STP (segmentation, targeting, positioning)
The classic three-step sequence of marketing strategy: split the market into groups that differ in needs or behaviour, choose which groups to serve, then define how the brand should be seen by them against competitors. It keeps strategy from being a list of tactics. Evidence from Ehrenberg-Bass is a useful correction: brands in a category mostly share the same kinds of buyers, so targeting sharpens messages and products more than it should shrink the media audience.
Where it's used
Used at the start of a marketing plan, a launch or a repositioning to decide who the brand is for and what it should stand for. Good when the team keeps arguing about tactics because nobody agreed on the audience and the position first.
Example
From everyone to busy parents
Illustrative scenarioA meal-planning app sees three segments in its research: fitness fans, students on a budget and parents with little time. It targets parents, who pay most and churn least, and positions the app as dinner sorted in five minutes. Product features, onboarding and creative all follow from that choice. Media still reaches all adults who cook, because many of the next customers are not yet parents in any dataset.