To work with a brand’s positioning is to be king for a day. In the chosen model everything is possible and this is especially true of the four-fielder. This is where it all begins (and ends) because positioning is all about how you want to be perceived in the market.
The four-fielder is just as the name suggests four areas where you can place yourself and relevant competitors, like stars in an autumn sky. But above all, the model consists of two axis – one horizontal and one vertical – and it is the parameters you choose to relate to on these axis that make you so powerful: Local vs. Global, Inclusive vs. Exclusive, Traditional vs. Innovative – the combinations are endless. In working with the four-fielder you almost always come to a point where you are tempted to write Good vs Bad or Boring vs Inspirational. That, however, is going too far. The challenge with the four-fielder is to find relevant and fully reasonable positionings based on insights about the customer perspective, in order to find your own playing field. Just as the coordinates framing your competitors are equally reasonable. Wishful thinking won’t help you here.
So what are your company’s unique strengths?
What relevant qualities can you own? Where do you come from and where are you heading? What are your employees driven by? What does the competitive set look like? What are the market conditions? What makes you a winner and what are the rather obvious things the customer assumes that you deliver on for you to even be considered?
Once you have identified what you do best and what stands out, it’s time to turn your axis into words. And voilà – somewhere up there in the right corner, perhaps at a desirable intersection where “what you contribute” meets “how you behave”, you will find your sweet spot. A place to call your own, a place to start and grow strong. A positioning that is no longer about, let’s say, locations, moisturizers or butter, but perhaps about meetings, self-care, and elevating taste. Do you see how the horizon brightens? How the future knocks on the door, hand in hand with curious customers and energized employees. The position is set and now all that remains is for you to get there.
So roll up your sleeves – it’s time to build your brand platform.
Helena Helsing Mork
Concept Developer & Copywriter
helena.helsing.mork@grow.eu