Opposite Positioning Exercise
Escape category sameness by examining the truthful edge of the opposite claim.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 100%
The Opposite Positioning Exercise is a reframing method for escaping what Kipp Bodnar calls a glob of sameness. First, place the company’s positioning beside the claims made by its competitors and identify the repeated category assumptions. Instead of making a slightly different version of those claims, write the exact opposite of the dominant position. The extreme statement is not intended for publication. Its purpose is to prevent the team from unconsciously incrementing on existing language. Next, inspect the opposite for kernels of truth, operational advantages, or customer needs that competitors neglect. Modify those elements until the position is accurate, valuable, and supportable. The final test is whether the result sits meaningfully outside the category cluster rather than being only marginally different.
Origin
Extracted from Marketing Against The Grain as Kipp Bodnar’s positioning advice for products competing in categories where every company sounds similar.
Core principles
- 01Competitors in mature categories often repeat the same positioning.
- 02Incremental wording changes do not create meaningful differentiation.
- 03The exact opposite forces the team out of its inherited frame.
- 04Useful positioning can emerge from kernels of truth inside an extreme opposite.
How to run it
- 1
Map Category Language
Place the company’s positioning beside the positioning of direct and adjacent competitors.
Pro tip Highlight recurring nouns, promises, audiences, and definitions of success.
Watch out Do not compare taglines alone; include the substantive value propositions.
- 2
Find the Sameness
Identify the central assumption or promise nearly every competitor repeats.
Pro tip Summarize the cluster in one plain sentence.
Watch out Minor stylistic differences can conceal fundamentally identical positions.
- 3
Write the Exact Opposite
State the direct opposite of the category’s dominant claim without worrying yet about whether it can be published.
Pro tip Make the reversal extreme enough to disrupt habitual thinking.
Watch out Do not release the extreme statement before checking its truthfulness.
- 4
Extract Kernels of Truth
Find aspects of the opposite that reflect a real customer need, company capability, or neglected trade-off.
Pro tip Ask what becomes possible if the category assumption is rejected.
Watch out Provocation without customer value is not positioning.
- 5
Make It Defensible
Adjust the opposite until it becomes true, useful, specific, and supportable through the product or operating model.
Pro tip Connect the position to evidence competitors cannot easily copy.
Watch out Do not weaken the statement until it returns to category sameness.
- 6
Measure the Distance
Compare the candidate position with the original competitive map and test whether customers understand its difference.
Pro tip Use customer interviews to check comprehension and relevance.
Watch out Difference alone is insufficient if the target audience does not value it.
In the wild
A productivity company maps competitors that all promise more efficient employee output. The team writes the opposite position, explores truthful objections to constant productivity tracking, and develops a differentiated promise around making high-performing teamwork visible and engaging rather than merely monitoring activity.
→ The product gains a position that is recognizably separated from standard productivity claims.
Common mistakes
Publishing the Raw Opposite
The first reversal is a thinking device and may be false, reckless, or commercially irrelevant.
Settling for Five Percent Different
Small wording changes preserve the same category frame and rarely create memorable differentiation.
Choosing Difference Without Value
An unusual position fails if it does not correspond to a meaningful customer need or company advantage.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for products whose current positioning sounds interchangeable with multiple competitors.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when regulated claims, basic category comprehension, or urgent demand capture require conventional language to remain prominent.
From the transcript
“Take your positioning and all the competitors in your market. Look at their positioning.”
“And the way you want to start is you want to first start saying, what if we said the exact opposite of that?”
“And then you say, Oh, what's what are the kernels of truth within that opposite that we could actually like lean into and do and…”
From the episode
‘Half-Baked Marketing Ideas’ with Kipp Bodnar and Kieran Flanagan
Kipp Bodnar