An MBA will tell you about the 3Cs of brand positioning. Customer, Company and Competitors. Who are you catering to, what your company stands for and how your company stands apart from its competition. The brand’s positioning is precariously placed at the intersection of these 3Cs. You either hit the jackpot or are another lost ship in marketing’s Bermuda Triangle.
Needless to say, we hit the jackpot. We found the sweet spot where Stahl should be positioned. But without the MBA, we did what we do best. We got creative. It started with a Stahl pop-up, right in our office. A pop-up with a side of Bombay’s best view. We then invited a mix of Patricians, Parvenus, Poseurs and Proletarians. (Talk about management jargon.)
The Country Head of Les Roches, Glion & École Ducasse, the Consulting Director, Business and Brand Strategy of Ferry Wharf Communications, the Chief Strategy Officer of Interbrand, the Founder of The Hijibijee Collective and the Vice President of
Only Much Louder were just some of the people who walked through our doors to pay a closer look at Stahl’s cookware. They took in the innovations. They tested the quality. And gave their verdict. It was unanimous. Stahl was better than any other brand out there. It’s stellar product line with a close-to-invisible logo, already positioned it where most brands spend millions of dollars on being. Right up there with the Patricians.
But (of course there is a but), it was perceived to be an expensive one. This gave us the singular task of making Stahl as a coveted brand. By breaking down everyone’s observations and reservations, it came down to two factors that they believed differentiated Stahl from every other cookware brand. Aesthetics and function.
The attention given to every detail. The care with which every product was crafted. The pride with which they were engineered. It all just simply positioned Stahl to be ‘Designed Different’.