Positioning (marketing)

In marketing, positioning is the mental perception of a product or brand held by customers. The methods used to shape it include product differentiation, advertising, market segmentation and business models such as the marketing mix. The source says the origins of the concept are unclear and that it may have emerged from the advertising industry in the period following World War I. The concept was popularised by the advertising executives Al Ries and Jack Trout and further developed by the academics Schaefer and Kuehlwein, who extended it to include the meaning carried by a brand. Positioning is now a regular marketing activity and forms part of overarching marketing strategy theory.