Ad Age

 
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Be the opposite.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 11/2003

You know the kid?s game. Rock (fist) breaks scissors. Scissors (two fingers) cuts paper. Paper (flat hand) covers rock. So what?s the best strategy in a game of rock/scissors/paper? The answer is obvious. It all depends on what strategy the other kid uses. So, too, in marketing. Your best strategy often depends on what strategy your competition is using. This is especially true if you are trying to compete with a No. 1 brand, perhaps the most difficult job in marketing.

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Globalization of brands.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 10/2003

On recent trips to Europe and Asia, I was struck by how rapidly global brands are taking over local markets. In many categories, the dominant brand is a global brand. In accounting, advertising, banks, credit cards, automobiles, car rental services, computers, computer software, fashion, cosmetics, fast food, beverages and many other categories, chances are that many of the leading brands are global brands.

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When to launch a second brand.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 8/2003

Whenever a fashion or technological change occurs, an existing brand, no matter how dominant, faces a choice. Should the brand be ?stretched? to encompass the new fashion or technology or should the company launch a second brand? If the change is significant enough, the better answer is almost always ?launch a second brand.?

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What's next for Miller Brewing?
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 7/2003

Well the numbers are in and they?re exactly what you might have expected. In spite of all the media attention to its Catfight commercial, Miller Lite sales fell 2.5 percent this year. What?s killing Miller are those line extensions. Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Reserve, Miller Reserve Light, Miller Reserve Amber Ale not to mention the many other flavors that have carried the Miller name (including such losers as Miller Clear and Miller Regular beer.)

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Narrowing the focus.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 6/2003

Building a brand and building a profitable brand are two different things. Take Sony, for example. If you did a survey, you would probably find that Sony is the world?s most admired electronics brand. Way ahead of whoever might be in second place. Terrific for owners of Sony products. But how about the owners of Sony stock? Does the company make any money? The sad fact is no. Net profits after taxes of Sony Corporation are small. Very small.

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"Call the law enforcement officers. We're being robbed."
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 5/2003

Not a likely scenario. What the average person is much more apt to say is: Call the cops. We're being robbed. Unfortunately, marketing people are not average persons. Marketing people are much more likely to elevate their languages until, in some cases, they lose their meanings.

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Brands as rungs on the ladder of life.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 4/2003

One of the typical questions marketing people ask themselves is, What?s the lifetime value of a customer? Presumably a company benefits by keeping its customers satisfied over an extended period of time. Nice idea in theory, but this kind of thinking often leads a company down the wrong path. Take Saturn, for example. Here is a brand built on the ultimate in customer satisfaction. Comfortable showrooms, no high-pressure sales people, no haggling over prices. ?A different kind of company. A different kind of car.?

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Marketing is not communications.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 3/2003

A recent 5-page foldout magazine advertisement opened up with the following 39 attributes spread out over two pages: Renegade, fearless, unexpected, bold, true, spontaneous, curious, intriguing, unwavering, rare, brash, provocative, intuitive, genuine, daring, uncommon, irreverent, brazen, absolute, unusual, visionary, idyllic, proud, maverick, wild, undaunted, resolute, poetic, dynamic, soulful, unconventional, strong, romantic, authentic, brave, unorthodox, deft, radical, dreamer. What brand could possibly combine all these wonderful attributes? Turn the page and get the answer:

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Coca-Cola gets real.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 2/2003

Coca-Cola?s launch of its new ?real? campaign represents a watershed moment in advertising history. The owner of the world?s most valuable brand has turned its back on everything near and dear to the hearts of the creative community and returned to its roots. ?It?s the real thing,? a theme indelibly embedded in the minds of cola drinkers since it was first used in 1969, is the obvious inspiration for the new campaign. We applaud Coke?s decision.

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The mathematics of line extension.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 1/2003

Every company wants to increase sales. So the logical approach is to ?broaden the line.? If we appeal to a larger segment of the market, goes the thinking, we can?t help but move more merchandise. What seems obvious in theory cannot be true for the market as a whole . . . if you analyze the market mathematically.

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The myth of never-ending growth.
By Al Ries for Ad Age.com: 1/2003

?We have to grow the business? is usually the first public statement of a new CEO. Growth solves all problems, goes the current thinking. So the CEO sets the target for next year?s sales increase. Five percent, 10 percent, 15 percent, depending on how aggressive the new chief executive is. Even if a company misses its target, a ?stretch goal? is considered to be a good thing. As Leo Burnett once noted, if you reach for the stars, you may not get any stars, but you won?t wind up with a handful of mud either.

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