Get to Aha!: Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your Competition

by Andy Cunningham

From the marketing strategist who helped Steve Jobs launch the original Apple Macintosh comes a groundbreaking guide to positioning any company for industry dominance Andy Cunningham has been at the forefront of tech and innovation since day one, and she’s been helping companies create new product categories ever since. Now she reveals the winning framework she uses to transform markets and industries. Get to Aha! shows how to establish the kind of foundation world-class brands are built on. Too many business leaders fail to ask the most basic questions about their company― Who are we? And why do we matter? ―before they leap right into branding. Big mistake. A company must first know itself (establish its position) before it can express its identity (execute its branding). There are three types of companies in the world, each with its own Mothers are customer-oriented, Mechanics are product-oriented, and Missionaries are concept-oriented―and it’s absolutely critical for business leaders to know which type their company is to create an authentic and ultimately “sticky” position in the market. A company’s DNA is the key to achieving this and with it, a competitive advantage. Why? Because if a Mechanic creates a marketing campaign based on its belief that it is a Missionary, the underlying positioning will not ring true and the company won’t gain a foothold in the market. But if a company positions itself in alignment with its DNA, it will resonate authentically and establish its role and relevance even in the face of a major competitor. Get to Aha! presents a clear step-by-step framework that will help you determine your company’s precise position in the marketing landscape, using Andy’s DNA-based methodology. It takes you through the process of performing “genetic testing” on your company, examining the market through the six Cs of positioning, and developing your positioning statement―a rational, factual statement about your company’s role and relevance. Then and only then can you create a branding and marketing strategy that will build market momentum and crush the competition. Trust Andy. Steve Jobs did.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Buisness, Management

272 pages, Hardcover

Published October 13, 2017

Reviews

[Reader Views · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (10/19)

Mother, Mechanic, and Missionary. What do these three words have in common? They are all terms that can describe a company’s type of “DNA.” Each business needs to decide which type they are. Are they customer oriented, product oriented or concept oriented? In “Get to Aha!: Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your Competition,” the author, and founder of a successful marketing and communication strategy firm, Andy Cunningham, teaches business entrepreneurs how to figure out their company’s DNA. This is done through “genetic” testing. This information will help them create successful marketing strategies involved with positioning, branding and communicating. After the genetic testing, the author will take you through the “Six C’s of Positioning.” From there you will move forward to create an accurate and successful positioning statement. It is important that companies position themselves first, before they begin branding. The last step is to bring it all to life with “positioning activation.”

Apple, Blackberry, Nike, Uber, LG, Samsung, Red Bull, Netflix, Logitech, Verizon, and Google are a few of the companies discussed. I found it extremely interesting to read the author’s views on how these companies positioned and branded themselves. I gained a great deal of insight from this information. It also gave me a lot of respect for some of the companies discussed, even if they do not have products which would be of use to me. Cunningham ends by providing an extensive discussion about six of her clients whose companies she helped with overcoming positioning issues. Each case study has its own unique story. Readers will gain confidence by seeing how this process worked to help other companies achieve success.

With “Get to Aha!,” Andy Cunningham uses her knowledge and extensive experience to offer companies well thought out and innovative marketing strategies to help them not only survive but become successful. She did a masterful job of being able to tie the science of DNA into marketing strategies. I realize that this makes the book sound extremely complex, but Cunningham does a masterful job of making her work interesting and easy to understand. You do not need a PhD in genetics nor an MBA to be able to understand and put the information presented into good use. This book is a must-read for business owners who want to gain an edge over their competition.

[Filip Kis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to win this book at an event where I heard one of the partners from Cunningham Collective speak. And that was perfect because during the presentation I thought to myself, I should read this book.

Now, as (almost) always, a disclaimer for my 5 start rating. First, it's an American book, so expect (needless) repetition. Second, it's probably not the best or most essential book on the topic of positioning and marketing. But for me it had a very strong effect of both finally understanding the value of positioning (and things like mission-vision-values) and a good methodology on how to go about figuring it out in your own company.

Throughout the book my motivation to apply the methodology to my own startup was constantly getting higher and the examples given were good enough to figure illustrate some of the changes we might face (e.g. reaching an alignment on what our positioning should be).

And this is the main reason it gets 5 stars. I got s lot from it and do recommend it to anybody who is struggling to communicate properly, to the target audience, what their business is doing.

[Brian Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cunningham says this book is an extension of the genre-defining Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind, and she delivers. Early on, she briefly but helpfully explains and defends positioning as the foundational element that must come before branding (let alone other marketing messaging). That's the part you'll want your clients and/or executives to read, so they know what they're getting into and why. She then unpacks her framework and methodology for helping companies identify their DNA and craft their positioning. Toward the end of the book, she provides stories of companies that have actually gone through the transformations she talked about in the book—and helpfully, she picks one company from each of the 6 DNA/genotype combinations that her framework contains.

The combination of theory, practice, and example—along with Cunningham's clear mastery of the positioning field—make this a must-read for anyone studying strategy and positioning. I loved it, and highly recommend it.

[Dean Millson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book on branding and positioning with some real gold.

At its heart, the idea that every company has one of three possible DNA's is the type of simplicity that I love, and I believe it's probably true.

I found some of Andy's message architecture a little complicated, with too many parts overlapping and repeating themselves, however, this book also gave me a renewed enthusiasm to try and break my cynicism around brand archetypes.

A must read for brand strategists or anyone in charge of growing a business.

[Marianna Zelichenko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly meta and repetitive. I spent a solid 70 pages reading about *why* corporate DNA is important, with the same arguments repeated over and over again. Then I did the highly simplified test that told me little... So I checked what would come next and concluded that this book is not what I'm looking for (something more in-depth and applicable). I think this is actually a solid book for business leaders who don't yet realize that their efforts should be aligned and that saying you're a certain type of business doesn't make it so. Personally, I didn't get much value out of it.

[Melissa Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book on creating and setting up the core, or the foundation, of one's company. I like that it separates the different kinds of companies into sections and explains each and every one. The examples proves that each company is unique in its own way. You can start separating every company into one of the categories (many do overlap, of course)! There's definitely a lot of information in this book that I had to take a couple of breaks to get through it. It's a good book to start when starting up your company.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brand strategy

Is your company a Mother, Mechanic, or a Missionary? Don't know what I mean then pick up this book. In it, Mrs Cunningham details the importance of decoding what type of company you are in order to tailor your marketing strategy to your strengths. Thus was a very insightful book and gave me food for thought in everything that is needed in order to establish and implement an effective and successful brand strategy.

[Lori Mcdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving a 4 because I learned really useful info for running my business. It felt a little long and there were times that it didn't really hold my interest but I am very glad to have read. Positioning and differentiating a business are hard things to get right and Andy clearly knows her stuff when it comes to that.

[Tuukka Oksanen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some helpful points but she is trying to sell her own theory of corporate DNA (mother, mechanic, missionary) beyond the theory’s innate usefulness. However, it might help some people/companies, if you are at loss of words to identify with.

[Peter Walt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finding brand positioning is not supposed to be a TA-DA! - but rather an AHA!

The woman who helped to position early Apple has with this book provided a template to help corporate executive teams navigate the treacherous world of brand positioning. Pretty solid.

[Justin Dorfman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I’ve read on positioning. While the book “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind” defined the practice, “Get to Aha!” teaches you how to do it by providing a highly actionable framework and relevant, real world examples.

[Neha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the simple approach

[Hugh HACKETT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for any business trying to correctly market their business