The New Positioning: The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy [Paperback]

Jack Trout (Author), Steve Rivkin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0070653283 | ISBN-13: 978-0070653283 | Publication Date: May 1, 1997 | Edition: 1

In the same right-to-the-point, no-nonsense style that was a hallmark of Positioning, this sequel squares off against critical marketing challenges such as how to make sure your message gets through in an era of information overload.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This new edition of Positioning (McGraw, 1980), which Trout coauthored with Al Ries (the two teamed up more recently on Marketing Warfare, LJ 10/15/85), offers recent examples of effectively positioned products along with new topics such as the importance of images that appeal to the ear vs. the eye. The authors give primarily practical advice and write informally. One of their main premises is that brand extension is not repositioning. Rather than put different products under the same name, the company should use different brands, so that each has a clearly focused image. Repositioning involves changing this focus. Despite the subtitle, this book is not aimed at the consumer but at the advertising executive interested in the best way to present ideas to top management. The book can be quickly absorbed and appears to have been quickly pulled together, since it reads as a person might talk. Not essential, especially if the library owns the previous edition.?Sue McKimm, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, Ohio
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

With short, staccato bursts of information, each chapter no longer than 10 pages, Trout intrigues the reader long enough to listen to his new theories on positioning. If a market has shifted or an entity has lost its focus, positioning--or redefining the entity in the minds of its consumers--must occur. His discussion includes some amazing facts and statistics and six abbreviated case histories, including Lotus (before its IBM purchase), Carvel, KPMG Peat Marwick, George Bush, Entertainment Tonight, and Spain's national oil company. Irreverent, brash, and fun to read. Barbara Jacobs --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 173 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070653283
• ISBN-13: 978-0070653283
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Spend Your Money on "22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" Instead, December 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Positioning: The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy (Paperback)

"The New Positioning" is one of the biggest disappointments I have ever encountered. I had previously purchased "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Trout & Ries and found it *extremely* valuable. Took many notes and refer to it often. I did not take one single note on "The New Positioning," which is just a tired, uninspired rehash of Trout's original work, and not nearly as solid or concise. Before tossing it in the wastebasket, I want to alert others: Save your time and money for "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing." You'll be glad you did. Trout is, in effect, failing to take his own very good advice: He is engaging in a sort of "line extension" that will ultimately dilute his credibility with regard to anything else he ever writes.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A clear message quickly absorbed, August 26, 2001

By 

Max More "Max More" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Positioning: The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy (Paperback)

Some of those who read the original book, Positioning, found this sequel disappointingly short on new information. However, if you have not read the original, this book is worth reading, in part because it applies its own principles to communicate simply and briefly. Case studies are kept short and the central messages delivered efficiently then reinforced. Trout emphasizes the enormous amount of information and number of choices facing people and the consequent need for simplicity of message, and a clear position in the minds of consumers. Trout uniformly dislikes brand line extension, though he does not deal with counter-examples. The first section of the book, Understanding the Mind sets up the cognitive framework for the positioning approach. The second section, Dealing with Change, helps companies reposition themselves in consumers' minds. The third section, The Tricks of the Trade, goes into some specific strategies for penetrating the noise with your signal. There are deeper and newer books on the subject, but the clear message of this quickly-readable book is worth taking in.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What's "New"?, May 22, 2001

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The New Positioning: The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy (Paperback)

For someone who has not read any of the authors' (especially Trout's) other books, this has some value. For that reason, I rate it higher than do many other reviewers. However, it is inferior to the original Positioning (by Ries and Trout) and adds very little (if anything) that is "new" to the concepts and comments provided in that important book. The value of the original is increased substantially when read in combination with other works such as Levitt's The Marketing Imagination and Barker's Paradigms. Because effective positioning is (literally) a moving target, those involved must be both willing and able to modify that positioning in response to rapid, sometimes major changes in the competitive marketplace. That is to say, new positioning may be necessary. The authors of this book already have an excellent title. Now all they need is a text which is worthy of it.