Why Your Brain Owns Your Favorite Brands

Positioning is not what you do to a product, but what you do to a customer's mind. Brands succeed by carving out a permanent, unique mental space that separates them from all competitors.

Marketing experts focus on positioning to ensure that when a customer thinks of a category, a specific brand appears first. It is less about changing the actual features of a product and more about influencing how people perceive its value. Companies use ads and unique identity markers to occupy this prime mental real estate. Once a brand is positioned in your mind, it becomes incredibly difficult for rival companies to dislodge it.