Brand positioning is invaluable, but it can be challenging to find. Brand power involves generating brand awareness, building trust, creating a memorable experience, and continually improving to foster brand loyalty. Brand power determines how valuable your brand’s trademark is and how much customers are willing to pay for it.
Brand power hugely influences your ability to compete, sustainability, and market performance. It’s also your logo’s ability to differentiate itself from competitors and be perceived as having higher quality. Here are 5 examples of strong brand positioning in today’s marketplace.
1. Apple
Apple is notably one of the most recognized brands and has sat at the top of Forbes annual study for the world’s most valuable brands for eight consecutive years. This isn’t surprising as we’re surrounded by Apple users every day. In fact, it’s pretty rare not to see an Apple product everywhere you turn. Whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, Mac Book, or an Apple Watch, Apple has created products that make our everyday tasks more seamless and manageable.
We use these products to communicate, schedule appointments, track our health, and listen to music. With its brand power in today’s marketplace, companies are forced to integrate these devices into their business model to stay up-to-date with consumer preferences and demand. Not to mention, Apple’s clean and straightforward brand logo makes it one of the most recognized global brands.
2. Nike
Everyone knows the highly recognized swoosh when they see Nike. Nike is one of the most valuable athletic brands, having built a well-established brand identity with a distinguished name and logo. Nike has successfully built its brand by offering high-quality products, being innovative, and partnering with professional athletes whose personalities align with theirs. Sponsorships, advertising, and experience-focused retailing have played a critical role in Nike’s success.
In addition, Nike has built an excellent relationship with its consumers. Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, spoke directly to athletes at their high schools and colleges and gathered their feedback. Some of their employees even hit the streets to get to know their consumers more, which helped Nike develop a strong brand perception. When you look at some of Nike’s biggest competitors, such as Adidas, Under Armour, and Reebok, it’s very evident that Nike occupies the market’s competitiveness.
3. Harley Davidson
Harley Davidson is an iconic brand that became a cultural icon. Although they have an average quality bike compared to some of their competitors, they’ve developed unmatched brand loyalty. However, when their CEO studied the brand, he found out that their consumers love the signature rumbling sound and the ability to drive the bike with your pack of friends.
What resonates most with their customers isn’t the product itself but their brand messaging of being yourself, the freedom to travel, and living a life without rules. By building an emotional connection with their consumers, the brand developed a “trustmark.” As a result, people connect with and trust their brand. They also share messaging that sparks emotions rather than trying to sell a product.
4. Tiffany & Company
Tiffany & Co has established itself as an industry-leading jewelry and specialty clothing brand. This is an excellent example of how much more customers are willing to pay for that little blue box over others in the market.
Tiffany & Company originated as a stationery and fancy goods company, but they rebranded when they realized that their market niche was jewelry. This is an excellent example of a company reading the market and matching consumer demand. Realizing that their value proposition was jewelry was the beginning of their brand’s extreme success.
Tiffany & Co wasn’t afraid to stay true to who they are. They established themselves as an industry leader in high-end jewelry by clearly marking prices on all of their products, with no negotiating, bargaining, or haggling. They knew that their value-proposition was expensive, high-quality jewelry, and marketing their prices is how they accomplished this.
Tiffany & Co didn’t wait for people to understand their brand’s value but created it themselves. They eventually expanded their brand globally, gaining respect from many customers for their high-quality products. Tiffany & Company is one of the most notable jewelry brands in today’s marketplace.
5. Truff
Truff is a newer brand that began as an Instagram account dedicated to food content with an edge inspired by streetwear and hip-hop culture. The account gained a quick following, and after reaching 10,000 followers, the co-founders decided to take the brand a step further. They researched the market to find an untapped niche, landing on the condiment and specialty hot sauce category.
They found a void in the market when offering an elevated, luxury hot sauce experience. Truff’s signature Truffle flavor provides a unique flavor profile while distinguishing itself from anything done before. Truff has built an emotional connection with its customers, treating them like friends and family. The brand has a dedicated app for customers to find recipes, cooking tutorials, shop for products, and collect reward points to further this relationship.
After building their brand positioning for two years, many brick and mortar stores came calling to carry Truff hot sauce in their stores, many high-end retailers. In 2019, Oprah added Truff to her holiday favorite things list, sparking significant exposure. Since then, Truff has doubled down on e-commerce and maintaining personal connections to meet its customers where they are.
The Takeaway
Brand positioning is extremely essential in today’s marketplace, and these five companies have developed good branding that’s evidence of that. Generating brand awareness, building trust, and continually improving helps you build an emotional connection with your customers and create a memorable experience, — in turn, developing brand loyalty.