Positioning audiobook cover - The Battle for your Mind: How to be seen and heard in the overcrowded marketplace

Positioning

The Battle for your Mind: How to be seen and heard in the overcrowded marketplace

Al Ries and Jack Trout

★ 4.0 / 5(176 ratings)
Start ListeningDownload App
Categories:
Marketing & Sales

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

Listen to Positioning — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from Positioning

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Positioning

Mind Map

Positioning
The Problem: Information Overload+
The Power of Being First+
Strategies for Followers+
Positioning Consistency+
Marketing Traps to Avoid+
Effective Naming+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7
How do consumers mentally cope with the overwhelming amount of advertising and information they encounter daily?
  • A. They rank brands and products on a metaphorical ladder in their minds.
  • B. They actively research every new product before making a purchase.
  • C. They rely entirely on word-of-mouth recommendations from friends.
  • D. They only purchase products that are advertised on television.
Question 2 of 7
According to the text, what is a primary advantage of being the first brand to enter a new market?
  • A. You can avoid spending money on marketing and advertising.
  • B. You can easily transition into a 'me-too' product later.
  • C. You can shape the customers' image of the product without competing against others.
  • D. You are guaranteed to have your brand name become a generic term.
Question 3 of 7
What mistake did the car rental company Avis make regarding its market positioning?
  • A. It tried to appeal to a wealthier demographic instead of budget-conscious travelers.
  • B. It abandoned its successful 'No. 2' positioning to claim it would be 'No. 1.'
  • C. It used an overly complicated acronym for its new brand name.
  • D. It attempted to reposition its main competitor, Hertz, as unsafe.
Question 4 of 7
How did Tylenol successfully position itself against the market leader, Aspirin?
  • A. By lowering its price to appeal to a broader demographic.
  • B. By launching a line-extension of its most popular painkiller.
  • C. By repositioning Aspirin as a product that could lead to nausea or trigger asthma.
  • D. By creating an acronym that was easier for consumers to remember.
Question 5 of 7
What is the 'line-extension trap' described in the book?
  • A. Expanding your marketing campaign to television, radio, and print simultaneously.
  • B. Attaching the name of an established, successful product to new, different products.
  • C. Failing to update a brand's image to match current societal trends.
  • D. Creating a follow-up product that directly mimics a competitor's successful product.
Question 6 of 7
When is it acceptable to use a coined, non-descriptive name like 'Kodak' or 'Xerox' for your product?
  • A. When you are the first product to enter the market.
  • B. When you are trying to reposition a market leader.
  • C. When your product is a follow-up to an established brand.
  • D. When you want to appeal to a highly educated demographic.
Question 7 of 7
Why does the book generally advise against using acronyms for brand names?
  • A. They are often legally protected by larger corporations.
  • B. They make the brand seem too corporate and unapproachable.
  • C. Customers need to understand the name, and acronyms are less easy to remember.
  • D. They prevent the brand from ever becoming a generic term.

Positioning — Full Chapter Overview

Positioning Summary & Overview

Positioning has become one of the most renowned, best-selling books about marketing strategies in the last few decades. It describes a revolutionary marketing concept developed by the authors in the 1970s after it became clear that classic advertising was no longer effective due to an increase in media and competition. Positioning focuses on how to position your product in the market to become an industry leader.

Who Should Listen to Positioning?

  • Anyone who wants to read one of the most influential books on marketing
  • Anyone who wants to create and market a product successfully
  • Anyone interested in the function of modern advertising and how it’s portrayed to the customer

About the Author: Al Ries and Jack Trout

Al Ries and Jack Trout are the co-founders of the marketing company Trout & Partners. Together they coined the term “positioning” as a way to utilize a position in the marketplace to sell a product. Ries first worked in advertising at General Motors and has published multiple books including The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding. Trout and Ries also co-wrote the marketing classic Marketing Warfare.

🎧
Listen in the AppOffline playback & background play
Get App