Market Positioning is the smoke that will elevate your brand to Olympus.

First of all, let me give you a lightning-fast note to help you understand this article better. Market positioning refers to where your brand stands in the market, and it will influence its pricing. Product placement, on the other hand, is about how you incorporate your product into a campaign to make it stand out and enhance the brand image. Now that you know this, let’s get into the article!

Why do you pay five times more for a Michael Kors bag than an unbranded one? And while we’re at it, why do you pay ten times more for a Louis Vuitton bag than a Michael Kors one?

The answer to this question depends on who’s reading this. If it’s my sister, girlfriend, or nephew — people who have a direct connection to the world of marketing — they would say, ‘It’s because of the market positioning they’ve chosen, their strong marketing campaigns, and the added prestige of the product.’ But that’s not the usual answer. The usual answer is what my mother would say: ‘Well, it’s because of the brand.’

Exactly. Because of the brand. But what does the brand do to make customers perceive such a high cost compared to their competition when they sometimes use the same type of vinyl to make their bags?

Let’s be realistic, a Louis Vuitton bag costs no more than a couple of hundred dollars in materials, in the vast majority of cases. They don’t need the highest quality leather (with natural patterns that make them unique) precisely because they require standardization of their products. That’s why in many of these designs, they don’t even use real leather but rather a vinyl that is supposed to be more durable and water-resistant. How much do you think this raw material costs?

As I’ve explained before, companies spend a significant percentage of their revenue on various marketing techniques to secure their position and market share.

That’s the only way to understand how two bags made from the same type of material, with similar quality, but from different brands, can have a price difference that sometimes exceeds five to ten times their materials, manufacturing, and distribution value.

The same happens with vehicles, especially aspirational or sports cars.

Did you know that the most profitable vehicle in terms of net profit was the Porsche 911 for many years? This is due to the huge profit margin they ‘collect’ thanks to the hefty bill you pay when buying one of these cars, as well as the maintenance costs. And I’m not criticizing them; on the contrary, I’ve been a Porsche customer for several years — I owned a 911 Turbo for a brief period — and I can assure you that I never met a Porsche owner who regretted their purchase; quite the opposite.

However, if you have the pleasure of buying a brand-new Porsche, you’ll find with horror that everything comes as an extra; everything costs money. And by money, I mean A LOT of money. Something that, later on, unless it’s a special model, is rarely appreciated when selling the car second-hand.

Porsche has always been labeled as the ‘everyday supercar,’ but I couldn’t disagree more. I think any Corvette from its fifth to seventh generation makes for a much better daily driver, regardless of its level of finishes or performance. And the most incredible thing is that Corvettes offer this at less than half the price, while often outperforming their German counterparts on the track. This is not subjective; it’s a fact. They have more cargo space, lower fuel consumption in almost any circumstance, cheaper spare parts… The list could be very, very long. But still, I received very different looks when driving my 911 compared to when I drive my Corvettes. People understand that you can’t compare a Chevrolet with a Porsche, even though that same reasoning falls apart when we include the words ‘Nissan GTR’ in the equation.

Let’s move on to the last example: Rolex. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the epitome of absurdity: You know you’re rich when you don’t mind spending 15–20,000 euros on a watch that objectively tells the time worse than a Casio.

Of course, what we value here is craftsmanship, but how much difference is there between, let’s say, a decent movement like a Valjoux 7750 (Swiss, well-known, reliable) and a Rolex movement? With cars or handbags, at least you can attain a status that almost no one can, where people see you and say, ‘Wow, that guy’s got style.’ But, as an owner of several luxury watches, including Rolex, I can tell you that nobody looks at my wrist, except maybe those who see in my watch a piece worth cutting my hand off for and running away with it.

And yes, even so, I bought a Rolex. And I don’t regret it; I love watches, I wear it at home, take it out when I feel like going out for dinner, or just want to enjoy the feeling of power it gives me.

The difference here lies in why you want the Rolex. If you’re looking for people to think you’re rich, buy a fake or an Invicta; after all, no one will notice, and you’ll save (at least) 10,000 euros.

If you’re looking for it because you genuinely believe it will help your image, project a sense of ‘winning,’ as part of an executive uniform, there are probably better brands, both above and below Rolex.

-’But Alberto, then why did you spend so much money on the watch? And why does Rolex have such a reputation when there are more expensive watches?’

Mainly because I could afford it, and it excited me. And in response to the second question, because they are marketing beasts. Rolex sells no less than 1 million units per year, but if you try to buy a watch from their dealership (yes, like cars), at best, they will give you a condescending smile, take out a notebook, and ask for your details. If you want a simple and less in-demand model, like a DJ36, you might get a call in six months if you’re lucky. If you’re looking for a ‘hot’ model, like a Daytona, no one will put you on the list. And if, by some cosmic chance, they did, they would call you in about ten years.

Waiting 10 years to buy a watch at its original price sounds like a bad idea. True, but as the person in charge of the dealership where I buy my watches once told me, ‘If I call you tomorrow and offer you a Daytona, and you don’t have the money for it, you’ll go to the bank and get a loan, buy it, and the next day you will have made 12,000 euros.’ That’s the power of hype.

If you’ve read this far, it means you’re really interested in the topic, so let me explain how you can take advantage of the hype.

The product placement of your product, in short, is determined by what and who is associated with that product.

Think for a moment: Prime, the drink by KSY and Logan Paul, has achieved record sales numbers. Now think about Kylie Jenner’s makeup company. What do they have in common? As they are owned by world-famous influencers, they can carry out aggressive advertising campaigns constantly in front of their audience at a low cost. They can also secure collaborations with other influencers where their brand appears and gain relevance through product placement strategies in their own videos.

We, of course, don’t have a global audience of hundreds of millions of people, so we’ll have to brainstorm a bit more to position our product as something desirable and generate those famous ‘intangibles,’ which are the intrinsic reasons why someone chooses a brand they feel identified with (prestige, tradition, craftsmanship, etc.).

To generate a proper product placement strategy for your product and turn it into a desired object for which people will pay a premium, the first thing you should do is:

· Discover who the main influencers are that the people potentially interested in your brand follow. Ideally, go for the big ones, but not the gigantic ones. Focus on those with good engagement, rather than an absolute number of followers.

· Look for young brands that are successful in your field to break down the winning points of their strategy and incorporate them into yours. Are they taking lifestyle photos with a particular aesthetic? Do they have a specific tone in their communications?

· Conduct a deep segmentation of your audience to identify specific groups with particular interests and needs. Then, look for product placement opportunities that align with each segment, which will increase relevance and impact.

· Instead of simply showing your product in an influencer’s hands or any random scene, look for opportunities to naturally integrate it into the content narrative. Coherence and authenticity are key to making product placement feel genuine and non-intrusive, which will not only make people see your product with different eyes but also not perceive it as overt advertising.

· Customizing your product placement strategy for different platforms and formats is essential. Each social network and medium has its own style and audience, so tailoring content for each one ensures a greater impact that resonates with followers.

· Remember that you don’t need an incredible marketing budget to do what’s outlined here, but having some funds is essential to maximize impact. Can you do it from scratch? Yes, but a few hundred euros at the beginning can pave the way. There’s a reason why big projects hire world-renowned full-service marketing agencies before hiring an experienced executive in their industry: they know that hype moves as much or more than a high-quality product.

If you’ve read this far, I thank you as always, and remember you can keep reading about my personal story on a daily basis in my Twitter personal account, and if you’re deep into social strategy, you might like my article about how MrBeast succeeded and how you can get the best from its strategy.

See you around here!