Free brand analysis
The methods behind the analysisGuidesAnalysesActionsAssistantsMaterialExploiting competitors' weaknessesSectionsSource basis and methodology00Brand archetype01Tone-of-Voice02Brand values and purpose03Brand Identity Prism04Brand assets05Semiotic analysis06Distinctive assets07Positioning08Audience alignment09Employer brand10Narrative analysis11Digital and channel execution12Brand harmony13Brand index14

Strategic tool

Exploiting competitors' weaknesses

W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne · Al Ries & Jack Trout

Most brand strategic resources are spent on strengthening your own brand. But a competitor's weaknesses are equally valuable as information – because they show precisely which positions the market has not yet occupied.

brandvju uses the full brand analysis on a competitor to identify where the competitor is weak, unclear or absent – and translates that into concrete action recommendations for you. Not observations about the competitor, but prioritised initiatives you can take to occupy the open positions.

Theoretical foundation

Blue Ocean Strategy
W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy (2005) introduced the Strategy Canvas as an analytical tool – a systematic comparison of brands across competitive parameters that reveals where the market is overcrowded, and where there is unoccupied space. brandvju's score-to-score comparison across all analysis sections is in practice a granular Strategy Canvas at brand level.
Positioning theory
Al Ries and Jack Trout's positioning theory – Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind (1981) – explains the underlying logic: a position is only strong by virtue of what competitors do not do. The mental space the competitor does not own is the space you can credibly occupy.

What brandvju assesses

Absolute weaknesses
Sections where the competitor scores markedly low regardless of your own starting point – positions that are weak in themselves and available to whoever wants to occupy them.
Relative gaps
Sections where you are already markedly stronger than the competitor. Here you can build on an advantage you already have – and turn it into credible ownership.
Open positions
Brand dimensions the competitor does not own in their communication and most likely cannot occupy credibly – regardless of whether you are stronger today or not.
Prioritisation
Recommendations are ranked by strategic effect: what gives the greatest competitive advantage, and what can you realistically implement within your context.

The prerequisite you need to know

To generate competitor recommendations, brandvju requires that you have completed at least one full analysis on your own brand. This is not a technical limitation – it is a professional one. A recommendation to occupy an open position only makes sense when we know where you stand. Without that context, the recommendations are generic. With it, they are precise.

What the analysis is based on – and what it points towards

The competitor analysis is based on publicly available material – website, communication, visual identity. It assesses what the competitor signals, not what they intend or plan. A competitor may have a repositioning strategy under implementation that the analysis cannot see. Use the recommendations as a strategic starting point – not as a guarantee that the position is permanently available.