Category and competitive-contrast analysis
Defined in relation to the audience, evidence, operating reality and decision the work must support.
Positioning Systems
For organisations that need to occupy a clearer, stronger and more credible place in the mind of a particular market.
Who it is for
A defined problem, not a preselected package.
New-category ventures, established firms entering a new market and institutions whose language makes them sound interchangeable.
Likely result: A credible organising position that can guide product, proof, language and future decisions.
Boundary: Positioning is a strategic commitment, not a decorative slogan. It may require saying no to audiences, claims or categories that weaken coherence.
Possible scope
What the engagement may contain.
The final scope follows diagnosis. These elements are possibilities, not an automatic bundle.
Positioning statement and strategic narrative
Defined in relation to the audience, evidence, operating reality and decision the work must support.
Audience segmentation and belief mapping
Defined in relation to the audience, evidence, operating reality and decision the work must support.
Positioning language system
Defined in relation to the audience, evidence, operating reality and decision the work must support.
How the work moves
The diagnostic sequence.
Every engagement is calibrated, but the same intellectual discipline connects reality to justified action.
Examine Reality
What is the product, service, organisation or idea in its actual form—before language improves its appearance?
Locate Value
What transformation, protection, advantage, identity or possibility does it genuinely create?
Study Recognition
How does the intended audience presently interpret the problem, category, alternatives and cost of action?
Establish Credibility
What mechanism, evidence, authority and restraint make the promise believable?
Construct the Argument
What sequence of ideas can move the audience from present belief to justified action?
Test and Refine
How does the message perform when confronted with real attention, resistance, misunderstanding and behaviour?
Begin with the problem
Discuss Positioning Systems.
Begin with the situation, the audience and what appears not to be working. The appropriate scope can be established after the context is examined.