EXECUTIVESUMMARY

Marketingwarfareisatermusedtodescribesomeofthetechniquesandtactics
marketeersuseintheireverydaylanguage.Therearetwotypesofforceabusinesscan
useagainstit'scompetition.Thefirstisoffensiveattackandthesecondisdefensive
attack.
Frontalattack,Flanking,Encirclement,BypassandGuerillawarfarearesome
examplesofanoffensivemarketingwarfarestrategy.Whenusingtheoffensivestrategy
itisimportanttorememberthreeimportantprinciples:1.Themainconsiderationisthe
strengthoftheleader'sposition.2.Findaweaknessintheleader'sstrengthandattackat
thatpoint.3.Launchtheattackonasnarrowafrontaspossible(Ries,1986).
Defensivemarketingwarfareinvolvesemployingthosetacticsandstrategiesto
maintainthemarketshareacompanyhasalreadyachieved.Therearethreeimportant
guidelinestorememberindefensivemarketingwarfare:1.Onlythemarketleader
shouldconsiderplayingdefense.2.Thebestdefensivestrategyisthecouragetoattack
yourself.3.Strongcompetitivemovesshouldalwaysbeblocked(Ries,1986).
Someexamplesofcurrentmarketingwarfarecanbeseeninthecola,beerand
burgerwars.Throughobservingthesemarketsegments,amarketercanseemarketing
warfareinaction.
Allinall,marketingwarfareissomethingeachmarketerwillexperienceinhis
marketingcareer.Inordertobeasuccessfulmarketeritisimportanttohaveacomplete
understandinghowtowinthemarketingwar.
MARKETINGWARFARE
INTRODUCTION
MarketingWarfareisatermusedtodescribesomeofthetechniquesandtactics
marketeersuseintheireverydaylanguage.First,therearetwotypesofforceabusiness
canuseagainstit'scompetition.Thefirstisoffensiveattackandthesecondisdefensive
attack.Beforeapersoncanunderstandtheconceptofmarketingwarfaretheymust
understandthetermswhichareassociatedwiththistypeofmarketingstrategy.
Theideasbehindattackanddefendaretwoverydifferentideas.Attackbasically
meanstoseekmorethanonehas,moreovertotakewhatsomeoneelsepossesses(Kotler,
1981).Defensemeanstoprotectwhatonehasalreadyacquired.
OFFENSIVEMARKETINGWARFARE
Frontalattack,Flanking,Encirclement,BypassandGuerillawarfarearesome
examplesofoffensivestrategy.Whenusingtheoffensivestrategyinmarketingwarfare,
AlRiesandJackTroutsuggestthreeoffensiveprincipleswhichinclude:1.Themain
considerationisthestrengthoftheleaders'sposition.2.Findaweaknessintheleader's
strengthandattackatthatpoint.3.Launchtheattackonasnarrowafrontaspossible
(Ries,1986).
FRONTALATTACK

Frontalattackoccurswhenacompanytakesalloftheirforcesandfacethem
directlyoppositeoftheopponent(Kotler,1981).Inordertobesuccessfulwiththistype
ofanattack,statisticsshowthatafactoroffivetooneisneededforasuccessfulfrontal
attack(Kotler1981).Forexample,inthe1970'sthreeelectronicgiantstriedtoattack
IBMheadonagainsttheirstrongholdonthemainframecomputermarket(Kotler,1981).
EachelectroniccorporationfailedbecausetheyusedapurefrontalattackagainstIBM's
massivestronghold.
Therearemanytypesoffrontalattacksincluding:apurefrontalattack,alimited
frontalattack,pricebasedfrontalattack,andresearchanddevelopmentbasedfrontal
attack(Kotler,1985).Apurefrontalattackinvolvesmatchingacompetitorsproductin
allareasofmarketing(Kotler,1985).Theproductismatchedpriceversusprice,
promotionversuspromotion,characteristicversuscharacteristicandsoon.Basically,a
purefrontalattackistakinga"lookalike"or"metoo"strategy(Kotler,1985).When
usingapurefrontalattack,companiesshouldbepreparedtoexpendlargesumsof
money.
Thenexttypeoffrontalattackisthelimitedfrontalattack.Alimitedfrontal
attackfocusesonspecificcustomersandtriestolurethemawayfromcompetitors
(Kotler,1985).Oneexampleofalimitedfrontalattackmayoccurwhenanewproduct
entersthemarketsuchasanewtypeofpaint.Thepaintcompanywouldpursueaselect
numberoftheircompetitor'scustomersandbringtheminonawholenumberofproduct
dimensionssimultaneously(Kotler,1985).
Anothertypeoffrontalattackisthepricebasedfrontalattack.Inpricedbased
frontalattack,theaggressorfocusesmainlyonthepriceofaproducttogainmore
customers.Everyproductcharacteristicismatched;however,thecompetitionbeatshis
competitoronprice(Kotler,1985).
Finally,researchanddesignisafourthtypeoffrontalattack.Thisisamore
difficulttypeofattacktoemploy.Thecompetitortriestoreduceproductioncosts,
improvetheproduct,andothercharacteristicswhichwouldenhanceproductvalue
(Kotler,1985).Withthistypeofattack,morecreativeideasareimplementedwhich
allowforabetterproduct.
Therearethreeconditionsthatneedtobemetbyafirmbeforeitembarksina
frontalattack(Kotler,1985).First,thefirmneedsanadequateamountofresourcesto
supporttheattack(Kotler,1985).Second,thefirmmustbeabletocreateandsustaina
competitiveadvantageoverit'scompetitors(Kotler,1985).Finally,thecompanymustbe
abletopersuadetheircompetitor'scustomerstotrytheirproductandbecometheirloyal
customer.Inthefrontalattack,itisimportantthateveryoneinthefirmandthosewho
purchasetheproductperceiveacompetitiveadvantage(Kotler,1985).
FLANKINGMARKETINGWARFARE
Asecondtypeofoffensivestrategyistheflankingstrategy.Inaflanking
strategy,acompanyfocusesit'sforcesontheweakersidesofit'scompetitor(Kotler
1981).ThreeprinciplesofflankingwarfarearementionedinAlRiesandJackTrout's
book,MarketingWarfare.Theseprinciplesare:1.Agoodflankingmovemustbemade
inanuncontestedarea.2.Tacticalsurpriseoughttobeanimportantelementoftheplan,

and3.Thepursuitisascriticalastheattackitself(Ries,1986).Usuallythisoffensive
strategyisusedbyacompanythatdoesnothaveoverwhelmingsuperiority,butmay
haveanadvantageinoneparticulararea.Forexample,inthemid1970'sXeroxowned
eightyeightpercentoftheplainpapercopiermarket;however,almosttenyearslaterthe
JapanesebasedCanonCopiertookoverhalfofXerox'smarket(Kotler1981).Themain
reasonCanontookoversuchalargeportionofXerox'smarketwasbyuseoftheflanking
strategy.CanonfocusedonthesmallsizecopiermarketthatcouldnotaffordXerox's
largercopiers.Thisattackwassuccessfulbecauseitputtheattackersstrengthagainstthe
defendersweakness(Kotler1981).
Therearetwotypesofflankingstrategy;GeographicalandSegmentedflanking
(Kotler,1985).Geographicalflankingoccurswhenafirmattacksdifferentareaswithin
theworldorcountrywherecompetitorsarenonexistentornotverystrong(Kotler,1985).
TheCocaColaCompanyusesthistypeofmarketingstrategy.WhenIinterviewedAnna
Whaley,Directorofworldwidemarketingandsales,shesaidamajorityofCocaCola's
profitswillcomefromtheinternationalareaswherecompetitionisnotasfierce.
Asecondtypeofflankinginvolvesidentifyingmarketareasorneedsnotbeing
servedbycompetitorswithinageographicalarea(Kotler,1985).Segmentedflanking
potentiallycanbemorepowerfulthangeographicalflankingattacksbecausetheysatisfy
marketneedsthecompetitorhasignored(Kotler,1985).TheJapanesehaveused
segmentedflankingwhenenteringtheUnitedStatesmarket(Kotler1985).Theybrought
productsthatweredifferentandaimedthematneglectedmarketsegments(Kotler,1985).
Theseproductsweresmallerorstrippeddownversionsofestablishedproducts,andthey
hadmorefeaturesforthesameorlowerprice(Kotler,1985).Theoverallideaof
flankingstrategyistobringabroadercoverageofamarketsvariedneeds(Kotler,1981).
MARKETINGWARFARETHROUGHENCIRCLEMENT
Encirclementisathirdtypeofoffensivestrategy.Whenusingthistypeof
strategyacompanymusthavesuperiorityinallareas.Encirclementattacksthe
competitorfromallsidessimultaneously(Kotler,1981).Aratiooftentooneisneeded
toemploythistypeofstrategy(Kotler,1981).Thebasicideaofencirclementistoforce
thecompetitortoprotecttheirproductfromallsides.Forexample,SmirnoffVodkaused
encirclementstrategywhenanotherproductwasintroducedandpositioneditselfdirectly
againstSmirnoff,butatalowerprice(Kotler,1981).Smirnoffcounterattackedbyfirst
raisingit'sprices,whichpreservedtheirqualityimage.Afterraisingtheirprices,they
introducedanotherbrand,marketeditatthesamepriceasthecompetition,and
introducedanotherbrandatalowerprice(Kotler,1981).
Therearetwotypesofencirclementstrategy:productencirclementandmarket
encirclement(Kotler,1985).Productencirclementintroducesproductswithmany
differentqualities,styles,andfeaturesthatoverwhelmthecompetition'sproductline
(Kotler,1985).ManyJapanesefirmshaveencircledU.S.productssuchastelevisions,
radios,handheldcalculators,watches,andstereoequipment(Kotler,1985).Market
encirclementgoesbeyondtheenduser,andfocusesonthedistributionchannels(Kotler,
1985).Seikoisoneexampleofmarketencirclement.Bygainingeveryavailable
distributionchannelforwatches,Seikotookoverasmuchshelfspaceaspossible(Kotler,

1985).Therearesomeriskstobeawareofwhenemployingtheencirclementstrategy.
Havingthesubstantialresourcesandorganizationalcommitmentaretwofactorsneeded
beforeusingencirclementstrategy.Becauseitisnecessarytohavethesetwo
requirements;winningabattlethroughencirclementtakesagreatdealoftime.
MARKETINGWARFARETHROUGHBYPASS
Afourthtypeofoffensivestrategyinvolvesthebypass.Abypassattackwinsthe
battlethroughattackingareasnotdefended(Kotler,1981).WhenColgatePalmolive
triedtoenterthenonwoventextilesandhealthcarebusiness,itdidnothavetofight
ProcterandGamble'sstrengthsbecausetheyusedthebypassstrategy(Kotler,1981).
Therearebasicallythreetypesofbypassstrategy:developnewproducts,
diversifyintounrelatedproducts,andexpandintonewgeographicalmarketsforexisting
products(Kotler,1981).Developingnewproductsisafairlyeasilyunderstoodbypass
method.Ratherthancopyingtheleader,thecompetitorcreatesentirelynewproducts
thusgainingalargermarketshareofuntappedcustomers.
Diversifyingintounrelatedproductsisasecondtypeofbypassstrategy.Rather
thanremaininginasingleindustrybusinessthefirmwillventureoutintoproductlines
thataredifferentfromtheironesingleproduct.Sonyhasemployedthisbypassstrategy
throughenteringtherestaurantandconstructionbusiness(Kotler,1985).
Onereasoncompaniesmayusethebypassstrategyisthelargeamountof
congestioninthecompetitivebattleground(Kotler,1985).Forexample,ifacompany
producesanewproduct,thecompanybasicallymovesthenewproducttoanewlevel
withinthesameproductmarketarea(Kotler,1985).Movingintodigitalandelectronic
watchesmaybypassthemechanicalwatchmarket;however,thecompanyisstillfighting
forapositionwithinthewatchindustry(Kotler,1985).Conversely,movementintoan
entirelynewgeographicalmarketusuallyallowsacompanytobypasscompetitors
completely.
GUERILLAMARKETINGWARFARE
Afinaltypeofoffensivewarfareisguerillawarfare.Someoftheprinciplesthat
canbeusedwhendeterminingwhentouseguerrillawarfarearethefollowing:1.Finda
segmentofthemarketsmallenoughtodefend,2.Nomatterhowsuccessfulyoubecome,
neveractliketheleader,and3.Bepreparedtobugoutatamoment'snotice(Ries,1986).
Guerillawarfarebasicallyinvolveswinningsmallvictoriesthatcanovertimeamountto
alargegaininmarketshare(Kotler,1981).Thisattackworksbecauseitisvery
unconventionalwhichmakesitdifficultforthedefendertocounterattack,andbecause
theyareaimedatsmall,weak,andunprotectedmarketpositions(Kotler,1981).
OneexampleofguerillawarfareoccurredwhenIBMwonalawsuitagainst
HitachionthegroundsthatHitachistoleIBMsoftware.BecauseIBMwonthissmall
battle,Japanesecomputermanufacturershadtobecomedefensivebyinvestinglarge
sumsofmoneyintoscarcesoftwareresearchanddevelopmentpersonnelwhohadtore
writeoldprogramsanddevelopnewprogramswhichdidnotinterferewithIBM's
intellectualpropertyrights(Kotler,1981).ThistypeofguerillawarfarepushedJapanese
computermakersbackmanyyears.

Guerillastrategyisusuallyimplementedbycompanieswhoaresmallerinmarket
positionandresourcebasethanthefirmtheyattack.Thisstrategyhasusuallybeenused
bytheJapaneseonU.S.firmswhichhavecausedalargedrainontheresourcesusedby
theU.S.firms(Kotler,1985).
DEFENSIVEMARKETINGWARFARE
Defensivemarketingstrategyinvolvesemployingthosetacticsandstrategiesto
maintainthemarketshareacompanyhasalreadyachieved.Therearemanywaysa
companycanmaintainit'smarketshare.Someimportantguidelinesindefensive
marketingwarfareare:1.Onlythemarketleadershouldconsiderplayingdefense,2.
Thebestdefensivestrategyisthecouragetoattackyourself,and3.Strongcompetitive
movesshouldalwaysbeblocked(Ries,1986).Fortification,counterattack,mobile
defense,strategicretreatandpositiondefensearefivetechniquesacompanycanuseina
defensivestrategy.
FORTIFICATIONMARKETINGWARFARE
First,fortificationisbasedontheconceptoftheprotectedfort(Kotler,1981).
Theideaistohaveeveryareaofthecompanyorproductprotectedleavingno
weaknessesfortheattackertoexploit(Kotler,1981).Oneexampleofmarket
fortificationiswithinGeneralFoodscoffeebusiness.GeneralFoodshasentriesin
physical,price,andperceptualpositionsinthemarketplace(Kotler,1981).From
decaffeinatedcoffeestopremiumbrands,GeneralFoodshascompletecoverageofthe
market.Becauseofsuchmarketdomination,othercompetitorshavefewunservedor
poorlyservedmarketstoattack(Kotler,1981).
Thistypeofdefensecanberisky.Apurepositiondefensepresumeslittlechange
intheproductmarketortheindustry(Kotler,1985).Itisimportantwhenusingthistype
ofdefensetomovetheproductwiththechangingtechnologiesandmarketevolutionor
elsetheproductcanbecomeoutdatedorevenloseit'smarketability.
COUNTERATTACK
Counterattackisasecondtypeofdefensivestrategy.Acounterattackexploitsthe
competitor'sweaknesseswhereitmayinvolveanattackonadefendedterrain(Duro,
1987).Thistypeofdefenseallowstheattackertomoveinandthedefendercapitalizes
ontheattackersmistakes(Duro,1987).Onemethodofcounterattackistoaimthe
counterattackatthecompetitorssourceofcash(Kotler,1981).Therearetwowaysa
counterattackcansucceed:1.Cutofftheaggressor'scashsupplyand2.Throughthe
counterattackthecounterattackergainsbecausetheattackercannotdefendandattack
simultaneously(kotler,1981).
MARKETINGWARFARETHROUGHMOBILEDEFENSE
Athirdtypeofmarketingwarfareinvolvesmobiledefense.Mobiledefense
occurswhenthereisahighdegreeofmobilityinthedefensewhichpreventstheattacker
fromlocalizingandgainingforcesforabattle(Duro,1987).Thebasicideaofamobile
defenseistoavoidholdingunnecessaryground.Oneexampleofmobiledefensecamein
1977whentheJapanesewentbeyondthenarrowtelevisionreceiveranproducedvideo

cassetterecordersandtapes(Kotler,1985).TheJapanesedidnotlimittheirmobile
defensetojustproductstheyalsousedmobiledefenseintheirmanufacturingstrategy
(Kotler1985).RatherthankeepingthemanufacturingplantsinJapantheyalso
broadenedtheiroperationstooffshorefacilitiesinMexicoandtheFarEast(kotler,
1985).Becauseoftheirmobilitytheyhavefoundlowerlaborcosts,andnewmarkets
(kotler,1985).
STRATEGICRETREAT
Strategicretreatisfourthtypeofdefensivestrategy.Thebestwaytodescribe
strategicretreatisthroughanexampleofwhatChryslerCorporationdidtodefendtheir
company.ChryslerhadjustbeentakenoverbyLeeIacoccain1978wenthesecondoil
priceshockhitinthebeginningof1979.WithalltheproblemsfacingChrysler,Iacocca
hadtousestrategicretreatinordertosavethecompany.Iacoccacuthissalaryfrom
$360,000toonedollar,hecutsalariesofhigherofficialtenpercent,andhecut
stockholdingsinallareas.Ratherthanmakingdeliveriesonexpensivefreighttrains,he
turnedtodeliveriesbytruck,andusedasimpleblackandwhiteannualreport.Iacocca
soldoffmanyoftheplantsChryslercouldnotaffordtooperate,andwithinthreeyears
Chryslerhaddroppedthebreakevenpointfrom$2.3millionto$1.1milliondollars
(Duro,1987).
MARKETINGWARFARETHROUGHPOSITIONDEFENSE
Afifthandfinaltypeofdefensivemarketingstrategyispositiondefense.
Positiondefenseusesallofacompany'sresourcestoconsolidateone'spositionwithinthe
existingmarketsegment(Duro,1987).Thistypeofdefenseusuallyoccursunderstiff
competitionormajorstructuralchanges,i.e.thedropinoilconsumption(Duro,1987).
Basicallypositiondefensemeansstayingwiththeproductorserviceacompanyknows
bestandavoidingthetemptationofdiversification.
CURRENTMARKETINGWARFARE
Someexamplesofcurrentmarketingwarfareincludethecolawars,thebeerwars
andtheburgerwars.InAlRiesandJackTrout'sbooktheydividemarketingwarfareinto
fourprinciples.ThesefourprinciplesaddressedinMarketingWarfareinclude:Principles
offlankingmarketingwarfare,Principlesofguerillamarketingwarfare,andthe
principlesofdefensiveandoffensivemarketingwarfare(Ries,1986).Inthefollowing
sectionsofthisreporteachofthecurrentmarketingwarfarebattleswillbeanalyzed
throughtheseprinciples.
MARKETINGWARFAREINTHECOLAWARS
First,inthecolawars,CocaColatheonehundredyearoldsoftdrink,didnothave
anycompetitionuntilPepsicameoutwiththetwelveouncebottlethatsoldforthesame
nickelthatbought6.5ouncesofCocaCola(Ries,1986).Becauseoftheadvertising
schemeusedbyPepsi,CocaColawasonthespot.CocaColahadspent$15million
dollarsonadvertisingandPepsijust$600,000.Theconsumerwentforquantityrather
thanquality(Ries,(1986).Iftheyincreasedquantity,CocaColawasleftwithabillion

6.5ouncebottles,andhundredsofthousandsofnickelsoftdrinkmachines(Ries,1986).
Pepsihadcreatedasuccessfulflankingattackwhichturnedintoanoffensiveattack
againsttheheartofCocaCola'sstrength(Ries,1986).Pepsihadusedoffensiveprinciple
numbertwowhichwas:findaweaknessintheleader'sstrengthandattackatthatpoint.
AmoremoderndayexperienceofmarketingwarfareoccurredwhenCokeintroduced
newCoke,oneofthebiggestmarketingblundersofthecentury.Aftermanyyearsof
beingaleader,CocaColadidsomethingaleadershouldneverdochangetheirformula
tomatchthesweetnessofPepsiCola(Ries,1986).Cokehadunderminedtheirown
position(Ries,1986).OnekeylearnedfromCocaCola'smistakewasthatperceptionis
reality.BecauseCocaColahadundermined"therealthing"consumersperceptionwas
thatnothingcouldtastebetterthanthe"realthing";thus,Cokethrewintthetowelandre
introducedClassicCoke(Ries,1986).
MARKETINGWARFAREINTHEBEERWARS
Anotherexampleofthecurrentstateofmarketingwarfareisoccurringinthe
famousbeerwars.Consumersarebombardeddailywithcommercialsand
advertisementsaboutwhohasthebestbeer.Oneexampleofmarketingwarfareoccurred
whenimportedbeerwasfirstintroducedintotheUnitedStates.Heinekenwasan
importedbeerandthatwasit'sstrength;however,itwasimportedfromHolland(Ries,
1986).Lowenbreauwasthesecondimportedbeerandtheycouldhaveusedoffensive
principlenumberthreeagainstHeinken.Offensiveprinciplenumberthreestates:
Launchtheattackonasnarrowafrontaspossible(Ries,1986).Lowenbraucouldhave
launchedanattackagainstHeniken.BeingfromHollandacountryfamousfor
windmills,cheese,andcanals,theperceptionofthemarketwasstrongerforLowenbrau
becauseitwasimportedfromGermany(Ries,1986).Today,asmarketers,weare
constantlyfightingabattlewithintheconsumersmindwhichisconsumerperception.
MARKETINGWARFAREINTHEBURGERWARS
Guerillaprinciplenumberone:pickasegmentofthemarketthatissmallenough
todefend(Ries,1986).ThisiswhatMcDonald'shasdoneintheirattackintheburger
war.UpuntilthebirthofMcDonald'stherehadbeencoffeeshopsallacrossAmerica
famousfordifferentdelicacies.Ratherthantryingtocombateachtypeofdelicacy,
McDonald'schosetospecializeinthehamburger.Becauseoftheirstrictstandardsto
cleanliness,procedures,andcontinuity,McDonald'shasremainedtheleaderoftheburger
warfromit'sstart(Ries,1986).
EventhoughtheiruniformitywasamajorstrengthofMcDonald'sitwasalsoa
weakness.BurgerKing,thesecondfastestgrowingfoodchaintookonoffensive
principlenumber2:findaweaknessintheleader'sstrengthandattackatthatpoint(Ries,
1986).BurgerKingdidjustthat,theypinpointedtheseamwhichheldMcDonald's
strengthtogetherandtheyhitithard.BurgerKingfocusedtheiradvertisingon"Haveit
yourway"(Ries,1986).McDonald'swassqueezedandBurgerKing'ssalesincreased
withthismaneuver(Ries,1986).
CONCLUSION

Inconclusion,Marketingwarfarewillcontinuetobeanintegralpartofthe
marketingworld.Eachprinciplediscussedintheabovepaperwillaidacompanyin
waysitcanbecomemorecompetitive.Itisimportantforcompaniestoemployoffensive
anddefensivetacticswhennecessary.Throughmonitoringcompetitionacompanywill
knowwhentousetheappropriatewarfaretechniquestobesuccessfulinthemarketing
arena.