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Positioning with vs against: Does comparing to rivals really pay off?
Tesco and Sainsbury’s price-matching to Aldi. Amazon drawing comparisons to Tesco. Asda matching to Home Bargains. Is the trend for positioning with – rather than against – rivals a good idea?
Traditional marketing wisdom tends to favour standing out from your rivals to help your product cut through and gain consumer attention, rather than comparing yourself to competitors and acknowledging them as viable alternatives.
So why are so many brands now taking the alternative road of ‘positioning with’ their rivals – to the extent that they namecheck them constantly in their own marketing activity?
