Positioning

According to The Marketing Plan Handbook, positioning strategy is aimed to differentiate the brand or product on the basis of attributes that customers find meaningful. A firm's position resides with the attributes which customers value and attributes which competitors perceived. For positioning to work, it should align with the company's mission, goals, and resources. In addition, positioning conveys the value that the brand provides, it sets the brand apart from competitors in a sustainable way.

Victoria's Secret and Aerie are two companies which competing in the apparel industry which specialized in lingerie. Victoria's Secret sells lingerie, womenswear and beauty products, and Aerie sells lingerie. While Victoria's Secret targets at adult, Aerie targets at teenagers. The impression given by Victoria's Secret is seductive, which Aerie give an impression of cute and girlish. Not only does Victoria's Secret provides a bigger selection in term of lingerie, but they also offers other products like perfume, bathing suits etc. In term of promoting the product, Victoria's Secret have fashion show, angels and pink spokesmodels. For Aerie, they invite targeted group of customers to the in-store party. The two companies have different products and marketing strategies due to the different needs of their customers.

In research of how academic libraries apply positioning, I found an article titled "Positioning and Marketing Academic Libraries to Students", even though the article was published in 1998, it got some interesting information. Another search leads me to a book titled Breakthrough Branding: Positioning Your Library to Survive and Thrive, which is published in 2013. I would like to read the book and find out how branding and position impact libraries.