Patagonia – The Role of Differentiation and Positioning their Brand

In an ever increasing market it is essential for brands to stay at the forefront of their customers minds to ensure brand loyalty and make sure they are the primary choice when a consumer is looking to make a purchase. A brand needs to differentiate itself in order to hold a unique and loyal position in the customers mind.

 

A brand that does this well is Patagonia, an outdoor apparel brand that manufacture high quality, sustainable gear for hiking, surfing and everyday outdoor activities.

How do Patagonia differentiate themselves and why does it matter?

Patagonia are not your ordinary apparel brand as they set out to be different from the rest and do what most of their competitors would not have the ability to do; they built a brand that is environmentally conscious and socially responsibly. Unlike many brands they ran a campaign that suggested you ‘Don’t buy this jacket’. This is in an effort to reduce purchases by repairing, reusing and recycling. Their high quality sustainable material also results in their products lasting longer and ensuring you wear it for life.

Patagonias 'Don't buy this jacket' campaign

Klopper and North (2011:92) state that a brand needs to be a part of a ‘selection set’ in order to be considered in the purchase choice of a consumer. When purchasing outdoor apparel Patagonia will mostly be including in this selection set due to their high brand awareness. Although it is still important for a brand like Patagonia to highlight what makes them different from their competitors so that, once included in this selection set, it becomes the brand of choice.

As per their website, Patagonia updated their core values in 2022 to quality, integrity, environmentalism and justice. Each of these values is accompanied by a mantra that establishes the brands purpose and positioning by establishing a set of core brand associations. These associations stand out and are also used to differentiate Patagonia from its competitors.

How Patagonia’s differences have positioned them in the market.

 

Patagonia’s aims towards sustainability has differentiated itself from others in the market and simplified the decision making process for its consumers. This difference occupies a unique position in the minds of consumers (Klopper & North, 2011:93) and firmly entrenches Patagonia’s positioning as a superior product compared to other outdoor apparel companies.

 

This brand positioning is important as it places Patagonia in a distinct place in the mind of their target audience and established themselves as a leader in the outdoor and sustainable fashion industry.

It is important that Patagonia also own the points of parity (similarity) it has with its competitors, such as high quality, durable outdoor apparel as this helps it establish itself within their category alongside other brands like k-way, North Face or Columbia. Brand positioning is most effective when the points of parity and points of difference are established (Keller, 2008:98).

Patagonia advertising that they donate 1% of their revenue to conservation groups.

To further support their position and gain a competitive advantage, Patagonia have put a lot of focus into sustainable business practices and materials. They have implemented a comprehensive environmental strategy that includes giving a large portion of their profits to projects and organisations that protect land and biodiversity aswell as fight climate change. This has helped them gain the trust of their target audience and further solidify a lasting relationship.

 

Conclusion

  

This differentiation and positioning has allowed Patagonia to stand out as an environmentally friendly brand that resonates with a community of people who are concerned about environmental sustainability. This has allowed Patagonia to remain a leader in their field and gain access to certain outcomes such as increased sales and higher profit margins. People are happy to pay a higher price for their products because they trust that the high quality will result in a longer lasting product but also that you are supporting an environmentally friendly cause through your purchase.

 

Patagonia. In business to save our home planet.

References

 

Get Smarter. 2023. Linking positioning and differentiation (module four). Available on GetSmarter portal.

Keller, K.L. 2008. Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity. New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Klopper, H.B. & North, E. 2011. Brand Management. Pearson: Cape Town.

 

Patagonia Website, 2023, www.patagonia.com

Balter Brewing Company - Exploring Brand Identity through Visual and Verbal Language

There are many elements that need to be considered when building a brands identity system. All these elements are interconnect and play an important role in supporting each other to clearly communicate the purpose of a brands existence. One of the most complex and extravagant elements in this brand identity tool kit is the visual and verbal language.

A strong visual and verbal language clearly communicates the brands vision, values, personality and purpose to it’s stakeholders and consumers as well as firmly positioning the brand in the market.

To further understand what makes up a brand’s visual and verbal language, let’s take a look at that of Balter Brewing Company. Balter have clearly defined their language and are consistent in their communication, which builds trust amongst their customers. Klopper and North (2011:82) identified three distinguishable properties to consider when discussing the visual and verbal language of their brand; tone of voice, brand symbols and their story.

Tone of Voice

Balter use a very distinct tone of voice that comes across as though they are talking to you as a friend. It’s approachable, authentic, enthusiastic, and thoughtful but most importantly it’s full of quirky humour. Their tone of voice crosses all boundaries and speaks to a wide array of people who are looking for a relaxed, quirky and fun connection with a friend. This tone of voice comes through in all their channels from their online presence, promotional videos, events and even the in(brewery) customer experience. Balter are the funny, confident person in the crowd that we all want to be friends with.

Their tone of voice can be seen through their ‘We love good beer’ campaign. You can see that their messaging is clear, which allows it to cross all boundaries and helps build a unique community of people who follow and support Balters mantra of enjoying good beer.

Balter Brewing Company – ‘We Love Good Beer’ campaign

Balter communicate the use of the best ingredients available to them, the use of the best technology they can afford, and the use of techniques that are geared towards taste during the brewing process. This consistent messaging informs consumers that each product has been purposefully geared to taste as best as it can, building trust and a lasting relationship between Balter and the consumer.

Brand Symbols

Balters brand symbols give character to the brand in both a visual and verbal sense. They have a very clean and clinically look and feel. The main colour they use in their products, premise and online appearance is white. This is contrasted with small amounts of bright vivid colours that are visually appealing and make the products stand out. This clean look and feel also aids in clearly communicating their messages to their consumers with no ambiguity.

Their logo and typeface are simple and bold which makes it easily recognisable. Their unique ‘smile’ logo speaks volumes about their quirky tone of voice and their aim of producing beer that makes you smile. The smile itself comes across as almost cheeky as though they have made a quirky statement and are waiting for your response. This is very much in character and part of their personality. The cheeky smile supports their brand purpose of spreading enjoyment by doing something you love.

Brand Story

Balter has an interesting story that allows them to sell the brand beyond just their products. It was created by a group which includes a larger than normal portion of professional surfers. This has allowed the brand to draw reference from the surf culture it was established in, using some elements of the surf culture brand to build and define their story. This adds value to the brand within the community of like-minded people. 

The group set out to make high quality beer that can draw people together and champion the great moments in life. Their visual and verbal language has allowed them to sell the lifestyle, acheivement and championship that comes with their product. This has allowed them to sell more than just their beer but to sell the sense of enjoyment of hanging out with a group of friends, reminiscing after a day on beach, all while enjoying a delicious, flavour-filled beer.

Balter. With enjoyment.

References

 

Balter Brewing Company Website, 2023, https://www.balter.com.au

Get Smarter. 2023. The componants of a brand identity system (module three). Available on GetSmarter portal.

Klopper, H.B. & North, E. 2011. Brand Management. Cape Town: Pearson