Brand image and positioning

Brand image is the impression customers have of a brand. When product, price, place and promotion are carefully adjusted and work together well, a business can create a specific and planned brand image, rather than leaving customers to form a random impression.

Positioning means choosing where the brand sits in the market: premium, economy, or somewhere in between. The four elements must tell the same story. If one element suggests something different, the image becomes muddled.

Element	Premium position	Economy position
Product	High-quality materials, neat finish and protective packaging	Simple, functional product and simple packaging
Price	High enough to reflect the quality	Lower price that communicates value
Place	Outlets used by premium customers	Value outlets where budget customers shop
Promotion	Well-designed, high-quality advertising	Low-cost, straightforward promotion

Larch is a fictional premium backpack brand. Its bags use strong recycled fabric, metal buckles and neat stitching. They cost £75. They are sold in independent outdoor shops, and adverts appear in a specialist walking magazine with professional photography. Each choice supports the premium position. A rival, Campus Carry, uses basic fabric, costs £18, sells on supermarket shelves and uses a short radio advert with clear shelf labels. This can build a successful economy image, not a failed premium one, because all four elements agree.

Not every brand needs a premium position. An economy position can work well when the lower price, simple packaging, suitable outlets and low-cost promotion all support value for money. A high price alone does not make a brand premium; the product, place and promotion must match it too.

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