Lidl’s Brand Repositioning: Quality Meets Affordability

Posted on Jan 27, 2025 in Marketing

As explained, Lidl now has a new image: good quality and good price. As brand manager, to achieve the new positioning, I had to take into account the new target that Lidl is focusing on now. To do this, we have to carry out a segmentation. A new segment has been identified, which is more concerned with product quality but also takes into account price. This segment has a good potential size, and it has been concluded that through marketing actions, both advertisements and actions in the same establishment, we can reach this target. Psychographic criteria, such as lifestyle, have been taken into account too. Now we are targeting people who care about food quality, healthier people, and wellness-oriented individuals.

To achieve this new positioning, what I have done as brand manager has been to work to have a mental map in which I managed to have characteristics such as quality, price, health, variety, and sustainability. This has been achieved by improving the quality of the products, increasing the variety of products in the establishments, and passing on a message through the marketing campaign that Lidl was a company that cares about quality and sustainability.

In relation to the brand mantra, our goal has been to show our target that Lidl is now based on opportunity, quality, and solution. Opportunities because here customers will find quality products at a good price, quality because we want it to be our main attraction and the reason for our change, and solution because in Lidl establishments customers will find what they need.

If we’re talking about brand personality, I want Lidl to be “The Regular Guy”. I think that based on quality at a good price, it is important to achieve a connection with the client, to be empathetic, and to be identified as such by the client.

Finally, speaking of Points of Difference (POD) and Points of Parity (POP), what we want to achieve is to be positioned above our competitors (Carrefour, Alcampo, etc.) mainly with respect to quality (which is our essence and our big change) and price. This is what I think a client values most when going to a supermarket. For this reason, I have decided in the marketing campaign to make it clear that Lidl now has a new image. It has variety, quality, and good prices like the other supermarkets, but it differs from the “previous Lidl” with better quality. From the other supermarkets, I have thought of adding the figure of a character because I think that no supermarket is identified in this way. Also, the importance of a good slogan in which I make clear that Lidl now is “quality”.

Finally, to check that the new brand image still has brand value, I think it is very important to carry out tracking studies to see aspects like brand image, brand responses, and brand relationships. By doing surveys, for example, asking questions like “Define Lidl in 3 words” or “On a scale of 1 to 7, how would you rate Lidl in terms of quality, price, and variety?” we could see how the brand image has evolved and track it.

CBBE Model and Segmentation

  • Target
  • Main Competitors
  • Points of Parity (POP)
  • Points of Difference (POD)

Segmentation

  • Identify
  • Size
  • Accessibility
  • How they respond

Consumer Insights Research

  • Perception of the consumer
  • Projective techniques
  • Depth interview
  • Focus group
  • Survey

Understanding the Target Audience

  • Socio-demographic – What are they like? – Age? Gender? Social Class? Job?
  • Psychographic – What do they think and need? – Based on needs and influenced by attitudes/ Psychographic Class
  • Behavior – What do they do? – How much? How frequently? When do they buy? How do they use it?

Psychographic Segmentation

  • Lifestyles: e.g., Culture-oriented, Health and wellness-oriented, “Calorie-counters”, Gourmets, etc.
  • Personality: e.g., ambitious, outgoing, independent, friendly, serious, etc.
  • Values: e.g., conservative, traditional, family-oriented, etc.

Key Brand Concepts

  • Mental Map
  • Brand Values
  • Brand Mantra (3 words)

Brand Archetypes

The Hero

Brands that represent effort, honor, victory, and involvement. They have a winning attitude.

  • Goal: Demonstrate its worth through heroic acts, overcoming oneself, improving the world, and fighting for the common good.
  • Main fear: Weakness, vulnerability, being a “chicken”
  • Message: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”
  • Description: They are very aspirational brands that transmit motivation, effort, discipline, triumph, competence, and courage.
  • Examples: Nike, Invictus, Duracell

The Rebel

They are rebellious brands that try to break the patterns of everything that is protocol.

  • Goal: To overturn what isn’t working
  • Greatest fear: To be powerless or ineffectual.
  • Message: “Rules are made to be broken”
  • Description: They are innovative, extravagant, irreverent, and rebellious brands.
  • Examples: Diesel, Desigual, Harley Davidson

Positioning Map

(Note: A visual representation would be used here, with two axes representing key attributes like price and quality)