4 Types of Positioning, from SAP and IBM to AirBnB

What do the positioning of AirBnB and IBM have in common? In this article, we reflect on the different forms of positioning based on the classification by Floor and Van Raaij. Often, positioning is discussed in the abstract, but in this article, we make it very practical. After reading this article, you will suddenly look differently at the positioning of your own brand or the brands around you and know how to ask some interesting questions.

4 forms of positioning by Floor and Van Raaij

1. Informational positioning
2. Transformational positioning
3. Two-sided positioning
4. Execution positioning

The goal of positioning is, of course, to associate such a collection of features and characteristics with your product or service that it acquires its own unique place compared to the competition in the mind of the customer. In other words, your target audience can easily choose you.

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There are many ways to achieve this, and specialists naturally try to bring some kind of system to it. This also applies to Floor and Van Raaij, who distinguish 4 forms of positioning in their book Marketing Communication Strategy. We gladly extract these from the abstract for you, discussing advantages, disadvantages, and examples of the 4 types of positioning.

Informational positioning

Informational positioning is also called the ‘problem solver.’ Your product or service is essential for solving a problem, and you build the positioning around that. Think of the slogan: “Washes a mountain, costs a little,” with which Witte Reus conquered the detergent market. Informational positioning makes it very easy for your customers to think of you as soon as they face the known problem. That ease is immediately the attraction for marketers. Of the 4 types of positioning, this is also the easiest. (Execution is a second, of course.)

When might informational positioning not be the best choice?

If people think a little longer before making a purchase. Are you standing in front of the supermarket shelf looking for a bathroom cleaner? Antikal is easily found. But if you think a bit longer or do research, you quickly find out that you can buy a comparable solution for much less money. The positioning hides few ‘extras’ that would still make you decide to pick Antikal.

This is especially relevant if your product or service costs significantly more than an item from the supermarket. People think twice, and then this positioning might not be quite right.

Examples of informational positioning

1. SAP. ‘Run live, run simple’ revolves around the availability of information, continuously and live, enabling you to make decisions easily (simply).
2. Independer. ‘We make insuring easy.’ Easily take out a cheaper insurance.

Transformational positioning

Transformational positioning is primarily a ‘lifestyle’ positioning in practice. A brand adopts a positioning around the lifestyle or values of its target audience. It promises a transformation. Outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia goes very far here; employees even get ‘let my people go surfing’ time, during which they are encouraged to go into nature. By linking the brand to the lifestyle and values of the target audience, the brand truly becomes part of it, and this pays off, as revenue continues to grow (2013 $600 million). But the most famous brand with transformational positioning? Ever heard of Coca Cola? “Choose happiness.”

When should you skip transformational positioning?

That’s simple: if you have to pretend. A company like Patagonia lives and breathes the outdoor lifestyle, and a traditional company simply cannot compete with that. The natural fit with this type of positioning must actually be anchored in your core values and behavior from the start. If it’s not right, your target audience will see through it without problems, and you are even further from home.

Examples of transformational positioning

1. Mercedes-Benz. The slogan ‘Das beste oder nichts’ tells something about the company culture but also about its customers. Together they want the best, and nothing else.
2. McKinsey. The number 1 in management consulting clearly targets market leaders in various markets and the fundamental questions these leaders must answer.
3. Zwitserleven. They sell the Zwitserleven feeling, need I say more?

Two-sided positioning

In practice, brands often combine transformational and informational positioning. Our brand solves problem x, enabling you to live lifestyle y. Take Red Bull, for example, which provides you with the necessary energy but at the same time has made itself part of the extreme sports lifestyle as a brand.

When is two-sided positioning not for you?

In a traditional B2B market, I don’t often see the values/lifestyle positioning gaining a foothold. Buyers prefer to keep some distance, and the DMU (Decision Making Unit) is often so complex that it is difficult to formulate one typical target group to whose lifestyle a brand can connect.

Examples of two-sided positioning

1. IBM. Think has stood for the company since 1909 and still fits. Thinking power remains central. The company started with mainframes, moved to personal computing, and now delivers much more abstract thinking power.
2. Hewlett-Packard. Make it matter stands for the inventor mentality of the company and the tools the company sells you to create as well.
3. AirBnB. Easier/cheaper stays and in a way that fits your lifestyle.
4. Red Bull, energy and lifestyle.

Execution positioning

With execution positioning, a brand does not link itself to its own product or service but rather to a campaign. That sounds vague, and it is. The ‘Just call Apeldoorn’ campaigns by Centraal Beheer are a good example. Bizarre situations you actually want to be insured against. The commercials are undoubtedly better known than the brand.

Execution positioning is not for you.

I think execution positioning is a ‘bridge too far’ for many companies. It is the most abstract positioning and therefore quite complex because when do you get results from your efforts? By the way, we can hardly think of many good examples either.

Examples of execution positioning

1. Maandag. Green blood. This positioning perhaps comes closest. The staffing agency mainly focuses on color and then connects values to it. But recognizability is paramount.
2. Centraal Beheer. ‘Just call Apeldoorn’ is an icon because of its commercials, but what exactly can you buy there? Something with insurance, certainly.
3. Levi’s Flatbeat Eric is an example we encountered in the literature. A yellow doll plus a song that had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with Levi’s.

Confession about types of positioning

We had quite a hard time finding enough examples. As we said, Floor and Van Raaij make the types of positioning quite abstract, and it was sometimes difficult to distinguish the different types in practice. Hopefully, we have succeeded in informing you and maybe even inspiring you, but we also like to become wiser ourselves. Do you know a good example of a certain type of positioning?

Of course, there are more forms of positioning; which should we focus on next time?

Want to know more about positioning and how to get started yourself? Read our page Positioning and find, besides in-depth articles, dozens of examples and models for every possible positioning challenge.