thus “less filling.”As is often the case, the point-of-parity and point-of-
difference were somewhat conflicting, as consumers tend to equate taste with calories. To
overcome potential resistance, Miller employed credible spokespeople, primarily popular former profes-
sional athletes, who would presumably not drink a beer unless it tasted good. These ex-jocks humorously
debated which of the two product benefits—“tastes great” or “less filling”—was more descriptive of the
beer.The ads ended with the clever tagline “Everything You’ve Always Wanted in a Beer . . . and Less.”

POINTS-OF-PARITY VERSUS POINTS-OF-DIFFERENCE For an offering to achieve a
point-of-parity on a particular attribute or benefit, a sufficient number of consumers must believe
the brand is “good enough” on that dimension. There is a zone or range of tolerance or acceptance
with points-of-parity. The brand does not literally need to be seen as equal to competitors, but
consumers must feel it does well enough on that particular attribute or benefit. If they do, they may
be willing to base their evaluations and decisions on other factors potentially more favorable to the
Visa has established a strong
brand. A light beer presumably would never taste as good as a full-strength beer, but it would need point-of-difference versus
to taste close enough to be able to effectively compete.
American Express on the basis of
Often,the key to positioning is not so much achiev- acceptability.
ing a point-of-difference as achieving points-of-parity!

Visa versus American
Express Visa’s POD in the credit

card category is that it is the most widely
available card, which underscores the cate-
gory’s main benefit of convenience.
American Express, on the other hand, has built the eq-
uity of its brand by highlighting the prestige associated
with the use of its card. Having established their PODs,
Visa and American Express now compete to create
POPs by attempting to blunt each other’s advantage.
Visa offers gold and platinum cards to enhance the
prestige of its brand and for years advertised, “It’s
Everywhere You Want to Be,” showing desirable travel