Purpose vs. Positioning

Et, Tu?

Over the last few years, creative agencies seem to have developed a love-hate relationship with the term "Positioning". Where one may sound the death knell, another may claim it is more important than ever. And the reason for this seems to be a renewed interest in Purpose. 

Positioning is dead! Long Live Positioning! 

Where once a creative agency only had a hand in marketing, and therefore could only dictate the positioning shown in advertising, today their role has expanded, and they are playing an increasing role in deciding the business strategies of the company. Where once they were only asked to comment on things like product and packaging, today they are asked to design it (which they try to do, regardless of their experience or abilities in the field. When the market is volatile, a paycheck is a paycheck). 

It started with product positioning. Figuring out how to differentiate the product in a crowded market. Most initial positioning had to do with the product itself. The shape, the size, the color, the form.  

Over time, this grew to include the packaging, the materials used, and even the tone of voice. The goal here was to understand what the customers wanted, what the market offered, and to fill any gaps that might exist in the market.  

It quickly grew to encompass the brand itself. After all, if positioning is what the customer thinks of the product, the brand's reputation plays a big role. And that became the definition of brand positioning. As Al Ries and Jack Trout said in their seminal book,
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind:

“Positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of a prospect.” 

But positioning at this point is still largely driven by the market, and the need for differentiation. The positioning formula has been worked on for decades, and evolved, with multiple frameworks for product positioning, brand positioning, re-positioning, and marketing mixes based on positioning. As markets became more saturated though, it became harder and harder for brands to find their niche. Especially for newer brands, that needed to carve out a section of mindshare from markets or segments, which other brands had spent decades building. And so agencies tried to climb one rung higher, and ask if they could change the brand's purpose. 

Why do we do things? 

Purpose is more inherent to a company. It is "why" the company exists. It is the philosophy of the brand. 

It is the reason for being, not the reason for selling. It is why the founder started the brand in the first place.  

In a cluttered market, where there is a sameness to all the products offered, and where there are fewer positioning moves to make, Purpose becomes a kind of positioning itself. It humanizes the brand. It says that "We don’t do this for the same REASONS that other people are doing this. We are different".  

But that just sounds like positioning with extra steps. And it kind of is. It is essentially a "purpose-led-positioning”. Anytime you're using a unique attribute of a brand to differentiate yourself from the market, you're essentially "positioning" yourself. 

Therein lies the conflict. A purpose is often for the long term. It permeates into every product or service; it influences every decision. It is not something that can or should be changed every few years, or for a marketing campaign. The moment the purpose is defined by external factors, be it an agency, or by market gaps, it loses its purpose. (Get it? Did you get it?). It is untrue. It just becomes a veneer over the real motivations of a company. 

A purpose is only effective if EVERY move the brand makes is defined by the purpose.  

It is great for companies like Patagonia, or Body Shop that back up their claims with real measures that show their commitment to causes. But customers today have access to more information than ever before, and any new "whistle-blower information" or "You-won't-believe" article that questions a brand's real motivations can sour a customer's view of a brand. Just ask Juicero. And let's be honest, your brand exists to make money doesn't it? And so does your agency. 

Why do anything anyway?  

In the march towards creating more sales and stronger differentiation, and swimming further out into the blue sea, agencies seem to have lost track of where these concepts originated in the first place. Companies were created to fill a need in the market. Positioning was about communicating that to the customer. 

Methods of communication, marketing mixes, and strategy frameworks constantly evolve and change. What was the crown jewel yesterday is garbage today. But what remains consistent is the customer. Brands have been rediscovering this time and time again, hence the need for agencies to constantly re-think their approaches (remember, an agency will never know as much about the customer as the client). Agencies also seem to keep rediscovering this fact.  

The new interest in re-shaping the purpose of the company, is, in many ways just a new form of positioning for agencies. It follow trends such as Design Thinking and User-Centric Design (wait, if we weren't designing products for users, who the hell were we designing them for?). It is the magic new tool that will allow clients to cut through the clutter and differentiate the brand from the market.  

Customers today are smarter than ever. They have more brands to choose from than ever before, and more information to make that choice. With the younger generations more attuned to social causes, like sustainability, and are more likely to buy brands that associate with those causes. (And let's face it, the younger generations always will resonate with brands that stand for specific social causes. Or have we forgotten about Punk rock?) But they are also more likely to see through any false promises, especially with company information so publicly available. Brands can go from hero to villain and back faster than a wrestler in a WWE storyline.  

So focus on customers? 

Yes. Always.  

While frameworks are useful and making big statements gets more views and likes, it is more important not to lose track of why these things exist in the first place, and how you can use them to grow your brand. Understanding who your customer is, and what they are looking for, will always be the core of any effective framework. Providing value to your customer will always be the best possible strategy.  

Repeat after me: 

"While other brands 

Look high and low 

Realize the customer 

Is the way to go 

Burma Shave" 

The Disney Ending.

Purpose and positioning will always be relevant, but  More so than any specific medium, or campaign or product or strategy (Direct Mail Marketing anyone?). They will also be very different things. A purpose is why your employees wake up every day and come in to work. A strong positioning is why your customer remembers you when he hears another brand's name. While they can work together, both need to be clearly defined (internally for purpose, and externally for positioning) for the brand to be strong.