The Strategic Enemy

How To Build & Position a Brand Worth Fighting For
By Laura Ries

Consumers are overwhelmed by choices and inundated with marketing messages. And despite an obsession with positioning amongst the world’s most well-known companies, most brands continue to focus on "being better" and "expanding the brand" rather than on what really matters - being different and distinctive in the mind of the consumer.

When you identify the enemy, it keeps your brand focused. It is much easier to fight for something when you first know what you are fighting against.

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LAURA RIES

Laura Ries is a world-famous positioning consultant and bestselling author. In 1994, Laura joined her father, Al Ries, the legendary positioning pioneer, to form the company now known as RIES. With RIES, Laura traveled to over 60 countries, teaching the principles of positioning and consulting with companies and entrepreneurs on brand strategy.

Her latest book, The Strategic Enemy, published by Wiley, will be released Sept 17 2025.

Additional Books Authored or Co-Authored by Laura Ries

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding

How to build a product or service into a world-class brand - the 22 Laws.

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The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR

Successful brands today are launched with PR. Advertising is best used after brands have already been built by PR.

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Visual Hammer

McDonald’s golden arches. Coca-Cola’s contour bottle. Today, a visual hammer is the essential tool for nailing your brand into the mind.

War in the Boardroom

Why left-brain management and right-brain marketing don’t see eye-to-eye — and what to do about it.

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Origin of Brands

Discover the natural laws of product innovation. Divergence, Charles Darwin’s theory, creates endless opportunities in marketing, too.

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Battlecry

Winning the battle for the mind with a memorable slogan.