Now that you have read an overview of the market and the history plus marketing strategy of our three brands, let’s see which one is having the best marketing strategy…
* We will follow the Brand Planning article, by Keller.
1. Brand Positioning
Competitive frame of reference
As we saw on the page “The Headphones Market”, we focused on the noise-cancelling headphones mostly.
POPs and PODs
At the origin, the design of the headphones were not really what mattered in the industry. But then, Beats created a true revolution : he manage to create a new Point of Difference : a very original design. The launching of the headphones Beats by Dr. Dre was so successful that all brands are trying to innovate to create more original designs. It is becoming a Point of Parity in the high-end headphones sector.
Brand mantra
Brands’ mantra
2. The Brand Resonance model was applied for each brand on its own page.
* Anatomy of brand positioning model
The Anatomy of Brand Positioning Model by Keller
Beats
The Anatomy of Brand Positioning Model by Keller
Bose
The Anatomy of Brand Positioning Model by Keller
Sennheiser
As we can see on the previous models, the brand having the strongest Brand Positioning is Beats. Indeed, they have a heavy heritage since it was created by the famous Dr Dre. Moreover, the endorsement of so many stars and music people gives an aura of coolness to the brand. The Beats lovers truly feel part of a community and they trust the brand to make them feel the music.
* Brands’ Archetypes
Beats is the Jester because it conveys strong motivations of Belonging & Enjoyment as we saw before. The goal of their brand is to make people hear all the music, so we can say that this is truly about enjoying the moment.
Bose is the Sage. Indeed, this brand is independant from the others on the market, they are not trying to follow the trend of fashionable headphones. All they are focusing on is the purity of the sound. And this is a quest for them, their ultimate goal.
Sennheiser comes from a true Creator : the aim of this Music Passionate was to achieve the perfect sound. He truly wanted to create something of enduring value.
* Peter Dyson’s brand building blocks plan
* Brand Identity Prism, Kapferer
When we compare all those brands, we realize that Bose is a really rationale brand that appeal to the judgment and reflection of its consumers, while Beats is purely emotional : it is being part of a community that drives its consumers. Sennheiser is in-between these two positions. It is rationale since the clients are attracted by the technical capacities of their products. But, it is also emotional because it is about passion for music and how they feel when they listen to it.
We believe that Beats is far ahead its competitors because they managed to create a strong brand identity, to appeal emotionally to consumers, and to change the rules on the headphones market !! Beats is a lovemark and has a strong positive image among consumers.
We hope they will continue to have success in the coming years 🙂
HEADPHONES 