Kotler & Keller (2016) define positioning as “the act of designing a company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market” (p. 107). Marketers spend most of their advertising dollars communicating the brand position to their target customers through various media sources. It is very important that research is conducted to confirm that consumers think and feel the way marketers intend towards the brand.
Read the brandchannel.com article, Driving Brand Distinction: 5 Questions with Subaru US President Tom Doll (http://www.brandchannel.com/2016/04/29/5-questions-subaru-042916/).
Doll is asked about a television spot depicting an older woman with her granddaughter explaining where she met her husband (at Woodstock). https://youtu.be/OQGe85oHbqs The interviewer asks the question “is the Subaru brand limiting its audience by the impression this ad creates.” He states that “our customers kind of led us to this. And it’s really a reflection of where we believe we want to make an impact on the general society”. He claims their customers have been called “granola crunchers and tree huggers”.
For this assignment, you will write a paper to examine the positioning of a brand in the market and the brand’s customer value proposition.
Using Subaru, or a brand of your choice, conduct consumer research within your circle of friends, family, and co-workers to determine the effectiveness of the brand’s positioning strategy and customer value proposition. Describe how your consumers’ responses are or are not consistent with the brand’s positioning strategy. In other words, if you asked about Subaru, did you hear comments that are consistent with the “granola crunchers and tree huggers” identification?
Ensure your paper incorporates the following:
- A minimum of two pages (not including cover page, table of contents, etc.)
- Double-spaced lines
- 12-point font size text
- APA writing style
