Before the Brand: Using Positioning and Messaging to Build Brand Identity

Brands are created by knitting together multiple marketing elements. Much like an equation:

Look + Features + Benefits + Perception = Brand

But brands are risky business because brands are created in the minds of a group of people. Without conscious effort to create a brand for your product, a brand will be created for you - by your marketplace. Scary thought. Instead, take control of your brand by defining what your brand is before your marketplace does.

Positioning and messaging help you do this.

Positioning helps you establish what makes your product exceptional. It establishes who your target market is, why your product will appeal to that market, and why your product beats the competition.

While positioning gives you the fuel to influence your target market, messaging is the engine that conveys the significance of that position. When you have these two pieces in place, you have a foundation that makes generating a perception about your brand much easier.

In this book, will learn how to create the tools of positioning and messaging:

- Positioning Statement
- Value Proposition
- Key Messages
- Proof Points
- Brand Message Architecture
- Messaging Document

Use these tools to direct the attention of your target markets and other audiences to your greatest strengths and most important differentiators. Armed with this information, the customer facing organizations in your company, your customers, and those who read or learn about your products will be that much more likely to create a perception of your brand that you are happy with.