This is lesson fourty-one. This is towards one of our missions. Education. You’ll learn everything about marketing - from the basics to the most advanced strategies - for free, thanks to VellumWorks.
If brand identity is how you show up,
brand positioning is where you stand - in people’s minds.
Brand positioning defines how your organisation is understood, remembered, and chosen in a crowded landscape of alternatives.
For charities, it’s the difference between being one of many good causes and being the right cause for a specific group of people.
What Is Brand Positioning?
Brand positioning is the deliberate act of defining who you are for, what you offer, and why you matter - relative to others.
It answers three core questions:
Who is this for?
What problem do we uniquely address?
Why should someone choose us over alternatives?
In simple terms:
Brand positioning is the space your organisation occupies in the audience’s mind.
Brand Positioning vs Brand Identity
These are connected, but not the same.
Brand positioning = strategic choice
Brand identity = expression of that choice
You position first.
You design second.
When organisations jump straight to visuals without positioning, brands feel generic and interchangeable.
Why Brand Positioning Matters for Charities
Charities don’t compete only with other charities.
They compete with:
donor fatigue
limited attention
financial pressure
emotional overload
scepticism
Strong positioning helps charities:
stand out without shouting
attract the right supporters
avoid vague, generic messaging
focus limited resources
communicate with confidence
build long-term trust
When positioning is weak, marketing becomes reactive.
When it’s clear, marketing becomes coherent.
The Core Elements of Brand Positioning
Target Audience (Be Specific)
Positioning starts with who you are for - and who you are not.
This includes:
primary supporters
secondary audiences
beneficiaries
partners
Weak positioning tries to appeal to everyone.
Strong positioning chooses a clear primary audience and serves them exceptionally well.
Problem or Need (The Real One)
Positioning isn’t about what you do.
It’s about the human need you address.
Examples:
safety
dignity
opportunity
belonging
empowerment
protection
stability
Charities that define themselves by activities (“We run programmes”) are harder to position than those defined by outcomes (“We help people regain stability”).
Point of Difference (Why You?)
Your point of difference doesn’t need to be dramatic. It needs to be true and meaningful.
It could be:
approach
community focus
lived experience
speed
depth
trust
transparency
geography
methodology
The goal is not to be better at everything. It’s to be clearly different in one important way.
4. Frame of Reference (The Category)
Positioning works within a category.
For example:
emergency relief charity
education access charity
mental health support charity
refugee advocacy organisation
Being clear about your category helps people understand you quickly — before you explain your difference.
5. Reason to Believe (Proof)
Positioning must be credible.
This includes:
evidence of impact
lived experience
transparency
track record
partnerships
testimonials
Without proof, positioning sounds like marketing.
With proof, it sounds like trust.
A Simple Brand Positioning Statement
A practical structure charities can use:
For [target audience],
[organisation] is the [category] that
[key benefit / difference],
because [reason to believe].
Example (generic):
For families facing housing insecurity, our organisation is a community-based support charity that helps people regain stability quickly, because we work locally with long-term partners and lived experience.
This statement isn’t for the website.
It’s for internal clarity.
Common Brand Positioning Mistakes
trying to appeal to everyone
positioning around activities, not outcomes
copying language from other charities
being vague (“We make a difference”)
lacking proof
changing positioning too often
confusing urgency with clarity
Most positioning failures come from fear of exclusion.
Positioning Is a Strategic Choice
Every positioning choice includes trade-offs.
When you choose:
one audience, you deprioritise another
one message, you exclude others
one approach, you reject alternatives
This is not a weakness. It’s what makes positioning work.
Brand Positioning Over Time
Positioning should be:
stable enough to build recognition
flexible enough to adapt to context
You shouldn’t reposition frequently, but you should revalidate regularly.
Ask:
Are we still serving the same core need?
Has the audience changed?
Has the landscape shifted?
Evolution is healthy. Constant reinvention is not.
10-Minute Exercise: Clarify Your Position
Answer these honestly:
Who are we primarily for?
What problem do we solve at a human level?
What makes our approach different?
How do we prove it?
If we disappeared, what would be lost?
If these answers are unclear, positioning needs work.
Why is this important to know?
People don’t choose between all charities. They choose between a few that feel relevant to them.
Brand positioning helps your organisation be understood quickly, remembered clearly, and chosen confidently.
When positioning is strong, your marketing becomes simpler, more focused, and more trustworthy because you know exactly who you are and why you exist.
At VellumWorks, we believe knowledge should be free. That’s why this series will guide you, step by step, through everything from the basics to the most advanced strategies in marketing: no jargon, no gatekeeping, just education that empowers.
