Dust off that old Shakespeare collection and skip to Hamlet. He was writing about marketing a long time ago.
It’s actually an old saying that if you were paying attention to that grade eleven English class, you would have caught on you know the one about Hamlet?
To thine own self be true that Polonius was such a wise old fellow. In the rat race of positioning in digital marketing, these words couldn’t be more true.
Thank you Shakespeare.
Digital Strategists have to be authentic and true. In order to have a successful marketing campaign, it starts with the consumers.
In order to start with the consumers, brands have to build on their positioning in the market and stay true to that through thick and thin.
What if companies kept changing their positions? What if McDonald’s stopped Happy Meals? You’d have a four year old revolt right from the kindergarten classes to the Golden Arches. McDonald’s position is family friendly and low cost meals. If you want to dispute it, just bump ahead in line between that four year old kid and his Happy Meal. I dare you.
Unlike past marketing strategies, today’s social media revolution relies solely on the consumer. It’s not that novel of an idea and in order to do that, strategists have to be authentic.
Even though McDonald’s has changed menus from time to time, there always will be a Happy meal. Positioning is about honesty and truth. Consumers will always rely on that principle.
In Bob Greenberg’s Adweek column, he talks about consumers sharing brand status’ with their social communities.
Today’s consumer doesn’t necessarily go word of mouth. With a point and a click, brands are shared in seconds and not at the local Bridge tournaments, saunas or ballgames.
One of the best examples of positioning and strategy occurred during the 2014 Super Bowl. JC Penny misspelled their tweets in an attempt to boost positioning and drive their brand.
It worked.
JC Penny is “America’s Favorite Store” that’s their position and they stayed true to themselves.
Consumers started tweeting JC Penny and suddenly there’s Coors Light and hashtags galore including Doritos. So you see, positioning in the digital age is contagious but again, remember Polonius’ wise words:
To thine own self be true.
If it were just a “drunken employee” then the credibility of JC Penny would have backfired. In the end, JC Penny admitted their intentions of the tweets but you see how it worked?
What’s more American than the Super Bowl? Naturally, JC Penny seized the opportunity to sell their mittens.
That’s a successful campaign.
For the digital marketer to use positioning for a great campaign, they have to go back to the consumer. If the consumer doesn’t trust the brand, then how is the brand ever going to build a relationship with the consumer?
“POSITIONING does not offer an immediate payoff. But what it does do is attract your ideal clients to you and establish trust with them before they ever meet you.” says Stephanie Sammons
Aye, there’s the rub. See how easy that is?
Again, you can thank Shakespeare for all his thoughtful and forward thinking ideas. In fact, old Billy was no stranger to marketing. In Hamlet, he mentions, Julius Caesar. Rumor has it that there was a production coming up and, well you might as well stick a hashtag in front of it.
Of course, the best practice anyone can use in positioning is content. Repeat that after me, content. Shakespeare was a master of content and one can argue that he was twitter, before Twitter.
In many ways, Shakespeare is the positioning statement of the English language. When people refer to the “Shakespearean Language” they could be talking about the English language as well. They go hand in hand.
Great positioning makes it part of a daily routine like coffee is to mornings. Coffee is not just a “pick me up” it’s become something more. Look at Starbucks. It’s become an exclusive club among coffee connoisseurs.
“The largest coffee house in the world, was operating in a highly competitive market place and needed to re-define its proposition to its consumer base.
By turning the idea of having a cup of coffee into a ‘way of life’ by redefining how customers can enjoy a Starbucks experience through the coffee shop environment, introducing music and wi-fi in a relaxed setting the company established a new market space which other coffee chains ignored (or are now trying to replicate).” says Simon Swan of Smart Insights.
It’s an important example because when consumers think of Starbucks, they feel important by ordering a Grandi instead of a large. Starbucks has really nailed their consumer needs. Starbucks has become much more than a cup of coffee, they’ve become a “Way of Life”
The same can be said about Tim Horton’s. The legendary coffee chain has tapped into Canada’s national identity by using hockey as a “way of life” and a former Toronto Maple Leaf to sell its brand. Their position is hockey.
I think positioning statements and marketing statements walk a similar line.
Tim Horton’s
Our guiding mission is to deliver superior quality products and services for our guests and communities through leadership, innovation and partnerships.
but hockey and the “Canadian” way of life is really what they’re selling. Hockey parents in suburbia line up in the drive through every morning because of “Timmy’s” brand.
Positioning in the digital age is about truth. More so than ever. Consumers are far more savvy and if a company can’t develop the trust that consumers everywhere desire, then they won’t be able to compete in this digital age.
Just as a point and a click can make or break a company, it’s that same point and a click that can drive traffic to the brand and a successful campaign.
So, next time you cringe at the very mention of a Shakesperean play, think again, “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.”
The Social Hood 