A glimpse into the minds of the Positioning Pioneers

What’s missing in most marketing programs? Verbal imagery.

I’ve written about the superiority of visuals over verbals. And my daughter Laura Ries has written a book on the subject, Visual Hammer. But...

To launch a new company, you need two strategies.

Twenty-seven million Americans of working age (or 14 percent of the population) are starting or running new businesses. How many of these entrepreneurs are...

Polarize, Don’t Demonize: The Secret to Politics and Marketing

Plenty. Yet most political consultants think differently. Most think the best way to win an election is to bad-mouth your opponent. The advertising industry...

Forget words. When constructing a slogan, think “sounds.”

We live in a world of words. Our memos are written in words; our emails are written in words; our marketing plans are written...

Marketing Hall of Fame

Why is everybody customer oriented when the real opportunity is something totally different?

What wins in marketing today? The conventional wisdom is “customer centricity.” As one pundit put it, Connect with customers based on their behavior or...

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to use poor marketing strategies.

Edmund Burke’s famous epigram (with a slight revision) illustrates the importance of good marketing in the current primary battles. How can an outsider with...

The law of duality is creating havoc with many marketing programs.

Many marketing managers overlook a simple principle: In the long run, every category coalesces around two major brands. Cola: Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. Toothpaste: Crest...

Should strategy dictate tactics? Or tactics dictate strategy?

Silly questions. It’s obvious that strategy (the big picture) should dictate tactics (the small details.) Big companies, in particular, believe in strategy first, tactics...

The Most Important Marketing Decision to Make

What brand name to use, Most marketing mistakes can be corrected. Not with brand names. Once you’re committed to a brand name, that’s usually...

The line-extension time bomb claims another victim, McDonald’s.

Decades ago, I was kicked out of a Young Presidents’ Organization seminar for claiming that line extensions were destroying the McDonald’s brand. It’s too...

What’s the most under-utilized tool in your marketing toolkit?

Music: The magic ingredient to make your television commercials more effective. Did you watch the last episode of Mad Men, especially the ending? As...