Chapter 10: Crafting the Brand Positioning

GENERAL CONCEPT QUESTIONS

Multiple Choice

1. As part of the strategic brand management process, each company and offering must represent a distinctive ________ in the mind of the target market.

a. promotion

b. cell

c. big idea

d. ad

e. organizational concept

2. All marketing strategy is built on STP—segmentation, targeting, and ________.

a. positioning

b. product

c. planning

d. promotion

e. performance

3. ________ is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market.

a. Positioning

b. Product conceptualization

c. Promotion presentation

d. Performance imaging

e. Preproduct launching

4. Which of the following best describes Volvo’s value proposition?

a. We charge a 20% premium on our cars.

b. We target safety-conscious “upscale” families.

c. We sell the safest, most durable wagon in which your family can ride.

d. We make cars.

e. None of the above is a value proposition.

 

5. The result of positioning is the successful creation of ________, a cogent reason why the target market should buy the product.

a. an award winning promotional campaign

b. a customer-focused value proposition

c. a demand channel

d. everyday low pricing

e. strategic window of opportunity

6. A starting point in defining a competitive frame of reference for a brand positioning is to determine ________—the products or sets of products with which a brand competes and which function as close substitutes.

a. functional membership

b. competitive field

c. category membership

d. value membership

e. demand field

7. Which of the following terms is most closely associated with the following statement: “attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand”?

a. Brand image

b. Points-of-difference

c. Points-of-parity

d. Points of value

e. Brand concept

8. ________ are associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands.

a. Points-of-parity

b. Points-of-difference

c. Brand cells

d. Brand positions

e. Points of competitive field

9. To achieve a point-of-parity (POP) on a particular attribute or benefit, a sufficient number of consumers must believe that the brand is “________” on that dimension.

a. most excellent

b. neutral

c. marginal

d. good enough

e. service based

When BMW created ________ with its “luxury and performance” approach, it was able to maximize both attributes and benefits.

f. its core identity

g. a core competency

h. deliverability criteria

i. a straddle position

j. competitive parity

10. The preferred approach to positioning is to inform consumers of a brand’s membership before stating its ________.

a. point-of-parity

b. point-of-difference

c. point of conflict

d. point of weakness

e. point of reference

11. There are three main ways to convey a brand’s category membership: announcing category benefits, ________, and relying on the product descriptor.

a. overt publicity

b. industry trade press

c. buzz marketing

d. preference positions

e. comparing to exemplars

12. A brownie mix might claim to taste great and support this claim by including high-quality ingredients or by showing users delighting in its consumption, thereby communicating its membership of the baked desserts category through ________.

a. announcing category benefits

b. comparing to exemplars

c. relying on the product descriptor

d. communicating deliverability variables

e. identifying counterexamples

13. Points-of-parity are driven by the needs of category membership and ________.

a. loyalty

b. large margins

c. guaranteed profits

d. the necessity of negating competitors’ PODs (points-of-difference)

e. the creation of PODs (points-of-difference)

 

14. ________ are typically the least desirable level to position a brand’s points-of-difference, in part because competitors can easily copy them.

a. Benefits

b. Attitudes

c. Values

d. Attributes

e. Messages

15. Marketers must decide at which level to anchor the brand’s points-of-differences. At the lowest level are ________. For example, Dove soap can talk about the fact that it is one-quarter cleansing cream.

a. brand values

b. brand attributes

c. brand benefits

d. brand specifications

e. brand partitions

16. One common difficulty in creating a strong, competitive brand positioning is that many of the attributes or benefits that make up the points-of-parity and points-of-difference are ________.

a. negatively correlated

b. positive correlated

c. neither positive nor negatively correlated

d. inversely correlated

e. unable to be correlated

Answer: a

17. All of the following would be considered to be among examples of negatively correlated attributes and benefits EXCEPT ________.

a. low price versus high quality

b. taste versus low calories

c. supply versus demand

d. powerful versus safe

e. nutritious versus good tasting

18. There are at least three key consumer desirability criteria for PODs (points-of-difference): relevance, distinctiveness, and ________.

a. believability

b. presentation style

c. economy

d. nontechnological

e. information content

Which of the following desirability criteria asks a question such as “Is the positioning preemptive, defensible, and difficult to attack?” when determining a POD (point-of-difference)?

f. feasibility

g. communicability

h. sustainability

i. knowledgeable

j. value orientation

19. For a point-of-difference to possess ________, target consumers must find it unique and superior.

a. distinctiveness

b. communicability

c. relevance

d. believability

e. feasibility

20. In a positioning statement, the case for the product rests on its ________.

a. product category

b. points-of-difference

c. target consumer

d. consumer need

e. brand

21. ________ is a company’s ability to perform in one or more ways that competitors cannot or will not match.

a. Positioning

b. Deliverability

c. Competitive advantage

d. Distribution

e. Differentiation

22. The obvious means of differentiation, and often most compelling ones to consumers, relate to aspects of the ________.

a. price

b. distribution process

c. promotions

d. product and service

e. sales team responsible for the product or service
A ________ is one that a company can use as a springboard to new advantages.

f. customer advantage

g. leverageable advantage

h. real advantage

i. realized advantage

j. distinct advantage

The primary explanation for Singapore Airlines’ extraordinary worldwide market share is that Singapore Airlines’ “Singapore Girl” persona has struck a responsive chord with much of the travelling public. This is an example of ________.

k. personnel differentiation

l. channel differentiation

m. position differentiation

n. maturity differentiation

o. image differentiation

23. To say that a product has a life cycle is to assert all of the following EXCEPT ________.

a. products have a limited life

b. product sales pass through distinct stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities, and problems to the seller

c. products all basically exhibit cycle-recycle growth patterns

d. profits rise and fall at different stages of the product life cycle

e. products require different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing, and human resource strategies in each life-cycle stage

24. The four stages of the product life cycle include all of the following EXCEPT ________.

a. decline

b. learning

c. maturity

d. introduction

e. growth

25. The ________ stage of the product life cycle is a period of rapid market acceptance and substantial profit improvement.

a. introduction

b. growth

c. maturity

d. saturation

e. decline

 

26. According to the general bell-shaped curve used to illustrate the product life cycle, which of the following stages is generally seen when the sales curve is at its peak?

a. Introduction

b. Growth

c. Maturity

d. Decline

e. Abandonment

27. According to the illustrations describing the product life cycle, during which stage of the cycle is there a strong likelihood that negative profits will be the norm?

a. Introduction

b. Growth

c. Maturity

d. Decline

e. Abandonment

28. Which of the following common product life-cycle patterns would be characterized as being one where sales grow rapidly when the product is first introduced and then fall to a “petrified” level that is sustained by late adopters buying the product for the first time and early adopters replacing the product?

a. Cycle-recycle pattern

b. Scalloped pattern

c. Growth-slump-maturity pattern

d. Reverse-cycle pattern

e. Inverse-cycle pattern

29. A product such as nylon (e.g., numerous uses—parachutes, hosiery, shirts, carpeting, et cetera) has been characterized as having a ________ pattern to its product lifecycle.

a. growth-slump-maturity

b. scalloped

c. cycle-recycle

d. triangular

e. fad

30. When Mrs Tam chose his new home, he picked a Tudor design. Tudor is best described as a(n) ________ in home design.

a. style

b. fashion

c. fad

d. ideation

e. technological

________ do not normally survive (as a special category product life cycle) because they do not normally satisfy a strong need.

e. Styles

f. Fashions

g. Fads

h. Intra-brands

i. Trends

31. Which of the following product life-cycle stages would be appropriately described as being one where firms focus mainly on buyers from higher-income groups and prices tend to be high because costs are high?

a. Introduction stage

b. Growth stage

c. Maturity stage

d. Saturation stage

e. Decline stage

32. Most studies indicate, with respect to the product life cycle in its introductory stage, that the ________ gains the greatest advantage.

a. market pioneer

b. market nicher

c. market reverser

d. market follower

e. market challenger

33. Tellis and Golder identified five factors as underpinning long-term market leadership. Which of the following is NOT one of those factors?

a. Vision of mass market

b. Persistence

c. Slash-and-burn tactics

d. Relentless innovation

e. Asset leverage

34. Which of the following product life cycle stages is characterized as being one where a rapid climb in sales occurs, new product features are introduced by new competitors, and distribution is expanded?

a. Prepioneering

b. Introduction

c. Saturation

d. Growth

e. Maturity

All of the following strategies have been suggested as proper for sustaining rapid market growth during the growth stage of the product life cycle EXCEPT ________.

f. improving product quality and adding new product features and improved styling

g. entering into new market segments

h. lowering prices to attract the next layer of price-sensitive buyers

i. shifting from product-awareness advertising to product-preference advertising

j. moving to sue all new entrants into the marketplace

35. Today, most products are in the ________ of the life cycle, and most marketing managers must cope with the problems and challenges of this stage.

a. prepioneering stage

b. introduction stage

c. growth stage

d. maturity stage

e. decline stage

36. The maturity stage of the product life cycle can be divided into three distinct phases. If the absolute level of sales starts to decline and customers begin switching to other products, the product is most likely in the ________ phase of the maturity stage.

a. growth

b. decaying maturity

c. stable

d. competitive vulnerability

e. abandonment

37. A company might try to expand the market for its mature brand by working with the two factors that make up sales volume. Volume equals (=) ________.

a. supply times (X) demand

b. number of brand users times (X) amount of money spent on each purchase

c. number of brand users times (X) usage rate per user

d. price level of the product times (X) the number of items purchased

e. price level of the product times (X) the number in the market segment selected for targeting

38. When Campbell’s soups began advertising its soups as excellent snacks, it was using which of the following volume-oriented brand usage strategies?

a. Use the product on more occasions.

b. Use more of the product on each occasion.

c. Use the product in new ways.

d. Use improved quality to attract new users.

e. Use the product in older, more traditional ways.

 

39. Managers try to stimulate sales by modifying the product’s characteristics. Which of these modifications has as its aim to increase the product’s functional performance?

a. Feature improvement

b. Style improvement

c. Fashion improvement

d. Packaging improvement

e. Quality improvement

40. When Vlasic created a cucumber 10 times larger than the traditional pickle cucumber (e.g., Hamburger Stackers), it used ________ as a means of modifying its product so additional customers might be attracted to the brand.

a. quality improvement

b. feature improvement

c. style improvement

d. packaging improvement

e. idea improvement

41. Marketing programs can be modified to stimulate sales. Which of the following forms of marketing program modification might seek to speed delivery or extend more credit?

a. Pricing

b. Distribution

c. Advertising

d. Personal selling

e. Services

42. In the decline phase of the product life cycle, if a firm “milks” the firm’s investment to recover cash quickly, it is using a strategy called ________.

a. positioning

b. reverse engineering

c. psychological divestment

d. harvesting

e. abandonment

43. If an organization chooses “harvesting” as a decline stage PLC strategy, the first step in using such a strategy would likely be to ________.

a. rejuvenate the brand or product

b. cut R&D costs and plant and equipment investment

c. cut all promotional expenses

d. cancel distribution contracts

e. require that all distributors reduce inventory of older models of the product

 

44. Markets are similar to products with respect to life-cycle concepts. All of the following are considered to be stages that markets pass through in market evolution EXCEPT ________.

a. emergence

b. growth

c. decline

d. maturity

e. destruction

45. Which of the following is a popular criticism of product life-cycle theory?

a. It is too costly to implement.

b. It has few actual examples that can be benchmarked.

c. It works only in the U.S. market.

d. Life-cycle patterns are too variable in shape and duration.

e. Stages often follow fad trends.

46. Which of the following stages of the product life cycle (PLC) is characterized as being one where there are low sales, high cost per customer, negative profits, and few competitors?

a. Introduction

b. Growth

c. Maturity

d. Decline

e. Abandonment

47. During which of the following stages of the product life cycle (PLC) would we expect a marketing manager to pursue a marketing objective of maximizing market share?

a. Introduction

b. Growth

c. Maturity

d. Decline

e. Abandonment

48. When sales peak, there is a low cost per customer, profits are high, and the marketing manager attempts to maximize profit while defending market share, the product is most likely in the ________ stage of the product life cycle (PLC).

a. introduction

b. prepioneering

c. growth

d. maturity

e. decline

A manufacturer of calculators finds that there is an even split between customers who want small handheld calculators and those that want large ones. This type of market, in which buyer preferences scatter evenly, is called a(n) ________ market.

e. emerging

f. mass market

g. diffused-preference

h. niche

i. standardized

49. Francis Kelly and Barry Silverstein define a ________ as one that stands out, not just in its own product category but from all other brands, and that achieves significant results in the marketplace.

a. point-of-difference

b. breakaway brand

c. point-of-parity

d. negatively correlated brand attribute

e. fragmented market

50. If an entrepreneur discovers that her firm’s market is one of diffused preferences, she can use a ________ to expand sales while keeping costs low.

a. mass-market strategy

b. multiple-niche strategy

c. bipolar design strategy

d. standardized niche strategy

e. single-niche strategy

51. During the ________ phase of market evolution, if a new product sells well, new firms enter the market.

a. induction

b. emergence

c. growth

d. maturity

e. decline