Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind [Mass Market Paperback]

Al Ries (Author), Jack Trout (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1987

Positioning, a concept developed by the authors, has changed the way people advertise. The reason? It's the first concept to deal with the problems of communicating in an overcommunicated society. With this approach, a company creates a position' in the prospect's mind, one that reflects the company's own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors. Witty and fast-paced, this book spells out how to position a leader so that it gets into the mind and stays there, position a follower in a way that finds a hole' not occupied by the leader, and avoid the pitfalls of letting a second product ride on the coattails of an established one. Revised to reflect significant developments in the five years since its original publication, Positioning reveals the fascinating case histories and anecdotes behind the campaigns of many stunning successes and failures in the world of advertising.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"One of the most important communication books I've ever read. I highly recommend it!"
­­Spencer Johnson, author of Who Moved My Cheese? and co-author of The One Minute Manager

"...Ries and Trout taught me everything I know about branding, marketing, and product management. When I had the idea of creating a very large thematic community on the Web, I first thought of Positioning...."
­­David Bohnett, Chairman and Founder of GeoCities

The first book to deal with the problems of communicating to a skeptical, media-blitzed public, Positioning describes a revolutionary approach to creating a "position" in a prospective customer's mind-one that reflects a company's own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors. Writing in their trademark witty, fast-paced style, advertising gurus Ries and Trout explain how to:

• Make and position an industry leader so that its name and message wheedles its way into the collective subconscious of your market-and stays there
• Position a follower so that it can occupy a niche not claimed by the leader
• Avoid letting a second product ride on the coattails of an established one.

Positioning also shows you how to:

• Use leading ad agency techniques to capture the biggest market share and become a household name
• Build your strategy around your competition's weaknesses
• Reposition a strong competitor and create a weak spot
• Use your present position to its best advantage
• Choose the best name for your product
• Determine when-and why-less is more
• Analyze recent trends that affect your positioning.

Ries and Trout provide many valuable case histories and penetrating analyses of some of the most phenomenal successes and failures in advertising history. Revised to reflect significant developments in the five years since its original publication, Positioning is required reading for anyone in business today.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Al Ries is Chairman of Ries & Ries, Focusing Consultants. Jack Trout is Chairman of Trout & Partners. Al Ries and Jack Trout are undoubtedly the world's best-known marketing strategists.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 213 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; 1st Edition Reprinted edition (January 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446347949
• ISBN-13: 978-0446347945
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #838,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 71 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read, but little practical examples August 20, 2002

By "dgrounds"

Format:Paperback

A classic in marketing how-tos, the authors explain the importance of offering something for sale that appeals to the buyer, not to the seller, creator, or manufacturer. The product is positioned relative to the consumer, and her needs and viewpoints of value. The basic theory is that you get into the mind of your consumer, and position your product accordingly. And on that point, almost anyone would have to agree.

You will not find the gory details in this book that you'll need to execute a marketing plan, though, but the general theme is examined, as well as various positioning examples (everything from Kleenex to Heinz Ketchup - or was that pickles?).

I was particularly disappointed about a lack of methodology to reach a positioning statement, other than some fairly broad "rules", lightly applied throughout the book. There were six questions at the end that were helpful, but did not constitute a rigorous method - well, any method really - to create a "position". If anything, I would have wished for the method that could be used to create positioning for a product, or to test a company's current positioning, rather than have as many examples of positioning failures.

Some of the author's examples seemed contradictory, and especially when the authors claimed that brand extension amounts to a virtual see-saw - one product steals the brand identity from another (Heinz Ketchup vs. Heinz Pickles - who is Heinz!?). From hindsight, it can be seen that some brand extensions have been extremely successful, while others aren't. It should shock no one that people don't want to use baking soda as anti-perspirant, for instance, and therefore completely explaining why we use Arm & Hammer to cook and deodorize the refrigerator, but do not think of it as a personal hygiene brand. I can't think of anything that I would remove from the refrigerator and rub under my arms.

In any case, this remains a quick, good read with short chapters. The examples illustrate the concepts, but you'll need to follow this up with other positioning and marketing examples in order to position your product within your industry.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous timeless concepts, outdated examples February 2, 2011

By Krista Neher

Format:Paperback

If you are building a brand or a business you need to think about positioning and branding. What is it that you want to stand for that is unique and different in the market place? Positioning isn't just for big brands - it is for any brand (even your personal brand.

I would definitely recommend this book - it is well worth the read, but I would probably only give it 3.5 stars out of 5. The main reason is that the examples are WAY out of date (the book is 30 years old). The principles still apply today, however it is tough to follow a book that is referencing examples from when I was 2 years old.

I have also read another book by the same authors "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding" and I liked this MUCH more.

So, bottom line: It is a good book, worth a read, solid principles, but out of date. This book is especially relevant if you work for a big company (most of the examples are big company examples), but the principles can also be applied to any business, or your personal brand.
Key Points:

* The position of your brand or business is in the eyes of your prospect or customer. It doesn't matter what you think your business or brand stands for or is about. They key is the perception that your customers have. "Positioning is how you differentiate yourself in the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect."
* Our society is overcommunicated. Even 30 years ago there were so many commercials that you had to really work to break through the noise. "We have become the world's first overcommunicated society. Each year we send more and receive less"
* It is difficult to change minds If your positioning strategy involves changing that people already think you will have a difficult time. The best strategies are congruent with what people already think and set to add or move existing perceptions, not totally change them. Once a mind is made up it is almost impossible to change. The mind accepts only that which matches prior knowledge or experience.
* Create oversimplified messages. You are lucky if people can remember one message and associate it back to your product. Less is more. Oversimplify and stick to a single message. Link one concept to one product.
* Create a category you can win. Define the category differently so that you are the biggest/best/awesomest. It is better to be a big fish in a little pond and then expand the pond. Leadership matters. You have to be #1 or #2.
* Look for the hole. Then fill it. Where is the positioning white space? What are your competitors missing in how they are positioned. What are the customer benefits that are not being addressed or exploited by competitors? Don't fall in to the "everybody" trap. You can't be all things to all people. You will end up being nothing at all.
* 80% of learning takes place through the eyes. Words matter. Especially in the service business. You need to own a phrase. Visualize the words that you are using. The goal is to drive verbal ideas into the mind.
* Isolating a narrow target is usually the first step in finding an effective position. The narrower and better defined target the better. This will help clarify your position.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Much More Than Marketing March 4, 2004

By David Quinn

Format:Paperback

Positioning is the idea that shook Madison Avenue to its core in the 1970s. Ries and Trout published what the high priests of Madison Avenue deemed as heresy. These two upstarts dared to take the voodoo out of marketing - and marketing has not been the same since.

Over the years I have given away countless dozens of Positioning. I have found two types of recipients: (1) Those who view it as a book on marketing, and (2) those who truly "get it."

Positioning is not actually about marketing, though that is its platform. It is about how the human mind works. The principals taught in this book apply across all of our lives - from how we are viewed by our friends to why we affiliate with a particular political party or other social cause. Learning how Positioning works is learning about life.