Cherchez le creneau!!!

Hi,

The French have a marketing saying: "Cherchez le creneau" which means 'look for the hole'. Look for the hole and fill it, say Jack Trout and Al Ries. In positioning your brand, cherchez le creneau in the head (brand mind map) of the marketplace. Size can be a creneau. VW's "Think small" campaign successfully exploited size to differentiate and win share. Age, price, distribution... There are many dimensions along which creneaus can be found. Finding a creneau is the first step to toppling a market leader. A successful creneau can be used to reposition the competition. By taking a "Good For You" position, a brand is saying the others (especially the leader) are not good for you. By taking a hip youth position, a brand says the rest are old and irrelevant. Without referring to the competitors,a brand can point to the future and say "We're going there! Follow us."

Cheers!

Michael Kiely