Aspirational and Inspirational Brand Positioning: a study towards emotional positioning from a consumer-perspective
Author
Summary, in English
The paper introduces two new terminologies (aspirational- and inspirational positioning) within the area of brand positioning that approach positioning from an
emotional and consumer perspective. For the implementation of these strategies a number of components are identified in this paper. These components together with their tools and their effects are summarised in a new model, named the AI Wheel of Positioning. The eight brand cases examined in this paper can be classified as inspirational and aspirational to different degrees, also leaving room for hybrid cases. We argue that it is not ideal to be positioned as the most inspirational or aspirational brand, but rather to follow a slightly mixed approach. However, we identified that having an inspirational orientation within a brand’s positioning strategy allows to engage consumers in three ways: thinking, feeling and doing. An additional finding reveals that aspirational- and inspirational positioning are connected to a company’s orientation (Brand-oriented, Market-oriented, or both),
which allows implementing these strategies to different extents. Based on these findings this paper contributes to theory in the way that it provides an extended view on positioning that includes the customer's perspective, thus focusing on the ‘actual position’ of a brand. Additionally, the findings of this paper help to advance the research on emotional positioning by introducing the concepts of ‘inspiration’ and ‘aspiration’ as new emotional positioning strategies into the field of branding. In terms of managerial contributions, this paper provides managers with an understanding of two new positioning strategies that allow them to respond to consumers need for an emotional and relational bond. In particular, the derived model for both positioning strategies can act as a tool for brand managers to implement emotional positioning and thereby better align the brand’s‘wanted’ with its ‘actual’ position.
emotional and consumer perspective. For the implementation of these strategies a number of components are identified in this paper. These components together with their tools and their effects are summarised in a new model, named the AI Wheel of Positioning. The eight brand cases examined in this paper can be classified as inspirational and aspirational to different degrees, also leaving room for hybrid cases. We argue that it is not ideal to be positioned as the most inspirational or aspirational brand, but rather to follow a slightly mixed approach. However, we identified that having an inspirational orientation within a brand’s positioning strategy allows to engage consumers in three ways: thinking, feeling and doing. An additional finding reveals that aspirational- and inspirational positioning are connected to a company’s orientation (Brand-oriented, Market-oriented, or both),
which allows implementing these strategies to different extents. Based on these findings this paper contributes to theory in the way that it provides an extended view on positioning that includes the customer's perspective, thus focusing on the ‘actual position’ of a brand. Additionally, the findings of this paper help to advance the research on emotional positioning by introducing the concepts of ‘inspiration’ and ‘aspiration’ as new emotional positioning strategies into the field of branding. In terms of managerial contributions, this paper provides managers with an understanding of two new positioning strategies that allow them to respond to consumers need for an emotional and relational bond. In particular, the derived model for both positioning strategies can act as a tool for brand managers to implement emotional positioning and thereby better align the brand’s‘wanted’ with its ‘actual’ position.
Department/s
Publishing year
2015
Language
English
Full text
Document type
Student publication for Master's degree (one year)
Topic
- Business and Economics
Keywords
- Brand Positioning
- Aspirational Positioning
- Inspirational Positioning
- Consumer-Perspective Positioning
- Emotional Positioning
Supervisor
- Mats Urde