Two Projects, Same Budget — One Became "The Place," the Other "That Mall Near It": The Work of Positioning
Updated: Oct 14
Two commercial projects open in the same city, in the same year, with the same budget. Five years later, one is "the place" — the name people say when they mean quality, the address brands compete to enter. The other is "that mall near it." The buildings did not decide this. Positioning did.
Positioning is the most misunderstood word in our industry, so let us define it by contrast. A brand is not a logo, and positioning is not a marketing campaign. Positioning is the space a project occupies in the customer's mind — the answer a resident gives, without thinking, to the question "what is that place for?" The family destination. The premium address. The daily convenience. The youth hub. A project either chooses its answer deliberately, or the market assigns one by accident — and the accidental answer is usually "nothing in particular," which is commercial death.
Watch what happens without it. The project launches with a name chosen for the owner's taste, a logo designed in a week, and advertising that says "everything under one roof" — which positions it as nothing. Marketing budgets are spent announcing the project exists rather than what it means. Leasing follows the same drift: any tenant, any category. Within two years the project competes on the only dimension left to it — price — and discounted rents attract the tenants that confirm the decline.
Now watch positioning done as strategy. It starts from the market research and tenant mix work we discussed earlier in this series — position must be chosen from evidence of a real, underserved demand, not from wishes. It is then expressed in everything: the name, the identity, the architecture's first impression, the tenant list, the events calendar, the tone of every social post. And it is defended over years — the discipline to refuse a paying tenant that contradicts the position is the hardest and most profitable decision an owner makes. Strong positions compound: they command premium rents, attract brands without chasing them, and survive competitors' openings.
The constructive point for our region: as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan add commercial space at historic speed, the projects that will matter in 2035 are not the biggest ones — they are the ones that mean something specific to their communities. A clear position is also an honest promise kept daily, and communities reward kept promises with something no advertising can buy: loyalty.
At RETAILBIG, branding and positioning strategy is built into our Strategic Positioning & Leasing service — informed by 16+ years and 600+ delivered projects, including the brand identities we have created and launched across the Levant and GCC.
If we asked your target customers what your project is for, would they all give the same answer? If not, let's talk. Send us a brief and receive a complimentary 15–30 minute consultation: Contact RETAILBIG
