Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

by Al Ries

Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect.

That’s why if you have a truly new product, it’s often better to tell the prospect what the product is not, rather than what it is. The first automobile, for example, was called a “horseless” carriage, a name which allowed the public to position the concept against the existing mode of transportation.

Don’t try to trick the prospect. Advertising is not a debate. It’s a seduction. The prospect won’t sit still for the finer points of verbal logic. As the politician said, “If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, I say it’s a duck.”

In a sense, line extension educates the prospect to the fact that Bayer is nothing but a brand name. It destroys the illusion that Bayer is a superior form of aspirin.

Prospects don’t buy, they choose.

Creativity by itself is worthless. Only when it is subordinated to the positioning objective can creativity make a contribution.

Language is the currency of the mind.

The only permanent thing today seems to be change. The kaleidoscope of life clicks faster and faster. New patterns emerge and disappear.

Only in a give-and-take atmosphere can ideas be refined and perfected.