Hanuman Obhong : Positioning

"Positioning is one of the most powerful marketing concepts," the Moon came up with a proposition. "Positioning starts with a product. A piece of merchandise, a service, a company, an institution, or even a person. Perhaps yourself. But positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect. 'How you differentiate yourself in the mind of your prospect' is a newer definition of Positioning. So it's incorrect to call the concept 'product positioning.' As if you were doing something to the product itself. Not that positioning doesn't involve change. It does. But changes made in the name, the price and the package are really not changes in the product at all. They're basically cosmetic changes done for the purpose of securing a worthwhile position in the prospect's mind. Positioning is also the first body of thought that comes to grips with the problems of getting heard in our overcommunicated society.

If one word can be said to have marked the course of advertising in the past decade, the word is 'positioning.' It has become the buzzword of advertising and marketing people around the world. Positioning has changed the way the advertising game is being played today. Anyone can use positioning strategy to get ahead in the game of life. And look at it this way: If you don't understand and use the principles, your competitors undoubtedly will.

To be successful today, you must touch base with reality. And the reality that really counts is what's already in the prospect's mind. To be creative, to create something that doesn't already exist in the mind, is becoming more and more difficult, if not impossible. The basic approach of positioning is not to create something new and different, but to manipulate what's already up there in the mind, to retie the connections that already exist.

Today's marketplace is no longer responsive to the strategies that worked in the past. There are just too many products, too many companies, and too much marketing noise. The question most frequently asked is why, why do we need a new approach to advertising and marketing? The answer is that we have become an overcommunicated society. In our overcommunicated society, to talk about the impact of your advertising is to seriously overstate the potential effectiveness of your message. It's an egocentric view that bears no relationship to the realities of the marketplace. In the communication jungle out there, the only hope to score big is to be selective, to concentrate on narrow targets, to practice segmentation. In a word, 'positioning,' The mind, as a defense against the volume of today's communications, screens and rejects much of the information offered it. In general, the mind accepts only that which matches prior knowledge or experience. Millions of dollars have been wasted trying to change minds with advertising. Once a mind is made up, it's almost impossible to change it. Certainly not with a weak force like advertising. 'Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind's made up.' That's a way of life for most people. The average person can tolerate being told something which he or she knows nothing about—which is why "news" is an effective advertising approach. But the average person cannot tolerate being told he or she is wrong. Mind­changing is the road to advertising disaster. The folly of trying to change a human mind became one of the most important tenets of the positioning concept. This is the one principle most often violated by marketing people. Literally, millions of dollars are wasted every day by companies trying to change the minds of their prospects.

There are many factors influencing positioning, but now, let us focus on the market leaders. History shows that the first brand into the brain, on the average, gets twice the long­term market share of the No. 2 brand and twice again as much as the No. 3 brand, and the relationships are not easily changed. Companies like Avis and Seven­Up found viable alternative positions to marketing leaders, but most companies don't want to be an also-­ran, successful or not. They want to be a leader like Hertz or Coke. So how do you get to be the leader? Actually, it's quite simple. Remember Charles Lindbergh and Neil Armstrong? You just get there firstest with the mostest. Leadership alone is your most effective marketing strategy. Look at the intensive marketing battle being fought between Pepsi­Cola and Coca­Cola. In spite of years of successful marketing moves by the Pepsi challenger, who leads the cola race? Why Coca­Cola, of course. For every six bottles of Coke sold, Pepsi manages to sell only four. And so it goes. The leader brand in category after category outsells the number two brand by a wide margin. Hertz outsells Avis, General Motors outsells Ford, Goodyear outsells Firestone, McDonald's outsells Burger King, General Electric outsells Westinghouse. And the outcame are : Hertz is fine; GM is faltering; Firestone has blown a tire; Westinghouse is gone. It's getting tougher out there. Many marketing experts overlook the enormous advantages of being first. Too often they attribute successes like Kodak and IBM and Coke to 'marketing acumen.'

Yet when the shoe is on the other foot, when a marketing leader isn't first in a new category, the new product is usually an also­-ran. Coca­Cola keeps trying. Currently they are trying to take their PowerAde sports drink against Gatorade. Who will win this battle? Gatorade, of course. Coca­Cola is a gigantic company compared to Dr. Pepper. Yet when Coke introduced a competitive product, Mr. Pibb, even the immense resources of the Atlanta giant couldn't put much of a dent in Dr. Pepper's sales. Mr. Pibb remains a poor second. For every six bottles of Dr. Pepper sold, Coca­Cola manages to sell only one bottle of Mr. Pibb.

IBM is much bigger than Xerox and has awesome resources of technology, manpower and money. Yet what happened when IBM introduced a line of copiers competitive with Xerox? Not much. Xerox still has a share of the copier market 10 times that of IBM. And supposedly Kodak was going to cream Polaroid when the Rochester colossus got into the instant camera business. Far from it. Polaroid's business actually increased while Kodak managed to take only a small share. At the expense of a substantial loss in Kodak's conventional camera business.

Almost all the material advantages accrue to the leader. In the absence of any strong reasons to the contrary, consumers will probably select the same brand for their next purchase as they selected for their last purchase. Stores are more likely to stock the leading brands.

What makes a leader? Followers, of course. Leaders should not try to drive their competitors out of business. They need them to create a category. Polaroid made a serious mistake by suing Kodak and driving them out of the instant photography business. Both companies lost out. Leadership is your best 'differentiator.' It's the collateral for your brand's success.

What Polaroid has done to Kodak, is a failure of the leader. The larger, more successful companies, usually have the first pick of outstanding college graduates. In fact, they usually attract more and better employees. At almost every step of the way, the leading brand has the advantage. On an airplane flight, for example, the airline will often stock one brand of cola, one brand of ginger ale, one brand of beer, etc. On your next flight, see if the three brands aren't Coke, Canada Dry and Budweiser. The three leading brands of cola, ginger ale and beer.

It's true that in some categories, the two leading brands run neck and neck. What's equally true is that these categories are inherently unstable. Sooner or later, you can expect one brand to get the upper hand and open a lead which eventually will reach a stable 5 to 3 or 2 to 1 ratio. Consumers are like chickens. They are much more comfortable with a pecking order that everybody knows about and accepts. This thinking is what later led us to the 'law of duality.' In every category, there are two brands which will ultimately dominate the category: Chevrolet and Ford, Coke and Pepsi, Budweiser and Miller, Duracell and Energizer, Sotheby's and Christie's; and also Angels and the Devil.

Hertz and Avis; Harvard and Yale; McDonald's and Burger King, when two brands are close, one or the other is likely to get the upper hand and then dominate the market for years to come. Between 1925 and 1930, for example, Ford and Chevrolet were locked in a head­to­head battle. Then Chevrolet took the lead in 1931. In the model years since, including dislocations caused by depression and wars, Chevrolet has lost the lead only four times.

The time for extra effort is clearly when the situation is in doubt. When neither side has a clear­cut superiority. Winning the battle for sales leadership in a single year will often clinch the victory for decades to come. It takes 110 percent of rated power for a jet to get its wheels off the ground. Yet when it reaches 30,000 feet, the pilot can throttle back to 70 percent of power and still cruise at 600 miles per hour.

Old wrestling expression, 'You can't get pinned when you're on top.' And so as a question, 'Where does the 800­pound gorilla sleep?' The answer is, 'Anywhere he wants to.' Leaders can do anything they want to. Short­term, leaders are almost invulnerable. Momentum alone carries them along.

For General Motors, Procter & Gamble and the leaders of this world, the worries are never about this year or next. Their worries are LONG-TERM. What's going to happen five years from now? Ten years from now?

Leaders should use their short­-term flexibility to assure themselves of a stable long­term future. As a matter of fact, the marketing leader is usually the one who moves the ladder into the mind with his or her brand nailed to the one and only rung. Once there, what should leaders do and not do?

Let's begin with what leaders should not do. You always have new prospects coming into the marketplace who don't know what brand is the leader. Therefore leaders like Heineken should probably always run advertising to communicate their leadership. Unfortunately, Heineken dropped their line 'America's No. 1 imported beer,' and ultimately lost their leadership to Corona Extra. Leadership, however, should always be communicated with a certain amount of humility.

As long as a company owns the position, there's no point in running ads that scream, "We're No. 1."

Much better is to enhance the product category in the prospect's mind. Notice IBM advertising usually ignores competition and sells the value of computers. All computers, not just the company's types. Why isn't it a good idea to run advertising that says, 'We're No. 1'? The reason is pyschological. Either the prospect knows you are No. 1 and wonders why you are so insecure that you have to say so. Or the prospect doesn't know you are No. 1. If not, why not? Maybe you have defined your leadership in your own terms and not the prospect's terms. And unfortunately, that just won't work.

There are two basic strategies that should be used hand in hand. They seem contradictory but aren't. First, rubbing it in. Why Coke doesn't continue to use 'The real thing' is beyond us. 'Always Coke' was just wishful thinking. The current theme 'Coca­Cola Enjoy' is childish. Every product that gets into the mind first is perceived by the customer as the real thing. IBM in mainframe computers, Heinz in ketchup, Goodyear in tires and, of course, Coca­Cola in cola. When you are perceived as the real thing, you have also repositioned every other brand as an imitation. 'The real thing' is perhaps the most powerful, most emotional advertising slogan ever invented, yet the Coca­Cola Company uses it sparingly, if at all. It's a pity.

'The real thing.' This classic Coca­Cola advertising campaign is a strategy that can work for any leader. The essential ingredient in securing the leadership position is getting into the mind first. The essential ingredient in keeping that position is reinforcing the original concept. The standard by which all others are judged. In contrast, everything else is an imitation of 'the real thing.' This is not the same as saying 'We're No. 1.' The largest brand could be the largest seller because it has a lower price, it is available in more outlets, etc. But 'the real thing,' like a first love, will always occupy a special place in the prospect's mind. 'We invented the product,' a powerful motivating force behind Xerox copiers; Polaroid cameras; and Zippo lighters.

Another strategy is 'Covering All Bets.' Sometimes it's hard to do. Unfortunately, leaders often read their own advertising so avidly they end up thinking they can do no wrong. So when a competitor introduces a new product or a new feature, the tendency is to pooh­pooh the development. Leaders should do the opposite. They should cover all bets. This means a leader should swallow his or her pride and adopt every new product development as soon as it shows signs of promise. Too often, however, the leader doesn't wake up until it's too late.

Leaders should take chances like Microsoft did with its Bob software, a product for the unsophisticated computer user. It failed, but what if a competitor had tried something similar and succeeded? Experience teaches us that most leaders suffer from hardening of the entrepreneurial arteries. They're too concerned with what the media might say if a new product failed. Yet the media is most sympathetic when you admit you made a mistake. Look at the great stories Coca­Cola received when they admitted that New Coke was a miscue.

When a competitor introduces a radically new concept, the reaction of red­blooded management is predictable. 'Let's wait and see.' Yet time is of the essence if a covering move is to be effective. You want to block the competitor by moving aggressively to cover the new product before it becomes established in the prospect's mind. When Datril tried a price attack on Tylenol, Johnson & Johnson immediately covered the move. They cut Tylenol's price. Even before Bristol­Myers started its Datril price advertising. The result is, Johnson & Johnson repelled the Datril attacks and inflicted heavy losses on the Bristol­Myers entry, which ended up with nothing to show for its efforts except a terrific headache. Covering in a marketing race is not too different from covering in a sailboat race. Never let the opponent get out from under your sails and into the open water. You can't predict the future. You never know which way the wind will blow. As long as the leader covers a competitive move, he or she will always be out in front. No matter which way the wind blows."

The moon stopped, then moved on, "On his shimshapa tree, Hanuman was thinking, should he make a positioning? Should he revealed himself to Sita? Ist it the right time? Sooner or later, he had to do it. His time was limited. He sholud go home immediately to tell Rama that he had found Sita. But, it was important to tell Sita that Rama send him to pick her up. 'If I do not speak to Sita, when Rama asks me what words did Sita utter about him, what will I say in reply?' Hanuman asked himself. 'If I quickly leave this place, without Sita’s message, with his angry and fierce eyes, Kakutstha will burn me down. Sita is in a great deal of torment and I will slowly comfort her. I can speak the language of humans, such as Samskrita or even Korean. But if I speak the language of humans frivolously, Sita will think that I am Ravana and will be frightened. I must certainly speak in the language of humans, in words that are full of meaning.' Then, as if someone unseen decided to help him, an ingenious idea struck the good vanara. The branches of the shimshapa tree, on which Hanuman was perched, grew out a good way from its trunk. Creeping sure-footedly along those branches, the vanara went as far as he could without showing himself. The rakshasis who had been ready to kill Sita were frightened by what Trijata said. They wandered back to the little temple and decided to meet Ravana to tell him what had happened.

Sita stood beneath the asoka tree, gazing out across the ocean with unseeing eyes. She stood fidgeting with her limp plait, torn between her instinct of hope and the terror of her predicament. Suddenly, out of the sky, a little voice spoke. Little but so solemn, it spoke half to her and half, musingly, to itself. Strange things this voice was saying, it was chanting, ‘There once was a king called Dasaratha. He was a rajarishi, and great were his power and his truth, radiant. Legend were his wealth and his valour, famed in all three worlds. More renowned, yet, was the tapasya of Dasaratha of Ikshvaku, of the race of Surya Deva. He was as strong as Indra, kind as a father to his people, noble and generous.

Sita looked around her in amazement and she saw no one. But the quaint chanting continued, like an intimate mantra, ‘Four sons mighty Dasaratha had; the eldest was Rama and the king loved him more than his life. Rama is a kshatriya among kshatriyas. He is the greatest archer in the world, a terror to his enemies. A protector of his people, wise, compassionate and immaculate in dharma is Rama of Ayodhya.’

Sita quivered with joy waking in her; the tide of hope surged higher than ever. She stood rapt, listening to the charming voice rambling on, ‘To preserve Dasaratha’s honour, Rama went to the jungle, renouncing kingdom and comfort, wealth and power. With Sita and Lakshmana, Rama went to the Dandaka vana. Clad in tree-bark and deerskin, like any tapasvin, the prince of dharma went into the fearful vana.

Fate brought Rama to the jungle where austere rishis, whose tapasya blesses the earth, were harassed by rakshasas. The demons desecrated the hermits’ yagnas; they killed the munis and drank their blood. Rama slew the evil ones. The forest resounded with his bowstring and, far away, the Emperor of sin trembled on his crystal throne. Deep in his soul, he sensed a light come into the world, for its liberation from his reign of fear.

From a dark stirring in the lord of savagery, his brothers attacked Rama at Panchavati. But Rama killed them all. Khara he dispatched, Trisiras, Dushana and fourteen thousand others, with lucific arrows.’

Sita stood motionless, the soft words binding her in a trance. ‘When Ravana heard about the massacre of his people, he was furious. He decided Rama must die. But when the Evil One heard of Rama’s prowess, he thought cunning and grief were better weapons than arrows with which to fight the prince of Ayodhya. With the help of a golden stag, which was no deer at all, he kidnapped Sita from Panchavati.’

Now, Sita was agog to hear what followed. For, of course, she did not know what had happened to Rama after Ravana abducted her. Her face was alight with eagerness; her eyes darted all around her and up at the leafy branches. Still she saw no one. The little voice went on serenely, ‘Grief-stricken, and consoled by his loyal brother, Rama wandered through the forest seeking his love. And on a mountain in the wilderness, he made friends with a monkey. The monkey was called Sugriva and he promised to help Rama find his Sita. In return, Rama killed Vali and set Sugriva on the throne of Kishkinda, from where he rules all the monkeys of the earth.

At his command, Sugriva’s monkeys combed the ends of Bharatavarsha for Sita. Nowhere did they find her. At last, on the southern shore of Bharatavarsha, an army of vanaras led by their prince Angada thought of killing themselves, because they had failed their quest. But then, an eagle called Sampati, who is Jatayu’s brother, told them where she was. One of those monkeys leapt across the ocean to this Lanka, and he was the son of the wind. At long last, he found Sita in an asokavana. But he did not know how to approach her, lest he frighten her.’ The voice paused, then, said, ‘Devi, I am that vanara.’

Sita quivered in amazement. Twisting her long plait in her fingers, her eyes full of wonder, full of fear, she peered up into the branches of the shimshupa tree. At first, she saw nothing. Nervously, she looked around her: suppose the rakshasis had also heard the little voice? But they were all asleep inside the white temple. She peered more closely now; she scrutinized every branch of the spreading tree. Slowly, Hanuman climbed out on a leafless fork and smiled sweetly down at her.

Sita gasped when she saw a tiny monkey, clad in fine silk, his fur the colour of the bricks that paved the paths in the asokavana. Fear had become so much part of her life, and the vanara saw it flash across her perfect features. For a long moment, she stared silently up at him. He was so small and affable, his eyes kindly and golden; there seemed to be no harm in him at all. But she looked up at him through her own suspicions and saw him as a sinister creature. Certain that he was evil, she turned away with a cry. She began to chant Rama and Lakshmana’s names feverishly, under her breath. ‘I must be dreaming,’ Sita told herself. ‘They say that to dream of a monkey is an evil omen. I pray no harm has befallen Rama and Lakshmana that this monkey speaks so knowingly of them. I hope my father Janaka is well.’

Doubt had its way with her. She wrung her hands, and said to herself, ‘But I am not asleep; it must be madness that grips me in my misery. I think of Rama so much that my imagination is playing tricks on me. I hear these words of hope in my desolation, though no one speaks them.’

She paused, considering this for another moment. Then she whispered, ‘But what about the monkey? He is no figment of my fancy.’ She shut her eyes, and said in a quavering voice, ‘May what the monkey says be true! O Rama, saranghaeyo!’

Hanuman slipped down the tree and bowed himself, small and elegant, at front of Sita, he said to her, ‘Pardon me Devi, is it allowed to speak Korean? I tought this is a wayang story.' Sita replied, 'It's okay, because this is about 'Naughty Wayang.' Aren't there rules out there, but they're still breaking it? So, please go ahead!' Hanuman nodded, 'Kamsahamnida Devi!' while bowing himself, then he said, 'Devi, your soiled silk shimmers like sunlight; your eyes are like lotus petals. You seem to me to be quite perfect, yet you stand here so forlorn, clinging to a tree. Like waterdrops out of a lotus, tears spill from your eyes. Why do you weep, Devi? What ails you, what terrible sorrow? Who are you? Are you a gandharvi, or a naga kanya? Are you an asuri, a yakshi or a kinnari? Ethereal one, you are surely not of this world. Perhaps you are Rohini separated from the Moon, that you are stricken? Your eyes are so beautiful, they were not meant to shed tears.

But I see that your feet rest on the ground; so you must be an ingan gongju. Perhaps kind of daewang-ui anae? Even Rama’s wife? Ne, I do believe you are Sita. When I see your sorrow, I know that no other woman on earth grieves as you do.’

Her hand still resting on the asoka’s branch, she said, ‘Naneun Ayodhyaui myeoneuliui Dasarathaibnida. I am Janaka of Videha’s daughter. Naneun sitalago handa and I am Rama’s wife.'

Hanuman stood before Sita with his hands still folded, and he saw tears start in her eyes again. But these were tears of relief; he saw she did not doubt him anymore. He said, ‘Rama sent this ring to you, so you could trust me.’

He stepped forward and shyly pressed the signet ring into her hands. Tears streamed again from her eyes, dripping onto the golden thing that lay in her palm. She felt Rama so near her that she might touch him.

She cried to Hanuman, ‘Forgive me that I doubted you. I have been the Rakshasa’s prisoner for so long that my faith has worn thin. Rama gave you this ring, or you would not have had it. I know he would never give it to just anyone, but only to one whom he trusted entirely. O Hanuman, kamsahamnida.’

Hanuman grieved for her. ‘Rama will be here sooner than you think. But if you like, I can take you out of here today upon my back. I could carry Lanka across the sea if I wanted.’

Sita looked at the little monkey, and suddenly her laughter tinkled in that garden. ‘It is sweet of you to speak so bravely, Hanuman. But I think you are a little small to carry me out of here on your back.’

Hanuman smiled serenely. ‘Devi, I am the son of the wind.’ In a flash, he stood before her for just a moment in his other, awesome form, his golden hair brushing the sky.

Sita breathed, ‘O Vayuputra, you are greater than you say or I had dreamt. Small wonder Rama chose you to bear his ring to me. But I am afraid to go with you. Though Ravana brought me here through the sky, I am terrified by flight. Suppose I fell from your back? No, we must not risk such danger.

More important, dear Hanuman, my heart insists that Rama must come to Lanka and slay its Rakshasa. Tell Rama that has to rescue me himself. Cross the ocean alone, good Hanuman, and bring Rama back to Lanka. Let there be war, a dharma yuddha, as is honourable, and let my husband win me back. Fate has not brought me to this pass to escape like a coward. Rama must come and kill Ravana in battle. Then my sorrow will end.’

Hanuman bowed again to her. Again, Sita said to him, ‘Touch my Rama’s feet for me. Tell him he has one month to come to my rescue.’ Hanuman heard her out patiently, while now she repeated herself, time and again, anxiously. At last, he said, ‘Rama will be here sooner than you expect.’

When she had blessed him, he rose, and his eyes were full of promises and tears. He bowed again to her, deeply, and then he left her. Sinta waved her hand, said softly, 'Hanuman, halsuisseo!' Hanuman turned and nodded smiling."

Citations & References:
- Ramesh Menon, The Ramayana: A modern Translation, HarperCollins
- Bibeck Debroy, The Valmiki Ramayana, Penguin Books
- Ashok K. Banker, Armies of Hanuman, AKB eBooks
- Al Ries & Jack Trout, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, McGraw-Hill
[Part 12]
[Part 10]

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