• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Written Right

Contact me at (650) 339-3347

Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on LinkedInFollow Us on SkypeFollow Us on E-mail
  • Home
  • About
  • Portfolio
    • Print
    • Video
    • Web
  • Blog
  • Contact Me

Thoughts about Brand Positioning

January 16, 2019 By Susan Monroe Leave a Comment

Thoughts about Brand Positioning

 

Have you thought about brand positioning lately? I think about it quite a bit, likely because I’m a content creator and branding is on my clients’ minds.

Ivan Levison, the Bay Area’s king of direct mail, has thought about it too. In a terrific short article from May 2017, he presents a Southwest Airlines mini case study that gets right to the heart of the matter.

Anyone who has ever flown Southwest is familiar with what Mr. Levison refers to as “a bit of a Hobbesian state of ‘all against all’” when it comes time to find a seat on the aircraft. And he comments about how an old Southwest commercial—which I’m unable to find TV—cleverly turns the lack of reserved seats into a benefit.

Here’s the scenario: Billy spends his early life in a high chair, placed there by his loving mother. At school, his teacher creates a seating chart, and he gets plugged into the seat he’ll keep for the rest of the school year. Later on, he goes to work, and his boss points him toward an unoccupied desk. And so it goes. Billy sits where he’s told.

Mr. Levison points out that Southwest transformed the “free-for-all scramble . . .  into a liberating expression of individual freedom.” Billy no longer has to go where he’s told. He can now choose.

In essence, Southwest found a clever way to counter travelers’ consternation at contending for seats by making the effort an expression of personal liberty and maybe even a little bit fun. And Mr. Levison astutely notes that this kind of marketing sleight of hand is something any company can use to build its business. His article calls to mind the old Avis ad, which I present as a bonus at the bottom of this post.

Have you got any examples of brand positioning where an organization has been able to turn a problem into a pot of gold?

Weerapat Wattanapichaykul — 123rf.com

 

 

About the Author

Susan Monroe's avatar

Susan creates crisp, engaging copy for a range of verticals. Her clients include Brocade, Cisco, HP, and Informatica—as well as small and midsize businesses. Contact her If you need great content creation and strategy,

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

Susan Monroe gave us just what we wanted. You know when you read a piece and right away you can tell … we really appreciate the great work and so quickly.

Susan Henson Siebel Alliance Manager, HP

Earlier Blogs

Mending a Sales Relationship

Sales Success: 5 Great Tips

Self-Sabotage and You

Demonstrating Brand Leadership

Great Brand Messaging

Get the Scoop

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
RSSTwitterLinkedin

Writing that works for your business™

 Privacy Policy·Terms of Use

Susan Monroe

Written Right, All Rights Reserved

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Read our Cookie Policy.