Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

WINNING THE BRAND RELEVANCE BATTLE 17
framing the category or subcategory will affect brand perceptions
and thus brand preference. For example, if the category
or subcategory is redefi ned to elevate the importance of a benefi
t, such as safety in automobiles, that benefi t will play a
larger role in the brand preference decision. Further, because
relevance can affect the consideration set such that brands
are excluded, the preference challenge may be reduced. At the
extreme, if the consideration set is reduced to one, the preference
decision is dictated by relevance.
Brand preference can also affect brand relevance. If a brand
is preferred because of a compelling brand proposition, a strong
personality, a satisfying user experience, and a positive customer
relationship, then it will affect the consideration set and may
well infl uence or drive attitudes toward the category or subcategory.
Further, if the brand ’ s user experience exceeds expectations,
the brand should become more prominent in a person ’ s
mind. So if a Prius succeeds in generating interest, energy,
and admiration, it will be fi rmly in the consideration set and
should also reinforce the category or subcategory selection
decision. Similarly, if the in - store experience at Nordstrom is
positive, then this will reinforce the attitude toward a high -
touch retail experience and the inclusions of Nordstrom in the
consideration set.
Creating New Categories or Subcategories
The brand relevance strategy is to create offerings so innovative
that new categories and subcategories will be formed. The idea
is to create a competitive arena in which your competitors are at
a decided disadvantage and avoid others in which that condition
is missing. Sun Tzu, the military strategist, said over two thousand
years ago that “ the way is to avoid what is strong and to
strike at what is weak. ” 4
The opportunity is to redefi ne the market in such a way that
the competitor is irrelevant or less relevant, possibly by making