StretchLearn Course

Make your brand the obvious choice, not just another option

A repeatable process to find whitespace and write your positioning: competitive alternatives, unique attributes, category, and a tested positioning statement

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Beginner9 hr 30 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Most brands try to be liked by everyone and end up chosen by no one. This course gives you the working frameworks professionals use, including April Dunford's Obviously Awesome positioning method, Geoffrey Moore's positioning statement template, the Ries and Trout battle for the mind, points of difference versus points of parity, and perceptual maps. You will inventory your true competitive alternatives, isolate the attributes only you can own, decide the market category you compete in, and assemble a positioning statement, a messaging hierarchy, and an internal canvas your whole team can rally around. Worked examples run from CrossFit and Liquid Death to HubSpot and Tesla.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Distinguish positioning from branding, messaging, and a tagline, and explain what positioning actually does

Inventory your real competitive alternatives, including the status quo and do-nothing, the way customers see them

Identify the unique attributes and value you can own, and map them to a specific best-fit customer segment

Choose the market category you compete in using category design and the frame-of-reference decision

Build a perceptual map and a points-of-difference and points-of-parity table to find defensible whitespace

Write and pressure-test a positioning statement and translate it into a messaging hierarchy your team can use

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: What Positioning Really Is

Separate positioning from branding and taglines, learn why the mind sorts brands into categories, and meet the strategic job a position has to do before you write a word of copy.

3 lessons

Positioning Versus Branding, Messaging, and TaglinesContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Why the Mind Sorts Brands Into CategoriesContent · 45 min

LMS Access

The Job a Position Has to DoContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Mapping the Competitive Landscape

Gather the raw material for positioning: the real alternatives customers weigh, the attributes only you can own, and the differentiated value those attributes create for a specific segment.

3 lessons

Listing Your True Competitive AlternativesContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Finding the Attributes Only You Can OwnContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Translating Attributes Into Differentiated ValueContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Choosing Your Category and Whitespace

Decide the market category you compete in, design or claim a frame where you can lead, and use perceptual maps and a points-of-difference table to find defensible whitespace.

3 lessons

Choosing Your Market CategoryContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Perceptual Maps and Finding WhitespaceContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Points of Difference and Points of ParityContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Writing and Activating Your Position

Assemble the building blocks into a positioning statement, pressure-test it, translate it into a messaging hierarchy, and align your team and roadmap behind it so the position actually ships.

3 lessons

Writing the Positioning StatementContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Pressure-Testing and Validating the PositionContent · 45 min

LMS Access

From Position to Messaging and AlignmentContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

brand positioningcompetitive strategypositioning statementcategory designperceptual mappingvalue propositiondifferentiationmarket segmentation