New and Innovative vs. Mature and Trusted Brand Positioning. Exclusive Research on Who Responds to What
Everyone who’s ever struggled, or are currently struggling with positioning their brand, would agree that it is not an easy affair. The wrong decision can position your business in front of the wrong audience and ruin your company’s growth and survival chances.
As a result, any entrepreneur who wants to have a successful start in the market must understand how to utilize brand positioning concepts to make their company appealing to its target market.
And to make it easy for you, we put several brand positioning ideas to the test to see how customers react to brands that take a modern vs. traditional approach.
Why Did We Do this?
First, when you look at successful firms in any sector, you'll notice that they didn't simply create a strong brand around their products and services; they also positioned their brands to ensure that they had a strong influence on their target audience.
It was obvious from a distance that some customers were attracted to brands positioned in a specific way, and we needed to determine which audience demographics were drawn to a particular position.
The findings of this study would be an important tool for executives of small, medium, and big companies who want to build a strong brand identity by making early branding decisions that would help them identify the right position for their business, regardless of industry.
And to help us achieve our goal, we asked customers in the United States if they would prefer a new, modern firm or a historied, reputable company.
And while the survey's findings will surprise you, you need to understand why this question was so crucial to the process.
Why was this Question important?
The tone you choose when developing your brand and naming your business is one of the most important decisions you'll have to make.
And, while that might not seem like much, for business owners, brand executives, and product managers, it's a critical decision that will determine the future of their company.
Have you ever imagined what the market would look like if:
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Apple had gone with a less distinctive brand name.
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Squatty Potty had gone with a brand name that sounded more medical?
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Zappos still bore the name Shoestore?
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Amazon was still called Cadabra?
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Nike had maintained Blue Ribbon Sports as its brand name
The tone of your brand name determines the overall attitude your target audience will have toward your company. And it all comes down to whether you want to be a dependable, timeless, and traditional brand or a cutting-edge, modern, and creative one.
Everyone who wants to establish a successful business must understand the tone that their brand demands. And some of the most reliable ways of finding the best brand name that’d fit your tone is by brainstorming or using a strong business name generator.
Now that we’ve settled that, let's look at which segments of people prefer modern brands to traditional brands.
Here’s What we Discovered from the Survey
Courtesy: Unsplash
In some ways, the outcomes of this study were predictable, but in others, they were eye-opening. Here's a short rundown of the data we gathered from the 301 persons that took the survey:
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Young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 were drawn to modern and innovative businesses. Modern and creative brands were favored by slightly more than half of these participants over well-known and trustworthy brands.
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Persons between the ages of 35 and 45 preferred new and creative companies, although this age demographic is equally divided between modern and classic companies.
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Persons between the ages of 45 to 54 and 55 to 65 chose traditional and trustworthy brands.
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The survey showed men had little preference in choosing trustworthy firms over contemporary ones.
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It also showed that a little less than 60% of women picked reputable and well-known businesses.
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In all, 153 individuals picked reputable and well-known businesses. In contrast, 148 individuals favored modern and innovative businesses, suggesting that both methods are effective, but it all depends on the audience your business wants to reach.
What’s the Implication?
Courtesy: Unsplash
According to the study, most young people aged 25 to 34 were interested in fresh and innovative businesses.
And that means that if your business’s target markets are Gen Z, Millennials, or younger Gen X, you should consider properly positioning your business by giving it a current and innovative brand identity.
But suppose your business aims to attract an older audience demographic like Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. In that case, you’ll need to position your business with a classic brand name because customers between the ages of 45 and 65 have a strong preference for well-known and trusted companies, so stick to the traditional path.
We also observed that individuals favor well-known and trustworthy businesses, and women were more inclined to support well-known and trustworthy companies.
Finally, our study revealed the need to carefully analyze your brand's tone before positioning or naming your firm. The position of your business is a critical component that determines how your audience perceives your company.
Here’s an Excellent Example
Lululemon is unique in that it is more than a clothing brand. They've been offering brand engagement through courses for years, and their latest collaboration with Mirror, a home interactive boutique fitness studio, demonstrates that the company's spirit of innovation is still alive and well two decades after its founder, Chip Wilson, set the tone.
Grant Polachek is the Head of Branding at Inc 500 company Squadhelp.com, the worlds #1 naming platform, with 30,000+ customers from early-stage startups across the globe to the largest corporations including Nestle, Philips, Hilton, Pepsi, and AutoNation. Get inspired by exploring these winning business name ideas.
