Millennium Marketing Research®

Tom Schori DBA Millennium Marketing Research®, 808 Ironwood, Normal IL 61761, 309-532-8466

Starting Page    Who is Millennium Marketing Research?    Types of Research    Principals    Articles   email

Optimal Brand Positioning Model^©

Our Optimal Brand Positioning Model^© is what initially provided the impetus for Millennium Marketing Research^®. It permits us to utilize consumer (or other decision-maker) inputs to identify exactly (not approximately, not about, but exactly) that upon which a marketer must focus, in both words and deeds,  to greatly grow share.

Before forming Millennium Marketing Research^®, we had fully described the model in a peer reviewed scientific journal article:

Getting the most out of image: An example from the fast food industry.

In the "Getting the most out of image: An example from the fast food industry" article, we illustrated the Optimal Brand Positioning Model^©  with real fast food industry data, which we had collected at our own expense. Specifically, we had asked consumers:

-- to indicate (by allocating a total of 15 points among the 15 characteristics) the relative importance of 15 fast food restaurant characteristics;

--to indicate how their "ideal" fast food restaurant would perform on those 15 characteristics;

--to indicate (on a 5-point scale) how they believed Burger King®, McDonald's®, Wendy's®, and their preferred fast food restaurant (if not among the named restaurants) would perform on the 15 characteristics; and

--to indicate (on a 5-point scale) which fast food restaurant they preferred, i.e., Burger King®, McDonald's®, Wendy's®, or some other fast food restaurant.

Then, for each fast food restaurant (Burger King®, McDonald's®, Wendy's®,) we exercised the model to simulate the impact on market share of modest changes in beliefs on the various characteristics about that restaurant. Some of the simulated changes resulted in increasing a brand's share, while some resulted in decreasing the brand's share. In other words, for each brand, it was very apparent as to what changes would be helpful, and which would be hurtful. Consequently, we drew conclusions and made recommendations as to exactly that upon which Burger King®, McDonald's®, Wendy's® must focus in word and deed to grow share, as well as those things which they must assiduously avoid inadvertently doing, i.e., those things which would have dire consequences on their share.

Coincidentally, McDonald's® helped underscore the reliability of the predictive ability of the model shortly after our article appeared in the scientific literature. Either they didn't read the article or they failed to heed its sage advice. In the article McDonald's® was strongly cautioned to avoid doing anything at all which would change the market's perception as to how they performed on the "kid-oriented" characteristic because, we cautioned, it could hurt their share substantially. Imprudently, McDonald's® deliberately set about changing the market's perceptions, to make them appear more adult-oriented and less kid-oriented, with the introduction of their highly promoted (and ill-fated) ArchDeluxe®. Though we had to be proven right at someone else's expense, our warning to McDonald's® was exactly right. Changing the market's perceptions about McDonald's® kid-orientation did hurt them greatly. Sadly for them, they had done so deliberately, not simply by accident.

Though we couldn't publish an article criticizing the company in the professional literature, we did poke a little fun at McDonald's® in an article posted here at our site, after they finally acknowledged the folly they had committed in trying to move away from their kid-orientation position:

"Hey, McDonald's, we told you 'kids are king' at your restaurants!"

While our Optimal Brand Positioning Model^©  can show clients what to shy away from in order to avoid the risk of share loss, they are ordinarily far more interested in what they can do to grow share. Not long ago, we did an Optimal Brand Positioning Model^©  effort for one of a client's brands. The brand had a modest 0.9 share points, in an industry in which a share point is worth BIG bucks. We were able to show them exactly what they should focus upon in words and deeds to grow from 0.9 to nearly 3 share points. As if that were not enough, from the same data, we were able to advise them not to proceed with the $100 million package redesign effort they were planning for the brand. But not all of our Optimal Brand Positioning Model^©  efforts are conducted for huge companies. A company needs only to be visionary, and think huge.

In another industry, the client had 2.5 share points. We were able to tell that client exactly what must be done in words and deeds to grow that share to 7.8 share points, and we were able to identify which of their competitors would "contribute" to that share increase. Immediately, they commenced to ever so modestly change beliefs about their brand on the two most critical characteristics we had identified for them. Of course, we also told them about the upsides and downsides for their much larger national competitors. For instance, a 20 share point competitor had the potential to grow to 28 share points, or to decline to 12. Both exciting and scary, for that competitor, if they were to have known what our client knew. 

If you want to grow share big time, you've come to the right place. We can  help you do exactly that!