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Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind Paperback – February 1, 1993

by Al Ries (Author), Jack Trout (Author)

307 customer reviews

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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.

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Product details

Paperback: 213 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Pub; Reissue edition (February 1, 1993)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780446347945
ISBN-13: 978-0446347945
ASIN: 0446347949
Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 307 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #817,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #144 in Books > Business & Money > Marketing & Sales > Marketing > Product Management
- #1590 in Books > Business & Money > Marketing & Sales > Advertising

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Oliver Gray

Great book, even more applicable in 2017 than it probably was in 1978

November 5, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Great overview for those new to marketing, but fair warning, it was published in 1978, so a lot of the references feel dated (especially related to technology).

Still some very applicable ideas for positioning your product or service in the minds of people already overloaded with advertising stimuli. Must read for anyone in a marketing role.

3 people found this helpful4 people found this helpful

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Abi Noda

A must-read for marketers and entrepreneurs

January 27, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Positioning is about how to define your product or entity in an optimal way so as to differentiate it from competitors and drive preferential purchase or use. Ries and Trout argue that positioning has become especially critical for marketers as our society has become increasingly overburdened with communication and advertisements.

I wish I could go back in time after having read this book -- Positioning gave me numerous epiphanies related to companies I have started or worked for. Positioning is a must-read for anyone who works in marketing or business, especially those launching a new product or struggling to hit stride with an existing product.

The book hammers home the point that the only reality that matters with is the perception of your customers. It's the prospect's world-view and interpretation of your product that counts, not yours. And although this book contains outdated examples as it was published over 30 years ago, I didn't feel that this detracted from the core content. Rather, the authors' prophetic and timeless concepts helped reinforce their arguments. Overall, this book helped me move along the path towards critically understanding and evaluating positioning strategies.

My primary criticism of this book is that while Ries and Trout provide a highly practical explanation of how and when to use line extensions, I did not feel as well-armed with practical methodologies for positioning in general. Other than semantic differential, no research strategies or exercises were provided for defining the positioning of an entity. I was somewhat able to fill this gap with material I found online published by Roger Straus. In particular I would recommend looking up Straus's "triangular" strategy, which incorporates rational, affective and relational positioning, to be a great supplement to Positioning.

6 people found this helpful7 people found this helpful

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Alan Lattanner

Relevant, Practical and Valuable

April 29, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is an outstanding book of high value to anyone trying to stand out from the crowd. The theme is that we are all marketers trying to communicate our message in the most effective manner and that there is a better way.

The authors coined the term "positioning" and first wrote about it in a 1972 article in Advertising Age. "Positioning is the first body of thought that comes to grips with the problem of getting heard in an overcommunicated society," they say. It is perhaps even more relevant today given the orders-of-magnitude increase in messaging of all types where only the tiniest fraction is relevant to any one person.

Developed largely around big-company advertising, positioning is broadly applicable to entrepreneurs, small business, job seekers, career professionals and lonely people as well as corporations and institutions. How can this be? Don't we live in a society of rapid obsolescence where yesterday's news is virtually irrelevant? The reason is psychology.

Positioning is based on how people think, how they evaluate, how they compare, how they prioritize and how they select. These are nearly timeless processes deeply embedded in the human mind. Ries and Trout show you how to hook your message into the subconscious mind of your prospects. In another book Ries defines a brand as "a singular idea you own inside the mind of your prospect." The methods described in this book help you craft that brand message for maximum effectiveness.

This book is very well organized. The Table of Contents includes one-sentence chapter summaries so you can quickly jump to material that is relevant to your situation. They cover "Positioning of a Leader," "Positioning of a Follower," and "The Power of a Name." Example positioning exercises include "Positioning of a Company," "Positioning of a Country," "Positioning of a Product," "Positioning of a Service," and "Positioning of a Ski Resort" among several others. For the individual seeking a job or trying to advance a career there is "Positioning Yourself and Your Career." For the small business person and entrepreneur there is "Positioning Your Business" and "Playing the Positioning Game." This is not only for marketing professionals.

Some reviewers find the examples outdated. I challenge them to use those examples as a starting point to find companies today whose success is based on excellent positioning (e.g. LinkedIn: Business Networking; Tesla Motors: High-Performance Electric Cars; Starbucks: Social Coffee). The process and the beneficial results have not changed over time.

I rate this a 5 star book for thought-provoking content, broad appeal, and excellent organization.

3 people found this helpful4 people found this helpful

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PDA

Excellent and Applicable

November 27, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The principles in this book are excellent and applicable even at the lowest level of single individual proprietorship small business. Recommended reading for any one, even a part timer, small business. You should also add 'The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing' and 'The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding' and make it a set.

I give this book only four stars because: a) toward the last quarter of the book he parsed into separate categories several 'principles' that were really just a single principle and I got the feeling he was just trying to make the book seem more 'rich with information'; b) this information is thirty to thirty five years old (1980,s) and the examples show it. It needed to be updated - it was published 2001; c) some of the predictions in the book were way off. After thirty five years or so, they now know what really happened and should have explained the reasons, thus adding to real 'richness of information'.

Nevertheless, the principles are sound, well tested, and applicable (with some good judgement when doing so).

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

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