The concept of brand positioning was introduced to the marketing and advertising world in the 70s and 80s by Al Ries and Jack Trout in a series of Ad Age articles and a subsequent book titled Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. (If you haven't read it, Positioning is definitely recommended reading for anyone in the branding world.)

Today's episode features Laura Ries. Laura is Al Ries's daughter, and has been his business partner for 25 years at their consulting firm, Ries & Ries, where they advise clients such as Disney, Ford, Frito-Lay, Papa John's, Samsung, and Unilever. Laura is a bestselling author in her own right. She's co-authored five books with Al, including The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, and she's also written her own books: Visual Hammer and Battlecry. We discuss both during the episode.

Laura and I start with her definition of brand positioning (it's about "owning an idea in the mind"), and the introduction of an illustrative example we come back to again and again during the conversation: Red Bull. Laura says Red Bull "owns the energy drink category because it is the leader," while Monster Energy Drink positioned itself as the opposite of Red Bull by launching with a much larger can. 5-hour Energy, on the other hand, created their own, related category by positioning as an "energy shot." Throughout the course of the conversation, Laura presented her six principles of positioning:

1. Find an open hole. "If somebody owns a position, you're not going to take it away from them. You have to look for another open hole that you can take advantage of...by being the opposite of the leader."
2. Narrow the focus. "Too often, brands and companies, they want to be everything to everybody."
3. The name is so important and significant. "Not just the brand name but the category name."
4. Visual hammer. "Not just a pretty logo or a person-the product itself can be the visual [hammer]. It's something that communicates an idea about the brand."
5. Verbal battlecry. "Not just a slogan, although it might be a slogan or tagline, but it's really the battlecry that'll be used both internally and externally to really understand the brand."
6. PR, not advertising, is what builds brands. "New brands and new categories have more news value to them. That's where new brands need to leverage that opportunity for PR."

To learn more about Laura, her books, and her consulting services, visit visit www.ries.com. You'll find some great content on her blog, and more information on their consulting practice. With the exception of an upcoming, revised edition of Positioning, all the books we mentioned on the episode are available online:

• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
• The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
• Visual Hammer
• Battlecry

Below, you'll find the full transcript of the episode (may contain typos and/or transcription errors). Click above to listen to the episode, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or elsewhere to hear every episode of How Brands Are Built. Episode sponsors

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