First Global Strategic Positioning Report Released

Fortune (China) and Ries Positioning Strategy & Consulting have released the first global positioning strategy report – 'The $ Trillion Opportunities: Building Global Brands with Country Positioning in Mind' – in the United States.

The positioning report points out that each country has different 'positioning in mind' qualities and that companies should effectively grasp the concept and rely on categories to build a global brand.

The research for the positioning report was based on the unique theoretical framework created by Ries Consulting, and explored through consumer analysis and category research into six core markets, the United States, China, United Kingdom, France, Germany and India. It importantly locks in potential category opportunities in these markets. It also provides guidelines for the development of potential categories in the global market and is the world's first positioning report focusing on cognition and category.

"We're at an important time when global business is facing great challenges, and businesses and brands need to explore the global 'blue ocean' opportunities," The global CMO of Fortune, Michael Joselof, introduced the background to the positioning strategy project, "Ries Consulting is a global strategic positioning leader, famous for pioneering a positioning theory which combines 'perception' and 'category' in its business models. We have collaborated to capture the world's most potential product categories."

The positioning report points out that "country positioning in mind" represents consumers' unique first experienced perceptions of a certain country. Of all the countries researched, China and India have enjoyed rapid development but their in-mind country positioning is divided.

The U.S., China and Germany have become leaders in technology and innovation but India has yet to shake off its traditional agriculture image in the minds of global consumers. The UK and France are distinguished by good design, fashion and high-end products, showing their advantages in wealthy consumer categories such as luxury and jewelry.

Brand, category and country positioning in mind could deeply influence each other, the report says. Therefore, when building a global brand, the key is to combine different categories, and each country has its own distinctive leaders with unique country positioning in mind.

When categories are combined with the superior aspects of a country's positioning in mind, category innovations are born, and these could form new global advantages in the consumer mind. The report also specifically analyzes opportunities in the global market for tea, apparel, electric vehicles and other categories.

Laura Ries, Global Chairman of Ries Consulting, assessed the future global business opportunities in conjunction with release of the report, "The key to winning global competition lies in whether a brand could own the mind of global consumers. In the process of building a global brand, country positioning in mind is very important, however it's often overlooked by entrepreneurs. Exploring and using country positioning in mind and maximizing its influence will be very helpful in building a global brand."

Laura continued, "This is what Ries Consulting has adhered to and has been proven in business practice in the past 60 years. In the 21st century, the global competition between brands is unavoidable. The decision about whether to grow into a global brand is a 'to be, or not to be' decision. Even though the international situation is complicated today, only by correctly understanding the law of perception and by creating new categories can we successfully build global brands."