Brand Positioning - Points of Parity

Dear passengers, 

Now we are going to have a look at the brand positioning of our two favorite airlines Emirates and Singapore Airlines in order to understand why they are so special in our hearts and minds!

First of all it is important to define what is a brand positioning. A brand positioning is a strategy established by a brand that aims setting up as different from competitors and securing a certain market share in a particular market. 

A brand positioning is made up of four components:

• A target customer : A primary audience that the brand want to attract and appeal to 
• Brand promise: A promise of the differential benefits that the brand will bring to the customer
• Brand essence: « The heart and soul » of the brand that goes along with the vision and mission
• Brand personality: The human characteristics to which the customer can relate 

The airlines industry is a very competitive market where our favorite brands are giving hard battles to build strong brands that outpace competitors and to do so they make sure through their positioning that they have enough point-of-parity and point-of-differences. 

According to Webster and Keller: « Points of difference are strong, favorable, unique brand associations that drive customers’ behavior; points of parity are those associations where the brand ‘breaks even’ with competitors and negates their intended points of difference. » 

In other words a strong brand share similarities with its competitors but they are also well differentiated. 

What are the points-of-parity of Emirates and Singapore Airlines?

Well, both brands are international premium airlines companies that have a competitive pricing without sacrificing quality. Emirates and Singapore Airlines offer first, business and economy air travel services to their customers on their different airplanes. They are modern, innovative, sustainable and serve the five continents ( Asia, Australia, America, Africa, Europe)

Altough they share a lot of similarities they are different and this difference will be discussed shortly.

(Sources : http://www.segmentationstudyguide.com/understanding-perceptual-maps/points-of-difference-pod/  - Webster and Keller, “A Roadmap for Branding,” p. 390.
Photo credits : Corporate Websites)