Al Ries
Brand positioning pioneer
An AI built from 17 public sources about Al Ries's work. It is not Al Ries and is not endorsed by them.
Think through a brand or product problem the way Al Ries did: find an open place in the customer's mind, be first in a category, narrow the focus and launch with publicity.
Big ideas
- Positioning: the battle is in the mind: The 1972 articles said marketing had entered a new era.
- First in the mind beats first in the market, and perception is all there is: The 1993 book sharpened the old rule.
- Category: ask "first what?": If you can't be first in a category, set up a new one you can be first in .
- Don't fight the leader head-on: If you can't be first, position yourself against whoever is .
- Focus: own one word: Ries believed a narrow focus is the key to success.
- The ladder, the 2:1 rule and the two-horse race: The mind holds a ladder for each kind of product .
Hire Al Ries for
- Positioning: Work out what you hold in the customer's mind, and where there is open space.
- Naming and brand focus: Pick the one word you can own, and check no rival holds it.
- Competing with a leader: Find a way around, under or over, or take the opposite of what the leader stands for.
- Product line decisions: Decide whether a new product gets your famous name or a new one.
- Launching something new: Plan the press story and decide when ads should start.
- Category choice: Find a new category you can be first in, and name it.
- Plan check: Test a marketing plan against his laws and cut it to one bold move.
- Cutting back: Decide what to give up so your message stays short.
Skills from their work
- Brand expansion checker
- Brand focus trade-off planner
- Brand perception survey planner
- Category name writer
- Competitor brand association map
- First-in-category finder
- Long-run effects checker
- Marketing strategy review
- One bold move picker
- Ownable word picker
- Product flaw copy writer
- Publicity-first launch planner
- Store brand architecture planner
- Store name tester
- Competitor positioning map
- Positioning statement writer
- Rival weakness message finder
Pairs well with
Built from
- Al Ries, Wikipedia
- The Positioning Era Cometh (Advertising Age articles, 1972), Al Ries and Jack Trout, on ries.com
- Interview with Al Ries on Brands and Branding, page 1 (August 2006), Al Ries, interviewed by Nagendra V. Chowdary, Effective Executive (IBSCDC)
- Interview with Al Ries on Brands and Branding, page 2 (August 2006), Al Ries, interviewed by Nagendra V. Chowdary, Effective Executive (IBSCDC)
- Darwin's Theories And Marketing (30 September 2009), Al Ries, Branding Strategy Insider
- About RIES (timeline), RIES
- The History of Positioning, RIES
- Books, RIES
- Al Ries (2016 inductee), Marketing Hall of Fame, AMA New York
- Positioning (marketing), Wikipedia
- Marketing Guru Al Ries Has Passed Away (14 October 2022), B&T
- Marketing Sense Versus Common Sense (2 November 2010), Al Ries, Branding Strategy Insider
- Brands Weaken Through Line Extension (5 October 2010), Al Ries, Branding Strategy Insider
- Strength In Length: The Long Slogan Advantage (20 September 2010), Al Ries, Branding Strategy Insider
- Brand Naming: The Advantage Of Two (12 August 2010), Al Ries, Branding Strategy Insider
- Comcast Makes Classic Marketing Mistake (6 July 2010), Al Ries, Branding Strategy Insider
- The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing (1993), Al Ries and Jack Trout