Get to Aha! ─ Discover Your Positioning DNA and Dominate Your Competition

From the marketing strategist who helped Steve Jobs launch the original Apple Macintosh comes a groundbreaking guide to positioning any company for industry dominance

There are three types of companies in the world, each with its own DNA: Mothers are customer-oriented, Mechanics are product-oriented, and Missionaries are concept-oriented—and it’s absolutely critical for business leaders to know which type their company is to create an authentic and ultimately “sticky” position in the market. A company’s DNA is the key to achieving this and with it, a competitive advantage. Why? Because if a Mechanic creates a marketing campaign based on its belief that it is a Missionary, the underlying positioning will not ring true and the company won’t gain a foothold in the market. But if a company positions itself in alignment with its DNA, it will resonate authentically and establish its role and relevance even in the face of a major competitor.

Andy Cunningham argues that positioning isn’t the same as branding, which is a fatal mistake business leaders make all the time. Companies, like people, have a yin and yang to their identity. Positioning is the rational, intellectual side and branding is the emotional side. A company must first know itself (establish its position) before it can express its identity (execute its branding). Get to Aha! presents a clear step-by-step framework that will help readers determine their company’s precise position in the marketing landscape, using the author’s DNA-based methodology—and shows them how to use this positioning to guide successful branding efforts that will build market momentum and crush the competition.

Andy Cunningham is the founder and president of Cunningham Collective, a strategic communication firm focused on bringing innovation to market. She has played a key role in the launch of new categories, including video games, personal computers, desktop publishing, digital imaging, RISC microprocessors, software as a service, very light jets, and clean tech investing.