The Positioner Pro
Competitive positioning through trade-offs.
"Strategy is choosing what not to do. Positioning is choosing where not to stand."
The Core Insight
The Positioner maps brands in competitive space to identify where to position and what trade-offs to make. Good positioning isn't about finding an empty space. It's about finding a defensible space that competitors can't or won't occupy.
Why Positioning Requires Trade-Offs
Most positioning fails because it tries to have everything: premium quality AND competitive price, heritage credibility AND innovative disruption. These positions are logically incoherent and strategically weak.
Strong positioning makes explicit choices: We are this, not that. We serve these people, not those. Trade-offs create defensibility.
The Four Lenses
| Lens | Strategic Question | Informs |
|---|---|---|
| Price vs Quality | What is our value equation? | Pricing strategy, quality claims |
| Heritage vs Innovation | What is our source of authority? | Brand story, tone of voice |
| Mass vs Premium | Who are we for, and not for? | Distribution, target definition |
| Functional vs Emotional | What relationship are we building? | Creative strategy, message priority |
Theoretical Grounding
- Porter's Generic Strategies: Cost leadership OR differentiation, not both
- Ries & Trout: Own a word in the mind
- Kapferer's Brand Identity: Heritage and innovation create different authority
- Sharp's Distinctiveness: Be different, not just better
How It Works
For each lens, The Positioner places competitor brands on a 2×2 grid. You can import positions from The Competitor, identify where competitors cluster, find white space, and test potential positions.
White Space vs Viable Space
Not all white space is valuable:
- Empty space: No one is there (but maybe for good reason)
- Viable space: No one is there AND it's credible for this brand AND the audience values it
- Defended space: Someone owns it and will fight to keep it
Output
Position Statement: For [audience], [brand] is the [category] that [claim] because [reason].
Exclusions: We are deliberately not [what we're choosing against].
Trade-Offs: To own this position, we sacrifice [what we give up].
Competitive Set: We compete directly with [brands] and indirectly with [alternatives].
How It Fits The Cascade
The Positioner sits between The Targeter and The Strategist:
- Receives: Audience tension from The Targeter; category convention from The Definer
- Produces: Position statement and exclusions that define strategic direction
- Feeds into: The Strategist (position becomes key element of the pitch brief)
Best Practices
- The exclusions are as important as the position. They make the trade-off explicit.
- Test positions against what competitors would need to sacrifice to copy you.
- If a position doesn't require sacrifice, it's not defensible.
"The position statement says where you stand. The exclusions say where you won't."