As self-proclaimed on the cover of the 2001 edition, this one’s a classic – widely regarded as a must read for anybody in the field of marketing, or anyone wanting to “sell” anything, for that matter. Admittedly, Positioning has already been very well-reviewed since it was first published in 1981, but it’s a book that has inspired me sufficiently for it to warrant a summary, so here’s my take on it…

These days it’s difficult to imagine a conversation about marketing or brand management without the word ‘positioning’ coming up at least once. Being such a major foundation of today’s branding theory and practice, it’s actually quite strange to think that only 40 or so years ago the marketing significance of focusing on consumer perceptions, rather than product attributes alone, was only just being acknowledged.

The marketing industry records that the term ‘positioning’ was first coined by Jack Trout in a paper published in1969 called “Positioning is a game people play in today’s me-too market place” in the publication Industrial Marketing. The theory is rooted in the idea that positioning is not something you do to a product, but “what you do to the mind of the prospect.” The approach is to reframe and contextualise existing perceptions, rather than wasting time and money trying to create entirely new ones that are likely to be rejected – subconsciously or otherwise. The goal of owning a unique space in a consumer’s mind is critical to cutting through the clutter of an over communicated society and to successfully differentiating from competitors.

By understanding consumers’ existing perceptions, companies can develop strategies to communicate consistent, simplified messages that will get heard by the right prospects, positively influence their perceptions, and establish a useful space in their minds, relative to the competition.

The book offers a number of potential approaches to successful positioning, which include:

•  Being perceived as first, whilst not necessarily being first (e.g. Miller Lite beer) – credited by the authors as typically the easiest, and most valuable type of positioning.
•  Being consciously second (e.g. #2 brand Avis ‘we try harder’)
•  Being a category leader (e.g. CocaCola ‘real thing’)
•  Being a follower and finding an unoccupied, relevant position (e.g. VW ‘think small’)
•  Repositioning the competition (e.g. Stolichnaya Russian vodka revealing that competitor products with Russian-sounding names were actually made in the US).
•  Identifying a memorable name that conjures up the right imagery (e.g. Head and Shoulders)
•  Avoiding meaningless initials (although IBM, GSK, GM, and most ad agencies seem to be able to get away with this one!)
•  Managing brand extensions wisely so that they do not damage the master brand positioning over time (e.g. Virgin)

In subsequent chapters, the book also looks at a number of specific case studies in more detail - exploring some of the principles above and citing a number of additional competitor brands. The case studies include:

• Xerox
• Belgium
• Jamaica
• Milk Duds
• Mailgram
• A Long Island bank
• A New Jersey bank
• Stowe ski resort
• The Catholic Church (which has a particularly good note on the tendency for humans to be fascinated by the complicated and to ignore the obvious).

Given the magnitude of Jack Trout and Al Ries’s concepts in influencing marketing theory and practice over the past 40 years, it is easy to see why their extremely accessible book has become a classic. Striking the ideal balance of having a big-hitting concept, helpful case studies, a light conversational style, and being a bite-sized read – it’s the sort of book that you can digest in a day, and come back to again and again.

Despite the book’s understandably dated flavour at times, the well-presented and fundamental nature of its subject matter has helped firmly position it my mind as the first book I should recommend to anyone interested in marketing.