What is the definition of positioning?

The purposeful connection of a brand with such a collection of characteristics, associations, and attributes that the brand acquires a unique own place in the mind of the customer compared to the competition.

Al Ries and Jack Trout first used the term ‘positioning’ in their article: ‘Positioning is a game people play in today’s me-too market place’ and then wrote the book ‘Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind’.

They were the first to explain that the target audience visualizes a map of the market in their mind in which they place brands relative to each other. Each brand has its own positioning. Positioning is then the (re)direction of the position of a brand in the mind of the target audience.

Merkelijkheid is a positioning expert and has written, in addition to this FAQ, dozens of articles about positioning.