Positioning

Overview

Strategies to distinguish and differentiate.

Presented by:
Larry Vincent,
Professor of the Practice of Marketing

Presented to:
GSBA 509
September 22, 2026

What is positioning?

Not doing farmers good

The best advertising should make you nervous about what you’re not buying.

Mary Wells Lawrence

Positioning is a strategic act designed to differentiate you from your competitors.

Perceptual maps

Positioning links a value proposition to audience perception.

Positioning template

BMW

Why did Porsche sales level off?

Finding the answer

Finding the answer

Positive associations

Positioning elements

What does a positioning statement look like in the wild?

Long-form positioning

Positioning line

Positioning is where competitive strategy and creativity intersect to differentiate.

Differentiating

Youngme Moon

Positioning strategy

Famous positioning statement

Ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.

Positioning strategy

Positioning strategy

Mass Grocery

Trader Joe’s

Positioning strategy

Positioning strategy

Let’s talk about Barbie

Positioning circa 2013

Dress rehearsal for real life.

Moms don’t see Barbie as a role model for real life.

Internal stakeholder

The closest thing we own with moms and girls is imaginative play.

Internal stakeholder

I observed my daughter Barbara playing with her friends on the floor by the hour. They would play with adult paper dolls and they would reflect their dreams and their future through their play with these adult paper dolls.