As Al Ries and Jack Trout - the world-renowned marketing consultants and best-selling authors of Positioning - note, you can build an impressive airplane, but it will never leave the ground if you ignore the laws of physics, especially gravity. Why then, they ask, shouldn’t there also be laws of marketing that must be followed to launch and maintain winning brands? In The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Ries and Trout offer a compendium of 22 innovative rules for understanding and succeeding in the international marketplace. From the Law of Leadership, to The Law of the Category, to The Law of the Mind, these valuable insights stand the test of time and present a clear path to successful products. Violate them at your own risk.

Listening Length

3 hours and 6 minutes
Author

Al Ries, see all
Narrator

David Drummond
Audible release date

April 22, 2014
Language

English
Publisher

HarperAudio
ASIN

B00J4O6TO4
Version

Unabridged
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Product details

Listening Length	3 hours and 6 minutes
Author	Al Ries, Jack Trout
Narrator	David Drummond
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	April 22, 2014
Publisher	HarperAudio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00J4O6TO4
Best Sellers Rank	#3,138 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #1 in Multilevel Marketing (Books) #1 in Market Research Business (Books) #5 in International Business (Audible Books & Originals)

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4.6 out of 5

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T Paul Buzan

"Immutable"? Not Quite. But Still Worth a Read.

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2013

Verified Purchase

First published in 1993, "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Al Ries and Jack Trout has become an invaluable resource for both aspiring and established marketers.

And no wonder: This little book is bursting at the spine with powerful, actionable marketing insights.

Take for example Law #4: The Law of Perception.

This law states that "Marketing is not a battle of products, it's a battle of perception." The treatment given to this law - complete with real world examples and strategies for implementing it in your own business - is worth the book's asking price all on its own.

That Ries and Trout offer so many additional marketing "bon mots" to go along with this one only increases the book's value.

Throughout "22 Laws" Ries and Trout challenge commonly held marketing beliefs. They tackle - mercilessly but with a good dose of humor - such sacred cows as line extension, leadership, and - gasp! -- admitting product negatives.

You'll be engaged from one page to the next.

And at just under 150 pages, "22 Laws" is a quick read. Work your way through the book over your morning cup of coffee and start implementing what you've learned after lunch.

Do I have any complaints?

Well, as some other readers have mentioned a fair few of the laws do seem to overlap considerably with others. This wasn't a problem for me. I felt like even those laws that were treading familiar ground offered up enough nuance to justify their inclusion.

My biggest gripe isn't really even the book's fault.

Like all books, "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" is a product of its time. Written nearly two decades ago this poses certain problems for today's reader.

In terms of human behavior, twenty years is nothing. Folks are still looking to products to satisfy their needs for validation, excitement, security - whatever. And the savvy marketer is going to take full advantage of this.

What has changed - and changed dramatically - since 1994 is our available technology.

Ries and Trout couldn't have possibly envisioned the growth of the Internet and the impact it would have on the global marketplace.

As a result, certain laws such as Law #22: The Law of Resources are challenged to the point of irrelevance.

The Law of Resources states that "Without adequate funding an idea won't get off the ground." This is okay in so far as it applies to major companies. If I'm planning to take on Apple in the smartphone market, yes, my coffers had better be plenty deep.

However, in this era of e-commerce, digital distrobution, and social media - to name but a few channels - products can be launched for relatively little. Shoestring budget? Shoestrings have never stretched so far.

More bothersome is Ries and Trout's assertion that "You'll get farther with a mediocre idea and a million dollars than with a great idea."

Thankfully, the advent of the Internet - and Web 2.0 in particular - ensures that this statement is now resoundingly false. Do plenty of crummy products still dominate the market thanks to big budget ad campaings? Absolutely. (I'm looking at you Justin Bieber.)

But it's also never been easier for a product to command market share on its merit alone. If your product is truly special there are all sorts of ways to harness the power of blogs, social media, Amazon reviews, et al to build a receptive audience.

On the other hand, if you release a turd to the market, well, prepare to have folks make a stink about it ... and that's going to cost you.

We the people are the new kingmakers; not the mavens of Madison Avenue.

Even with this caveat on the table, I highly recommend "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing". While I believe "immutable" is stretching it - for some laws more than others - there's more than enough insight on offer in this little book to justify a purchase and close reading.

I look forward to revisiting this book throughout my sales and marketing career.

13 people found this helpful

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Alexa

Book Review

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2014

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The authors wanted this books main objectives to be straight forward. They wanted to clearly list the twenty-two laws that they have come up with to help people avoid making marketing mistakes in the first place. They wanted to open up peoples minds to these marketing laws by being straight forward to their audience and relating and using examples that everyday people know. The authors clearly label each step that is used in marketing with each chapter being each law. The chapters are clear and to the point, with examples and brands that most people know. Ries and Trout may straight forward list these “22 Immutable Laws of Marketing,” but in the entire book they don’t tell you how to apply these to your own business really. This makes me think that they are just trying to market their own book, and the brands that are talked about in it. To quote the book itself, “There us no objective reality. There are no facts. There are no best products. All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of customers or prospect. The perception is the reality. Everything else is an illusion (“Chapter 4”).” The authors may list all of the laws they believe cannot be ignored in marketing, like the laws of leadership, exclusivity, sacrifice, hype and resources to name a few. They then break down each section naming successful and unsuccessful brands and companies that have done each of these ‘laws’ that are unchangeable. They provide a range of topics and ideas to support their reasoning. The book is clearly written for people just starting out in marketing and it goes back to the basics. It is very easy and a fast read. The book may have been written in 1993, but it still has relevant knowledge that can sometimes be over looked by marketers who repeated do the same things. The authors took something that might normally only be broken down into what is known as the “Six P’s of Marketing” and broke Marketing down into twenty-two steps. Some may say this is not needed and drug out, but I think it gives a different outlook on the topic. A quote from the book might explain the either possible love or hate of this book, “When you try to be all things to all people, you inevitably wind up in trouble (“Chapter 12”).” This book, The 22 Immutable laws of Marketing, was a simple read. I enjoyed it and I can take away several things that I did not know before about marketing. The laws might not be ground breaking, but they can be simply overlooked at times.

3 people found this helpful

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Carlos

Excellent Quick Read

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2023

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I took a lot away from this book. It’s well written and short with great insights. My favorite is the Law of Line Extension.

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Andres Urdaneta

Great reading for marketing purpose

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2023

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I love that the rules are presented one by one with examples of known companies. This laws are the basics for brand management.

One person found this helpful

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Fantastic 21st revist of 20th century business strategies.

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2017

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I'd read the book when it was best seller. I recently found it referenced in an interesting context and decided to read it again.

The re-read made me feel like a business strategy time traveler.

This 13-some-year-old book for “Marketing” was written when the Sales, Marketing and Biz Strategy organization was silo'd. The ‘22 Immutable Laws of Marketing’ is once again making its way through academics and biz leaders as common wisdom for the whole modern enterprise. It's a guide book that should be titled "Never Do This!" while hinting at the remarkable strategies that bring us today's top brands.

‘The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing’ is a quick read. The management and strategy job has evolved in interesting ways from this books timeframe. The day of the “Ad Man” fronting your enterprise’s value proposition to customers is over. The “Sale!” is made after a carefully engineered organizational effort. Marketing strategy is a discipline to be trained among everyone that answers an outside phone. Everyone now has a marketing role and here is not a bad place to start spreading the news.

A hugely entertaining element is simply that the reader has been fast forwarded through corporate strategies tried, failed and successful. Lotus 1-2-3, VisiCalc, Amiga, Emery Air vs FedEx, Tandem, Wang ... all without smart phones or vast system networks ... strategy winners and losers make for a forensic business case ... if you've been around awhile, you won't believe the book was written just 15 years ago.

14 people found this helpful

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Felipe C. S. Moitta

Marketing is all about perception

Reviewed in Brazil on August 31, 2015

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1. The Law of Leadership: It's better to be first than it is to be better.

“Regardless of reality, people perceive the first product into the mind as superior. Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products.”

2. The Law of Category: If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.

“Everyone is interested in what’s new. Few people are interested in what’s better.
When you’re the first in a new category, promote the category. In essence, you have no competition.”

3. The Law of the Mind: It’s better to be first in the mind than it is to be first in the marketplace.

“Being first in the marketplace is important only to the extent that it allows you to get in the mind first.”

“If marketing is a battle of perception, not product, then the mind takes precedence over the marketplace.”

4. The Law of Perception: Marketing is not a battle of products, it’s a battle of perception.

“It’s an illusion. There is no objective reality. There are no facts. There are no best products. All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of the customer or prospect. The perception is the reality. Everything else is an illusion.
All truth is relative. Relative to your mind or the mind of another human being. When you say “I’m right and the next person is wrong,” all you’re really saying is that you’re a better perceiver than someone else.”

“Truth and perception become fused in the mind, leaving no difference between the two.”

“Most marketing mistakes stem from the assumption that you’re fighting a product battle rooted in reality. All the laws in this book are derived from the exact opposite point of view.”

“A perception that exists in the mind is often interpreted as a universal truth.”

“What makes the battle even more difficult is that customers frequently make buying decisions based on second-hand perceptions. Instead of using their own perceptions, they base their buying decisions on someone else’s perception of reality. This is the “everybody knows” principle.”

5. The Law of Focus: The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect’s mind.

“The essence of marketing is narrowing the focus. You become stronger when you reduce the scope of your operations.”

“Does any company proclaim itself as the “unquality” corporation? No, everybody stands for quality. As a result, nobody does.
You can’t narrow the focus with quality or any other idea that doesn’t have the proponents for the opposite point of view.”

6. The Law of Exclusivity: Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind.

7. The Law of the Ladder: The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.

“Prospects use their ladders in deciding which information to accept and which information to reject. In general, a mind accepts only new data that is consistent with its product ladder in that category.”

“Then make sure your program deals realistically with your position on the ladder.”

8. The Law of Duality: In the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race.

“The customer believes that marketing is a battle of products. It’s this kind of thinking that keeps the two brands o top: They must be the best, they’re the leaders.”

9. The Law of the Opposite: If you’re shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the ladder.

10. The Law of Division: Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories.

“Categories are dividing, not combining.”

“You can’t get into the prospect’s mind first unless you’re prepared to spend some time waiting for things to develop.”

11. The Law of Perspective: Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time.

“Chemically, alcohol is a strong depressant. But in the short term, by depressing a person’s inhibitions, alcohol acts like a stimulant.
Many marketing moves exhibit the same phenomenon. The long-term effects are often the exact opposite of the short-term effects.”

12. The Law of the Line Extension: There’s an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of a brand.

“When you try to be all things to all people, you inevitably wind up in trouble. ‘I’d rather be strong somewhere, than weak nowhere.”

“But marketing is a battle of perception, not product. In the mind, A-1 is not the brand name, but the steak sauce itself.”

“The antidote for line extension is corporate courage, a commodity in short supply.”

13. The Law of Sacrifice: You have to give up something in order to get something.

“The world of business is populated by big, highly diversified generalists and small, narrowly focused specialists.”

“The target is not the market. That is, the apparent target of your marketing is not the same as the people who will actually buy your product.”

14. The Law of Attributes: For every attribute, there is an opposite, effective attribute.

“Marketing is a battle of ideas. So if you are to succeed, you must have an idea or attribute of your own to focus your efforts around. Without one, you had better have a low price. A very low price.
Some say all attributes are not creates equal. Some attributes are more important to customers than others. You must try and own the most important attribute.”

“You can’t predict the size of a new attribute’s share, so never laugh.”

15. The Law of Candor: When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive.

“First and foremost, candor is very disarming. Every negative statement you make about yourself is instantly accepted as truth. Positive statements, on the other hand, are looked at as dubious at best. Especially in advertisement.”

“The law of candor must be used carefully and with great skill. First, you “negative” must be widely perceived as a negative. It has to trigger an instant agreement with your prospect’s mind. If the negative doesn’t register quickly, your prospect will be confused and will wonder, ‘What’s this all about?’
Next, you have to shift quickly to the positive. The purpose of candor isn’t to apologize. The purpose of candor is to set up a benefit that will convince your prospect.
This law proves the old maxim: Honesty is the best policy.”

16. The Law of Singularity: In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.

“Trying harder is not the secret of marketing success.”

“History teaches that the only thing that works in marketing is the single, bold stroke. Furthermore, in any give situation there is only one move that will produce substantial results.”

17. The Law of Unpredictability: Unless you write your competitors’ plans, you can’t predict the future.

“The danger in working with trends is extrapolation. Many companies jump to conclusions about how far a trend will go.”

“No one can predict the future with any degree of certainty. Nor should marketing plans try to.”

18. The Law of Success: Success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure.

“Ego is the enemy of successful marketing. Objectivity is what’s needed.”

“The name didn’t make the brand famous (although a bad name might keep the brand from becoming famous). The brand got famous because you made the right marketing moves.”

“Brilliant marketers have the ability to think like a prospect thinks. They put themselves in the shoes of their customers.”

“The bigger the company, the more likely it is that the chief executive has lost touch with the front lines. This might be the single most important factor limiting the growth of a corporation. (…) Marketing is war,”

19. The Law of Failure: Failure is to be expected and accepted.

“Too many companies try to fiz things rather than drop things.”

“Marketing decisions are often made first with the decision maker’s career in mind and second with the impact on the competition or the enemy in mind. There is a built-in conflict between the personal and the corporate agenda.”

20. The Law of Hype: The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press.

21. The Law of Acceleration: Successful programs are not built on fads, they’re built on trends.

“A fad is a wave in the ocean, and a trend is the tide. A fad gets lot of hype, and a trend gets very little.”

“The most successful entertainers are the ones who control their appearances. They don’t overextend themselves.”

“One way to maintain a long-term demand for your product is to never totally satisfy the demand.”

22. The Law of Resources: Without adequate funding an idea won’t get off the ground.

“You’ll get further with a mediocre idea an a million dollars than with a great idea alone.”

7 people found this helpful

Nitin Bhatia

a good read full of relatable examples

Reviewed in India on September 9, 2023

Verified Purchase

A must read for all especially every business owner and strategist. It’s helped me understand basics of marketing through simplistic thinking.

Neha

As expected

Reviewed in India on July 26, 2023

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I ordered the paperback cover book. It is in good condition and really helpful book👍

ranjupaulson

A good introduction to marketing.

Reviewed in India on July 7, 2023

Verified Purchase

I had no idea about marketing; and this small book has taught me some basic principles of marketing. As the language was plain, I did not have any trouble in assimilating the ideas.

Shishir Kulkarni

Good

Reviewed in India on April 28, 2023

Verified Purchase

Good book ...some good marketing things written..but these laws are just for big business..not for small scale..2 3 things can relates for small scale...but nice book

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