Brand Positioning: Plain and Simple

by Andy Milligan

This Element is an excerpt from Don't Mess with the Tools to Build Brands with Impact, by Andy Milligan and Jon Edge. Available in digital formats.

Cut away the nonsense and hype and craft a brand positioning statement that really works--now and for the long term!

Brand essence? Brand DNA? Brand proposition? Brand promise? Brand soul? Brand heart? Brand philosophy? Brand metempsychosis? We've heard them all. They're all attempts to suggest that there is something fundamental beyond the extrinsic experience of the brand (what you actually see, touch, smell, or taste). Well, forget all that stuff. All you need to be clear about is your brand's positioning.

13 pages

Published March 15, 2010

About the author

Andy is a leading international brand and business consultant and is acknowledged as an expert on all areas of brand development. He advises CEOs and senior management teams, on strategies for developing and exploiting brands and growing their business.

Andy’s experience spans industries as diverse as airlines, financial services, packaged goods, telecommunications, sports and leisure and pharmaceuticals. He has directed major programmes in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the USA and throughout Europe. Clients he has worked with include Nissan, WWF, Orange, McLaren, Barclays, Unilever, Thai Airways, IHG, FIFA, Sage, Arcadia, Avon and Roche.

Andy is a regular speaker at conferences internationally and has made frequent appearances in media, including on BBC, Sky and CNN. He has published six best selling books: See, Feel, Think Do which explores the success of instinct in business; Brand It Like Beckham which analyses the success of David Beckham as a celebrity brand; Uncommon Practice which examines the link between great brands and their corporate cultures; Don’t Mess With the Logo which is a straight-talking guide to brand building and BOLD, voted ‘Management e-book of the Year’, which reveals the practices that make great brands stand out, and turn customers into fans.

Andy’s latest book, On Purpose, written with his regular co-author, Shaun Smith, is a practical guide to executing business purpose successfully by delivering a branded customer experience people love.