How to establish a strong brand positioning – Case Study

A company from the Jura region, manufacturer of fashion products, asked for our help to assess its marketing strategy for one of its brands, acquired relatively recently. The integration of this historic brand within a group with a strong heritage also proved delicate in terms of positioning – both for distribution partner customers and internal teams.

For this mission, the scope of which went beyond the core skills in business strategy and marketing strategy, SpringWorks was associated with 2 agencies based in the Lake Geneva arear, and specialised to carry out a strategic study composed of 3 closely related axes:

1. A brand and product marketing axis, adapted to the customer target and to the positioning vis-à-vis the competition
2. A brand, product and distribution communication axis
3. A media axis and performance of media and communication channels

The combination of these 3 areas of expertise in a working group was the best way to ensure a coherent integration of the different aspects of the marketing – communication – media strategy. Each actor carried out an in-depth analysis of the performance in his field, of the company, in relation to his target clientele, and relative to competitors.

The result, a deep strategic audit including the following aspects:

• Strategic audit of the brand: starting from an observation of the strengths and weaknesses of the brand, the audit also took into account the historical heritage of the brand, the DNA of the group to which it belongs, as well as the relative values ​​of different brands within the same group
• Analysis of the competition in the same fashion segment, and relating to the respective positioning, the USP put forward, the strategy and the performance of the communication channels (for example, social networks)
• Evaluation of the product portfolio and the structure of the ranges
• Customer segmentation based on demographic aspects but also related to their lifestyle and needs in relation to fashion products
• Evaluation of the communication strategy and the performance of communication tools, with a focus on the digital strategy (media, natural referencing, paid, social networks, website, Google ads, …)
• Benchmark of fashion brands active in other segments, with a very similar history, and which have succeeded in reinventing themselves, building a modern and dynamic image while drawing on their heritage

The conclusion taught us that there was a lack of clarity on several axes and of coherence between the different axes, meaning that the concept built around the brand benefited from a strong foundation, but a potential until now under -operated.

The lessons learned from these analyzes were shared and discussed in workshops with the project team in order to converge towards a coherent point of view: a detailed "bottom-up" analysis of the actions and current performance, to then propose a global "top-down" strategy based on a vision translated into SMART objectives, priority strategies and operational actions.

A critical look only has value if it leads to proposals to remedy it. It is in this spirit that our trio of experts looked at areas for improvement, starting with a few fundamentals:

• A clear "positioning statement" that explains what the brand does, by offering a unique product (USP) to meet the needs of its target customers, with strong points of differentiation from the competition.
• A Brand manifesto that describes in more detail and narrative its uniqueness, values, promise to customers and differentiation
• Mapping of the brand positioning in relation to the competition according to axes relevant to the target clientele
• Definition of differentiation on positioning elements between the group's brands: customers, USP, values
• Development of a target customer profile, centered around their needs, their relationship with the product category, and their lifestyle, through the writing of a narrative profile of the persona (“pen portrait”)
• Generation of a simple & strong creative concept, in line with the positioning and oriented towards an effective deployment through the various communication tools.
• Restructuring of the product portfolio according to relevant axes for the target customers, differentiated from the competition, and consistent with the positioning of the brand
• Research & generation of innovative ideas in all areas where the brand can progress qualitatively and quantitatively. For example, the development of the product life cycle, as an expression with the positioning, including in particular the creation of a "heritage" line, of packs grouping together several products in phase with the seasonality of products and sales, as well as ideas for a new packaging.

To sum up, our marketing & communication center of competencies made it possible to develop a complete, coherent and detailed proposal with the client's teams, and to propose a reinforcement of the concept, with strong integration through a clear positioning, a creative strategy new and strong, and an effective and coherent deployment through product, distribution and communication.

The proposal included action planning, as well as a budget framework and the implementation of performance indicators for monitoring results directly related to sales, ready to be deployed. Beyond strategic and operational advice on concrete areas for improvement, our recommendation also included the organization of training modules for "skills" specialists internally at the client, in order to develop "skills" knowledge and team autonomy.

This mandate is a great example of the strength and value of creating relevant and effective synergies, through the sharing of know-how in marketing, communication, innovation and digital media. In marketing strategy too, joining forces drives performance ! Beyond the capacity of analysis, reflection, design and proposal, this synergistic approach has made it possible to propose a strategic vision, through a complete, coherent and competent solution.

Article edited by Gert for SpringWorks – Geneva, Switzerland – 2022