Sri Sharada Institute Of Indian Management -Research

Approved by AICTE
Plot No. 7, Phase-II, Institutional Area, Behind the Grand Hotel, Vasant Kunj,
New Delhi 110070 Website: www.srisiim.org

A
Project Report
ON
(DM:409) CURRENT AFFAIRS, ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
& FINANCIAL TIMES

Topic On

POSITIONING THE BATTLE FOR YOUR

MIND

Submitted To: -

Prof. Sanjeev Sareen

Submitted By:Abdesh Kumar Yadav

(20130101)

Amit Kumar Soni

(20130103)

Ankur Dutta Roy

(20130105)

Declaration
We hereby declare that the following

project report of

Current Affairs, Economic Affairs & Financial Times is an

authentic work done by us. This is to declare that all work

indulged in the completion of this work & activities of an
organization is a profound and honest work of ours.

Abdesh Kumar Yadav

(Roll No: 20130101)

Amit Kumar Soni

(Roll No: 20130103)

Ankur Dutta Roy

(Roll No: 20130105)

PGDM : 2013 15
Place : New Delhi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to express my hearty gratitude to my faculty
guide, Prof. Sanjeev Sareen for giving us the opportunity to
prepare a project report on Operation Research and for his
valuable guidance and sincere cooperation, which helped us in
completing this project.

Abdesh Kumar Yadav

(Roll No: 20130101)

Amit Kumar Soni

(Roll No: 20130103)

Ankur Dutta Roy

(Roll No: 20130105)

PGDM : 2013 15
Place : New Delhi

Overview

Today, communication itself is the problem. Jack Trout and Al

Ries believe our world has become over-communicated and
that we receive more.
A persons mind can only take so much information and it
blocks out everything that is not important or relevant.
Ries and Trout published a series of articles in Advertising
Age called "The Positioning Era
Ries and Trout explain that while positioning begins with a
product, the concept really is about positioning that product in
the mind of the customer. This approach is needed because
consumers are bombarded with a continuous stream of
advertising, with advertisers spending millions.
The consumer's mind reacts to this high volume of advertising
by accepting only what is consistent with prior knowledge or
experience.

Getting into the Mind

Positioning is an organized system for
finding windows in the mind.
Communication can take place at the right
time at the right circumstances.
Brand Loyalty.
It is better to be a big fish in the small
pool rather than small fish in the big pool.

How a company can get into the

prospects mind?
The easiest way is by being the first into a persons
mind, while the hardest way is by being second. Most
of us would know the name of the first person to walk
on the moon, but not many can answer who was the
second man to walk on the moon.
E.g. Coca Cola Company was the first in cola. Xerox
was first in copiers and Kodak was first in
photography. This being said if you cant be first then
you have to find a way to position yourself against the
product that got there first.

7 UP : The UNCOLA POSITION

Like a computer, the human mind has a slot to retain

information.

E.g. The UNCOLA POSITION : by linking the

product what is already in the mind of the prospect,
the uncola position established 7 up as an alternative
to a cola drink.

Repositioning

We are better than our competitors is not positioning.

DO NOT put competitor as benchmark for your own
brand.

Is it legal? National broadcasting company dropped

ban on comparative ads in 1964

1974 American association issued guidelines.

Is it ethical? Tell customers how your product is better

than others.

Repositioning the Competition

Sometimes there are no unique positions to carve out.

Ries and Trout suggest repositioning a competitor by

convincing consumers to view the competitor in a different
way.

E.g. Tylenol successfully repositioned aspirin by running

advertisements explaining the negative side effects of
aspirin.

Pringles case
When Pringle's new-fangled potato chips were introduced,
they quickly gained market share. However, Wise potato
chips successfully repositioned Pringle's in the mind of
consumers by listing some of Pringle's non-natural
ingredients that sounded like harsh chemicals, even though
they were not. Wise potato chips of course, contained only
"Potatoes. Vegetable oil and Salt.
As a resulting of this advertising, Pringle's quickly lost
market share, with consumers complaining that Pringle's
tasted like cardboard, most likely as a consequence of their
thinking about all those unnatural ingredients.

The power of name

How? It should not go over the head. It should hit

the heads of prospects.

When to use a meaningless name? When the product

is new in the market and you are the first one.

Names get out of date.. E.g magazine industrynewsweek is a better name than newsweekly.

The No-Name Trap

Most people tend use abbreviations when they have fewer

syllables than the original term. GE is often used instead of
General Electric. IBM instead of International Business
Machines. In order to make their company names more
general and easier to say, many corporations have changed
their legal names to a series of two or three letters

Companies having a broad recognition may be able to use the

abbreviated names and consumers will make the translation in
their minds. When they hear "GM", they think "General
Motors".

However, lesser known companies tend to lose their identity

when they use such abbreviations.

Positioning a country: Belgium

It wasnt one of the tourist destinations.

Sabena Belgian World Airlines, flying to Belgium,

tried to induce food with travel. But it didnt work
that much.

So the airlines tried to position the country as a

destination and not the airline as a reason to visit
Belgium.

How Belgium did this?

Michelin ranked Belgium as having five 3 star

cities. So the campaign was- in beautiful Belgium,
there are 3 Amsterdams

How? Amsterdam and Michelin guide were two

concepts already in the mind of the prospect traveler
and helped to put Belgium on the map. 5 cities to visit
made Belgium a bona fide destination.

Th a n k Yo u !!!

Positioning: The Battle for your

Mind has become a classic in the
field of marketing.