The STP Core — Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning in Practice
The productive tension
Broad reachanddistinctive positioning
The synthesis
STP is not a choice between mass marketing and niche targeting, nor is it a 1970s relic overtaken by penetration science. It is a core operating framework for strategic focus. The evidence-based reconciliation — elaborated by Mark Ritson across a decade of Marketing Week columns — holds that segmentation helps you understand the market, targeting is usually broader than Kotler implied but narrower than Sharp implied, and positioning is the single most important strategic commitment in marketing. A real strategy passes two tests: does the positioning actually differentiate in the consumer''s mind (Kotler''s test), and does the targeting deliver enough reach to fuel penetration (Sharp''s test). Pass both and you have a strategy. Pass only one and you have a slogan or a spreadsheet.
Learning objectives
- →Define the three elements of STP and the role each plays in strategic focus
- →Steelman the Ehrenberg-Bass and Kotler views of targeting without caricature
- →Explain the Ritson reconciliation of STP and penetration evidence
- →Write a positioning statement that passes the differentiation and reach tests
- →Apply the two tests to real brand cases including Dove, Mastercard and Aldi
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