Differentiation Strategy:

Positioning

Examples of Positioning

Unisys Repositioning the Company

Rebuilding a Tarnished Brand

 

Adapted from Marketing Management, Czinkota Kotabe

 

 

In 1998, Larry Weinbach joined Unisys from Anderson Worldwide. When he joined Unisys, Weinbach immediately said that the Unisys brand was tarnished and decided to rebuild it.

The first stage of the 10-month repositioning project was global research. Four types of research were conducted: theme analysis, customer perception sampling, Unisys reputation tracking study, and fortune corporate equity study. For example, the customer perception sampling research team asked major worldwide customers such questions as:

  • What do you like/dislike about Unisys?

  • What do you think of when you hear the name Unisys?

The results of the research were clear and consistent:

  • What customers valued most were the Unisys people they worked with to solve their business problems.

  • Customers described Unisys as having three important characteristics. They said Unisys people were (1) creative in devising solutions, (2) technology excellent in implementing them, and (3) tenacious in overcoming obstacles on the way.

  • Customers liked very much the “can-do” attitude of the Unisys people

  • Customers said Unisys people were the kind that “rolled up their sleeves” and worked alongside them to help them become more competitive and successful.

 

Given these research results, there were four themes that Unisys though were critical positions they could take: technical superiority, global, vertical expertise, and people positioning.

The project team developed a specific statement for each positioning theme and tested the in focus groups around the world (in United States, Australia, Brazil, China, and Japan). The result was that the people positioning was the most attractive.

Finally, the project team developed formal internal and external statements based of people positioning.

Internal Positioning: To large corporations that desire long-term partnerships to realize business value from the application and integration of information technology Unisys is thousands of highly skilled team players and alliance partners who are willing to roll up their sleeves and work alongside you, creating and applying technology until your business problem is solved.

External Positioning: Unisys is 40,000 creative, technically excellent, tenacious people willing to roll up their sleeves and work alongside you, creating and applying information technology to help you solve your business problems. In more than 100 countries around the world, leading financial services institutions, airlines, communications providers, commercial market leaders, and government agencies rely on Unisys to help them become more competitive and successful.

 

 

Differentiation Strategy

Positioning

7 Tips for Effective Positioning

The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning

Differentiating With Different Types of People

Experiential Marketing

Brand Management

Effective Advertising

Advertising Slogans

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The Art of Competing

Competitive Strategy

Examples of Positioning

Marketing Secrets of the Rich Dad Brand