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The Guru has Passed Away, But His Legacy Lives on
October 12, 2022
By Simon Zhang, CEO RIES Global, CEO RIES China
In memory of Mr. Al Ries, the world’s leading positioning strategy guru and founder of Positioning Theory
Al Ries, the world’s most influential positioning strategy guru, founder of Positioning Theory, first author of “Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind,” and founder of Ries Positioning Strategy & Consulting, has passed away peacefully at his Atlanta home in the United States at the age of 95 on October 7, 2022.
Mr. Al Ries has lived a legendary life and is known as a legendary guru in the American business world. Born and raised in a typical middle-class family, he joined the U.S. Navy right out of high school. After serving in World War II, he returned to the United States and studied mathematics at DePauw University, a top liberal arts college. After graduation, he joined the advertising department of General Electric, then the world’s largest corporation.
His work at GE led him to develop a keen interest in marketing and strategy,
and he began to explore the meanings and truths behind their concepts, which he
eventually devoted the rest of his life and career to. In 1963, Mr. Al Ries
founded Ries Consulting in New York City to serve clients with the concept that
“the mind is the ultimate battlefield of business competition” and came
up with the ROCK concept, the prototype of the Positioning Theory. After
several years of development and improvement, Mr. Al Ries and his partner Mr. Jack
Trout formally introduced the Positioning Theory in 1972.
The Positioning Theory ushered in a whole new era in business history. Prior to the introduction of the Positioning Theory, almost all business strategies were based on “reality”, whereas the Positioning Theory pointed out that “the perception is the reality”. The Theory provided clear strategic guidance for confused companies in the era of information explosion, and also offered a new revolutionary idea for competition in the age of the mind.
Under the leadership of Mr. Al Ries, Ries Consulting has provided positioning
strategy consulting for numerous Fortune Global 500 companies such as Apple,
IBM, Procter & Gamble, Lotus Software, Southwest Airlines, Papa John’s, The
Republic of Tea, and Samsung with great success. Ries Consulting has also
provided strategic consulting for Chinese companies such as Moutai Group, Great
Wall Motors, Wong Lo Kat, Robam Appliances, Junlebao, and Jinmailang, creating
one business miracle after another.
Mr. Al Ries, along with Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, and Peter Drucker, was
selected as one of the “Top 10 Global Business Gurus” as the
representative of Positioning Theory by prestigious American media outlet. He
was also inducted into the “Marketing Hall of Fame” in 2016 by the
American Marketing Association (AMA), who praised his pioneering Positioning Theory
for its broad and far-reaching impact on the global business community.
Mr. Al Ries has condensed his lifelong research and thoughts on business
strategy, branding, and marketing into 12 business classics, including “Positioning:
The Battle for Your Mind”, “Marketing Warfare”, “Focus: The Future of Your
Company Depends On It”, “The Origin of Brands: How Product Evolution Creates
Endless Possibilities for New Brands”, “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing”,
and “Positioning in the 21st Century”. His books have been translated into 47
languages and sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. They have become a must-read
for more and more generations of entrepreneurs and managers, and the Positioning
Theory has become the most influential strategy and marketing concept for
companies worldwide.
Mr. Al Ries has witnessed the rise of American companies and American brands
during his lifetime, and at the same time, he also foresaw the future of China
and Chinese brands. He believed that China has become the focus of the world,
with every action making the global headlines, and that brands are the key to
China’s economic transformation. He was confident in Chinese companies and
Chinese brands, believing that China’s potential is unimaginably enormous and
that the future of Chinese brands is promising, and the Positioning Theory
could play a major role in the process of building Chinese brands and
transforming the Chinese economy,
Thanks to Mr. Al Ries’ confidence in the huge potential of China and its business
brands, since 2007, Ries Consulting has been building a China team to help
Chinese companies build Chinese brands. Mr. Al Ries loved China and was
passionate about studying traditional Chinese philosophy. He believed that the
positioning concept and traditional Chinese culture have much in common, which
is why he was fond of quoting famous Chinese thinkers Confucius and Lao Tzu in
his books. In his speeches around the world during his lifetime, his most
frequent quote was one by Lao Tzu: ” One who boasts of himself will not succeed; one who thinks himself
superior cannot be a leader. “
Compared with the time when Positioning Theory first came out in 1972, the
world has undergone rapid and profound changes. This is why Mr. Al Ries devoted
his entire life and energy to promoting the development and legacy of the
theory so that it could evolve and move forward with the times. Its
dissemination and practical guidance are done by a team of professionals around
the world. Thanks to these efforts, the Positioning Theory has become an
evergreen classic in the global business world with extraordinary vitality.
In daily life, Mr. Al Ries was a complete gentleman; in his work, he was a
great and wise man. In his life of more than 90 years, he never stopped
thinking, always observing the business world with a keen and unique
perspective, and constantly exploring and practicing at the forefront of the
business world.
The guru has passed away, but his legacy lives on. Today, the concept that “the
mind is the ultimate battlefield of business competition” proposed by the
Positioning Theory has become the consensus of the corporate world. How to win
the minds of prospects has become an eternal strategic issue for companies
pursuing excellence. In remembrance of Mr. Al Ries, the Ries team will continue
to promote, practice and develop the Positioning Theory under the leadership of
Ries Global Chairman Laura Ries and Global CEO Simon Zhang.
In honor and memory of Mr. Al Ries, we have decided to establish the “Al Ries
Global Strategic Positioning Award” in his name to encourage companies and
entrepreneurs who have made outstanding contributions to the practice and
promotion of the Positioning Theory, and with whom Ries Consulting is ready to
work together to promote sustainable business development.
Though the journey ahead is long and arduous, with sustained efforts, we will reach
our destination and embrace a brighter future.
Ries Positioning Strategy & Consulting