If you understand the essential brilliance of the concept of an
"uncola" (never mind what they put in it), you understand
positioning. But don't confuse it with image. Image is a man with
an eyepatch in a nice shirt, or Commander Whitehead. And forget
product features, too, say admen Ries and Trout, because even the
better mousetrap and creativity are Nowhere in our
"overcommunicated" society of the Eighties, where the "average"
family watches television seven hours a day. The mind can only take
so much. In advertising today, less is more, and to succeed "a
company must create a position in the prospect's mind." Positioning
can make or break what would otherwise be an also-ran product, and
the key is not to try to beat the leader head-to-head. Instead, the
Ries/Trout theory goes, you find a position: the "against" position
(uncola, Avis as number-2); the size position (Volkswagen, at least
before they fell into the FWMTS trap - "forgot what made them
successful"); the high price position, (Chivas Regal). There are
positioning holes aplenty for an advertiser who's willing to
research the market. Was there a crying need for a "nighttime cold
medicine" or a "feminine" cigarette? Not really, but Nyquil and
Virginia Slims are classics of successful positioning. It works if
you're the leader, too, since nothing beats being there first with
a good product - except being second with as good a product and a
better name (Metrecal was first, but Slender got the sales), unless
you proceed to put that name on a dozen products and forfeit your
former position (Heinz owned the pickle position until it went into
ketchup, too). In the ad agency world, Ries and Trout own the
"positioning" position - they've been pushing the theory in trade
journals since the early Seventies - and although not much here
will be new to advertising professionals, this is a sharp, punchy
introduction for us "prospects." (Kirkus Reviews)
One of the most important communication books Ive 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 customers mind-one that reflects a companys 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 competitions 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.
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