Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

Al Ries Jack Trout

REVIEW NIKHIL ALWAL
MMS A-01
BATCH 2015-17
Published by

Synopsis
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.
BRIEF SUMMARY
Today, communication itself is the problem. Jack Trout and Al Ries believe our world has
become over-communicated (more obvious to us today considering the book was written in the
late 1970s) and that we receive more Information than we give. A persons mind can only take so
much information and it blocks out everything that is not important or relevant. The authors
define positioning as what you do to the mind of the prospect and not what you do to a product.
Positioning is the new approach to communication where the goal is to position the product in
the mind of the prospect.
The volume of communication will determine whether your message will come through to the prospect
or not. We have to consider that so little of your message is going to get through anyway. In
communication less is more. The most important thing to remember is to focus on the prospect rather
than the product, as a result you turn the process around and you simplify the selection process.
In todays over-communicated world people have learned to rank brands or companies on a series of
ladders in the mind. For example, when you think of the car rental industry some people might put Hertz
on top of the ladder, Avis second and National in third. In this chapter Ries and Trout provide us with a
great example which they call the uncola position about 7-Up. This strategy was brilliant in linking the
product to what was already in the mind of the prospect, the uncola position established 7-Up as an
alternative to a cola drink. Too many companies would have taken on the big guys head on and lost.
The authors discuss the importance of being first in an industry with the highest market share. Once you
get to the top its much easier to maintain that lead and stay there compared to how you got there. At the
same time being number one in the industry does not mean you should act big-headed about it because
that will only make your company come across as insecure and you will end up losing the position you
had. Other leading industries do not understand that the power of the organization is derived from the
power of the product and not the power of the organization. The power of the product is very

underestimated and in many cases wrongfully viewed in many industries. When a company introduces a
radically new concept you have to get away from the mindset of lets wait and see but instead try to
cover this move in order to be out in front.
A name is a lot more powerful than what many people think and even realize. People make assumptions
of what to believe about someone or something just by hearing a name. For example, take Cyril and John.
Studies from psychologist David Sheppard show that people expect a Cyril to be sneaky and a John
trustworthy. Take the airline industry; the four largest domestic carriers are United Airlines, American
Airlines, Trans World Airlines, and Eastern Airlines. The airline that is consistently ranked four on
passenger surveys is Eastern Airlines. Eastern has a regional name, compared to bigger names like
American and United, which puts them in a different position in the prospects mind. In other cases you
can just be unlucky such as how Goodrich was defeated to a larger company Goodyear. The names were
too similar and Goodrich didnt have a chance because Goodyear was bigger and more recognized in the
prospects mind.

when line extensions can work instead of creating a new brand.

The authors came up with five reasons on when to use line extensions:
1.

Expected Volume Small-Volume products should.

2.

Competition In a crowded field (market), it should.

3.

Advertising support Small-budget brands should.

4.

Significance Commodity products should such as chemicals should.

5.

Distribution Items sold by sales reps should.

Positioning can also be used to promote a person and not just a product or company.
The first horse to ride is your company Find a growing company that is going somewhere, such
as tomorrow-type products like computers, electronics, optics, and communications.
2. The second horse to ride is your boss Ask the same question about your boss as you asked
yourself about your company. Is he going anywhere? If he is, then chances are good that you are
too.
3. The third horse to ride is your friend Try to make as many friends as you can outside your
own organization, and you will greater chances of getting a big, rewarding job.
4. The fourth horse to ride is an idea Dont be afraid of conflict and be willing to go against
the tide in order to come up with new idea.

5.

The first horse to ride is faith Try to go outside of yourself in order to find fortune.

6. The sixth horse to ride is yourself The most difficult horse to ride is yourself. Its not easy
to succeed in life or business by yourself. To succeed you have to understand that business is as
much cooperation as competition.
Six Steps to Success
What position do you own?
2.

What position do you want to own?

3.

Whom must you outgun?

4.

Do you have enough money?

5.

Can you stick it out?

6.

Do you match your position?

CONCLUSION

what you need to do to be successful at positioning. First of all you need to have the right mental
attitude and become an outside-in thinker rather than an inside-out thinker. This requires
patience, courage and strength of character. Further, you have to use words in a right way in
order to trigger the meanings which are buried in the mind.