Week 2 Tutorial: Build Your Positioning Canvas

Two hours. One output.

You will leave this session with a complete first-draft positioning and planning canvas that connects your Week 1 persona to a specific campaign claim, channel, message, and metric.

Today’s Tutorial Goal

What you produce: a first-draft positioning and planning canvas that a campaign team could use to align decisions before production begins.

Why it matters: the canvas is the planning layer of your final assignment. It establishes your target segment, your positioning claim, your communication objective, your channel logic, and your primary metric. Every later week of the module builds on it.

The internal consistency test: ask four questions before you submit.

  1. Does the positioning claim address the specific segment named?
  2. Does the hierarchy stage support the campaign objective?
  3. Does the channel match both the hierarchy stage and the ELM route?
  4. Does the metric measure the objective, not just platform activity?

Session Timeline

Block Activity Time
Part 1 Canvas orientation: what it is, what goes in each cell 10 minutes
Part 2 Segment review: transfer and classify your Week 1 persona 30 minutes
Part 3 Positioning statement drafting and competitive audit 30 minutes
Part 4 Canvas completion: channel, message, metric, constraint 30 minutes
Part 5 Peer review and upload 20 minutes

Two hours total. Work at pace. If you finish a block early, move forward. If you fall behind, note where you are and flag it for the self-directed study hours.

Part 1: Canvas Orientation

What is the positioning and planning canvas?

The Canvas: 20 Elements Overview

The canvas is a one-page strategic document with 20 cells. Every cell must be completed.

Cell Element What it captures
1 Campaign topic The offering or cause being promoted
2 Primary target segment Who the campaign is for: specific, named, evidence-based
3 Hierarchy of effects stage Where the audience sits in the awareness-to-purchase ladder
4 Evidence or assumption for stage What supports the stage classification
5 Frame of reference What category the offering competes in
6 Point of difference What the offering does better than alternatives
7 Evidence supporting point of difference What makes the claim testable
8 Positioning statement (full template) The complete four-element statement
9 ELM processing route Central or peripheral, with justification
10 Justification for ELM route Why this route applies to this segment

The Canvas: 20 Elements Overview (continued)

Cell Element What it captures
11 Primary campaign channel Where the message will be delivered
12 Rationale for channel choice Why this channel fits the segment, stage, and route
13 Message summary (2 sentences) What the message says and what it asks the audience to do
14 Message format Video, carousel, email, landing page, long-form, etc.
15 Resource constraint What limits the campaign: budget, time, team, platform access
16 Primary metric What success looks like in numbers
17 Why this metric fits the hierarchy stage The alignment justification
18 Acquisition or retention campaign Which type of campaign this is
19 Competitive differentiation note How the positioning differs from two comparable offerings
20 One assumption requiring testing The single weakest assumption and how to test it

Part 2: Segment Review

Transfer your Week 1 persona. Classify your hierarchy stage. Label assumptions.

Time: 30 minutes

Activity 1: STP Classification Sprint (20 minutes)

Individual then pairs. Classify all three scenarios, then compare with a partner.

Scenario A. An eco-tourism resort in South Male Atoll targets international couples aged 30 to 50 interested in marine conservation, willing to pay a premium for sustainable travel. The resort has strong TripAdvisor ratings and a waitlist for its coral planting programme.

Scenario B. A professional training centre in Male promotes a twelve-week evening Certificate in Digital Marketing. Intended audience: marketing coordinators and communications officers in hospitality and financial services who lack formal digital credentials and want to advance their careers.

Scenario C. A local fintech company has launched a mobile payment app. Internal data: 67 per cent of users aged 18 to 28 in Male have tried a digital payment in the past month; only 23 per cent use a digital wallet as their primary payment method.

Question Scenario A Scenario B Scenario C
Primary target segment (one sentence)
Hierarchy stage (one word)
Evidence or assumption for stage?
Acquisition or retention?
Best-fit primary channel

After comparing with your partner: write one sentence identifying the unstated assumption that produced any classification disagreement. That assumption belongs in Canvas Cell 20.

Step-by-Step: Segment Classification

Work through these four steps. Write your answers in the canvas as you go.

  1. Transfer your Week 1 persona to Canvas Cell 2 (Primary target segment). Condense it to two sentences: who they are and what specific need or barrier the campaign addresses. If your Week 1 topic was too broad or lacked usable evidence, choose a narrower topic now and note the change.

  2. Name the hierarchy stage in Canvas Cell 3. Use the six-stage ladder from the lecture. Ask: does my audience know the offering exists? Do they have a preference? Are they ready to act?

  3. State the evidence or assumption in Canvas Cell 4. If your stage classification rests on documented signals (search data, survey results, review patterns), name them. If it is an estimate, write [ASSUMPTION] and state what evidence would confirm or change the classification.

  4. Check for consistency: does the segment (Cell 2) support the stage (Cell 3)? A cold new audience at Awareness stage and a returning customer at Conviction stage require completely different campaign objectives.

Hierarchy Stage Decision Table

Use this table to classify your audience. Be honest about what you know and what you are assuming.

Stage Key Indicator Appropriate Campaign Objective
Awareness Audience is unaware the offering exists Build recognition: reach and impressions
Knowledge Audience knows it exists but lacks understanding of what it does Build understanding: content, explainers, page depth
Liking Audience understands it but has not formed a positive feeling Build emotional connection: testimonials, community, social proof
Preference Audience likes it but has not differentiated it from alternatives Build differentiation: comparison content, reviews, case studies
Conviction Audience prefers it but has not yet decided to act Remove objections: email, retargeting, specific proof points
Purchase Audience is ready to act but has not completed the action Reduce friction: landing page, checkout, clear call to action

Most student campaigns in Week 2 are working with audiences at the Awareness or Knowledge stage. If you find yourself selecting Conviction or Purchase, check your evidence carefully.

Part 3: Positioning Statement Drafting

Draft two candidate positioning statements. Select the stronger one. Note the weakest element.

Time: 30 minutes (including competitive audit)

The Positioning Statement Template

Write two versions. Use the template exactly.

“For [target segment] who [need or problem], [offering] is the [frame of reference] that [point of difference] because [evidence].”

Fill in the blanks:

Element Your draft
Target segment Who specifically (role, context, situation, not demographics alone)
Need or problem What they are trying to solve or achieve
Offering The product, service, programme, or campaign
Frame of reference What category it competes in (e.g., “the only professional development programme in the Maldives…”)
Point of difference What it does better than every alternative in that category
Evidence What makes the point of difference testable and credible

Write two versions before selecting one. Version 1 with your strongest evidence. Version 2 challenging a different point of difference. Then compare.

Activity 2: Positioning Statement Critique (20 minutes)

Pairs. For each statement, identify the weakest element and rewrite only that element with a specific, testable alternative.

# Statement
1 “For young people who want to succeed, our training centre is the best choice that delivers excellent learning because we have experienced teachers.”
2 “For marketing professionals who need to upskill, the Villa College Certificate is a professional development programme that builds career-ready skills because students complete a live analytics project.”
3 “For mid-career marketing officers in Greater Male who need verifiable digital credentials, the Villa College Certificate is the only programme in the Maldives that produces a live, open-source analytics portfolio from a real client campaign, evidenced by twelve weeks of structured documentation reviewed by an industry-qualified instructor.”
4 “For international tourists visiting the Maldives who want an authentic local experience, our guesthouse is the leading accommodation option that provides genuine island hospitality because of our local staff and traditional recipes.”
5 “For small business owners in Male who struggle with social media, our digital agency offers innovative solutions and creative strategies because our team has more than ten years of combined experience.”

Critique table (complete for all five):

Statement Weakest element Specific problem Your rewrite
1
2
3
4
5

Competitive Audit: Step-by-Step

Find two to three publicly facing positioning claims from comparable offerings. Document each one.

  1. Find the competitor: search for the two or three offerings most similar to your campaign topic. Look at homepages, about pages, programme descriptions, and social media profiles.

  2. Extract the implied claim: what target segment does the content appear to address? What is the implied frame of reference? What point of difference is being claimed, explicitly or implicitly?

  3. Document it: note the URL, the date you accessed it, and the specific language used. Quote directly where possible.

  4. Compare with your statement: how does your positioning claim differ from each competitor’s claim? Where there is no meaningful difference, differentiation remains incomplete.

  5. Record in Cell 19 (Competitive differentiation note): write one sentence per competitor describing how your positioning statement occupies a distinct place beyond what the competitor’s claim covers.

Competitor positioning claims can be observed from homepages, about pages, programme descriptions, and social media profiles. Cite with URL and date accessed.

Part 4: Canvas Completion Checklist

Complete every remaining cell. Check internal consistency before moving to peer review.

Time: 30 minutes

Canvas Completion: Six Remaining Decisions

Work through these in sequence. Each decision should follow from the ones above it.

Cell Decision The question to answer
Cell 9: ELM route Central or peripheral? Is the audience highly motivated and able to process arguments carefully, or likely to rely on cues?
Cell 11: Channel Where will the message be delivered? Which channel is used by this segment at this hierarchy stage and with this ELM route?
Cell 13: Message summary Two sentences: what you say and what you ask. Does the message match the ELM route (argument for central, cue for peripheral)?
Cell 14: Message format Video, carousel, email, long-form, etc. Does the format suit the channel and the processing route?
Cell 16: Primary metric One number that measures success. Does the metric match the campaign objective and the hierarchy stage?
Cell 18: Acquisition or retention Which type of campaign? Does the channel, message, and metric all reflect the same type?

Cell 20: Name your one weakest assumption. Write the assumption and a one-sentence testing method.

AI Protocol for This Tutorial

AI use is permitted within the following boundaries.

Permitted:

  • Ask AI to draft two alternative positioning statements from your documented evidence base
  • Ask AI to identify which claims in your positioning statement are not supported by the evidence you provided
  • Ask AI to audit your completed canvas for internal consistency (ELM route vs message depth; metric vs hierarchy stage)
  • Ask AI to suggest two or three competitor positioning claims to investigate (then verify with your own search)
  • Ask AI to challenge your weakest assumption and suggest a testing method

Not permitted:

  • Submitting AI-generated positioning statements without a prompt log entry
  • Using AI audience facts (e.g. “your audience values sustainability”) without verifying against a documented public trace
  • Using AI to fill in the evidence column of the canvas without actual evidence
  • Submitting AI-generated citations or market data without a source URL and date
  • Using AI to complete the canvas without reviewing and revising the output yourself

Every AI-assisted claim must be traceable to a documented evidence item or labelled [ASSUMPTION]. Log every prompt used today.

Part 5: Peer Review Checklist

Exchange canvases. Five checks. Written feedback. Upload.

Time: 20 minutes

Five-Point Peer Review Check

As the reviewer, complete all five checks. Write a comment for each.

Check What to look for Write a comment
1. Positioning coherence Does the positioning statement follow the four-element template? Is each element specific and testable? Is “excellent” or “innovative” used without evidence? Note the weakest element and suggest a specific revision.
2. Channel-to-stage alignment Does the channel choice match the hierarchy stage listed? A conversion-optimised channel (e.g. retargeting) should not appear at the Awareness stage. Note any mismatch and suggest a more appropriate channel.
3. Metric-to-objective alignment Does the primary metric measure what the campaign objective states? Reach metrics for Awareness. Engagement metrics for Liking. Conversion for Purchase. Note any misalignment and suggest the correct metric.
4. Evidence or assumption labelling Is at least one evidence source documented with a URL or citation? Are assumptions labelled [ASSUMPTION] with a testing method? Note any claim that appears to lack evidence and is not labelled.
5. ELM route justification Is the ELM route (central or peripheral) justified with a two-sentence explanation referencing the audience’s motivation and ability? Note if the justification is absent or inconsistent with the message format chosen.

What Good Looks Like: Pass Criteria

Before uploading, check your canvas against the assessment criteria.

Criterion Pass standard Common reason for falling short
Positioning statement All four elements present; point of difference is specific and testable Vague language: “quality,” “excellence,” “innovative” without evidence
Evidence base At least one element per canvas section traced to a documented source or labelled [ASSUMPTION] Claims presented as facts without any source or assumption label
Hierarchy stage Stage named, evidence or assumption stated, appropriate objective and metric selected Stage selected by intuition; metric misaligned with the stage
ELM alignment Route named and justified; message format consistent with the route Route named without justification; central route claimed but message is cue-only
Internal consistency Segment, stage, channel, message, and metric all support the same campaign logic Individual cells completed in isolation without checking whether they cohere
Prompt log At least three entries, each linked to an evidence item or decision Prompt log absent or entries lack the output used and student decision columns

Submission Reminder

File naming and upload:

  • Save your canvas as a PDF before uploading.
  • File name format: W2-Canvas-[YourFullName].pdf
  • Upload location: Moodle, Week 2 Tutorial Submission folder
  • Due: [Date to be confirmed by your tutor] at 23:59 MVT

What to include in the submission:

  • The completed 20-cell canvas (every cell filled; assumptions labelled)
  • Your prompt log (minimum three entries: prompt, AI output used, evidence link, student decision)
  • The two candidate positioning statements (so the marker can see how you selected the stronger one)
  • The one-paragraph note explaining why you selected the stronger statement
  • The competitive differentiation note (two to three competitor claims with URL and date accessed)

Exit Ticket

Before you leave, answer these three questions in writing.

  1. What is your primary target segment? (One sentence. Specific enough to name a channel.)

  2. What stage of the hierarchy of effects is your audience at? (One word. Evidence or assumption labelled.)

  3. What is your primary metric and why does it match the hierarchy stage? (Two sentences: the metric and the alignment justification.)

Hand your answers to your tutor before you leave the room (or post to the Moodle exit ticket forum if the session is online).