Positioning
Though its cover and subtitle (The Battle for Your Mind) would feel at home gracing an Isaac Asimov novel, Al RIes and Jack Trout's Positioning is not science-fiction. First published in 1980, it has likely had more influence on the advertising world than any book ever written, and forever changed the way we think about marketing. The book stands out amongst and above the cacophony of books published over the years, and will teach you how to rise above the cacophony of the marketplace.
To do this, the authors counsel that "The best approach to take in our overcommunicated society is the oversimplified message." See, according to Ries and Trout, it is "not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind ..." We discussed the physical retail environment a few weeks ago when we were offering Paco Underhill's Why We Buy—a book that perfected the science of designing retail space, ridding it of any clutter that may dissuade a prospective customer from a product they want to buy and simplifying their route to it. And, that is precisely what Ries and Trout have done for the mental retail environment, the world of marketing and advertising. They expertly describe how to position whatever you're selling in a prospect's mind—whether that be a product, service, idea, or (with chapters on career advanement and improvement) even yourself. There are even chapters on the positioning of a country (Belgium) and chuch (the Catholic).
"Positioning is an organized system for finding windows in the mind. It is based on the concept that communication can only take place at the right time and under the right circumstances."
Positioning, Page 21
We are all of us assaulted on a daily basis with a barrage of advertisements and marketing messages, and, having grown up in this environment, we have become largely immune to the efforts of most lesser advertisers. There are always a few, however, that penetrate even the most over saturated markets and cluttered minds. It's how soda became "Coke" to so many people, and photocopiers "Xerox." Ronald Reagan had us believing "It's Morning in America." The California Milk Processor Board asked us if we "Got Milk?" Nike told us to "Just Do it." As Ries and Trout found out a long time ago, the messages that get through the "overcommunication" of our the teeming masses are "oversimplified messages."
Not since The Mule established The Galactic Empire has man so well understood the minds and emotions of others, and been able to touch the core of both (unless you're considering the mysterious Second Foundation, but for simplicity's sake, let's not). In 1980, Al Ries and Jack Trout once again copied the keys to the human mind and put them into a published book for all to read.
The edition of Positioning we have for you today was published in 2000, the book's 20th anniversary, and contains all the original text of the first edition, but enhances the material in the book's margins, which are chalk-full of new thoughts and insights.
We have 50 copies for you. Jack makes much more sense of the book below.
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