What does Marketing Teach you?

 In terms of a New Product Launch or

Promoting an existing product what sort of an
approach does Marketing Teach you? How
do you successfully market a product?

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Definitions

 Immutable – (adjective) Unchanging or

unable to change.
 Law – (noun) A rule which cannot or should
not be broken.

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22 Immutable Laws of Marketing,
Written by Al Ries and Jack Trout
 The Law of Leadership;
Its better to be First in the Market than it is to
be Better.

 How Many of you Know the name of the First

Person on the Moon?

 Sometimes called: The First Mover

Advantage

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 Who was the Second Person on the Moon?

 Leader becomes Generic.

 E.g.: Have you ever asked for a

Cellophane Tape?

 If you are asking for Surf you are actually

asking for: __________________?

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Law of the Category

 If you cant be first in the Market be the First

in the category.

 Are you interested in a Cellular Service or

what new is being offered by the Service?

 Paktel was the FIRST provider of Cellular

Connections, Mobilink was the FIRST to
provide GSM and Text Msg Servicing.

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Law of the Mind

 Its better to be first in the mind than to be first

in the marketplace.

 Which was the FIRST News Channel of

Pakistan?

 E.g., Altair 8800 was the first PC, but Apple

got first in the mind.

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Law of Perception

 Marketing is not a battle of products it’s a battle of

perceptions.

 Reality is subject to our interpretation of Reality.

Cross Cultural Mistakes. Mistakes in interpretation.
 I just bought a Honda means?
 Is Honda better than Toyota? Is Toyota better than
Honda?
 Which would you rather have? Why?

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 New Coke Failed after 200,000 taste tests
proved it was the better Cola drink. Today the
launch of the New Coke is a Chapter in every
Marketing Book discussing the importance of
perception.

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The Law of Exclusivity

 Two Companies Cannot Own The Same

Word in the Prospects Mind.

 Dawlance = _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 Pepsi = New Generation

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The Law of the Ladder

 The Strategy to use depends on which rung you

occupy on the ladder.

 E.g. Avis is 2nd – we try harder.

 Hardee’s is third or forth, and they try even harder—
and trying to find an unoccupied rung.
 To increase the size of the ladder, 7Up became the
“Uncola” from the Lemon and Lime Drink.
 Being closer to the top usually leads to risk aversion

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The Law of Duality

 In the Long Run Every Market Becomes a

Two Horse Race.

 E.g., Coke v Pepsi, Kodak v Fuji, McDonalds

and Burger King.
 Dell v HP/Compaq

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The Law of the Opposite

 If you’re shooting for second place your

strategy is determined by the leader.
 Coke is an old soft drink, so Pepsi went
successfully for the choice of a new
generation.
 Pepsi = New Generation
 Thumbs Up = Not for Kids, Grow up to
Thumbs up!

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The Law of Line Extension.

 There is an irresistible pressure to extend the

equity of the brand.

 In Simple Terms : Don’t Put your name on

Everything.

 E.g, Lays, Splash

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Law of Attributes

 For Every Attribute there is an opposite,

effective attribute.

 E.g., Milk Pak and Haleeb.

 Crest toothpaste fights cavities, but Close Up
freshens breath.

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Law of Candor

 When you admit a negative the prospect will give

you a positive.

 A negative is more acceptable than a positive and

that opens the mind.
 Prospects know what the truth is, and they reward
honesty
 The 1970 V W will stay Ugly Longer implies
reliability not good looks
 UPS’s brown trucks are ugly, but we love the truck

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Law of Focus

 The most powerful concept in marketing is

owning a word in the prospect’s mind.
 Or when the brand become synonymous with
the category
 E.g., Xerox this, FedEx that, and get me
some Kleenex.
 New ones: iPod & Blackberry

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Law of Division

 Over time, a category will divide and become

two or more categories.
 e.g., computers, automobiles, coffee

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Law of Perspective

 Marketing effects take place over an

extended period of time.
 Don’t expect results to be instantaneous
 A successful campaign can resonate for
years

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Law of Sacrifice

 You have to give up something in order to get

something.
 E.g., FedEx sacrificed other air freight options
for small packages overnight, and owned the
word “overnight”.

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Law of Singularity

 In each situation, only one move will produce

substantial results. In a military sense, this is
called the line of least expectation.
 Choose the move where you expect the least
chance of “surprises”.
 E.g., Nokia’s move

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Law of Unpredictability

 Unless you write your competitors’ plans, you

can’t predict the future.
 It is best to be flexible and ready to react to
changes in the market.

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Law of Success

 Success often leads to arrogance, and

arrogance to failure.
 GM was successful into the 70s but
continued to lose share thru the 90s, and all
that time they assumed they knew what
consumers wanted
 In 1985 IBM assumed they owned the PC
market

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Law of Failure

 Failure is to be expected and accepted.

 Ford almost lost the company on the Edsel in
the 50’s
 Radio Shack and Apple marketed some
disappointing computers in the 80’s

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Law of Hype

 The situation is often the opposite of the way

it appears in the press. When Ford was
successful, the company said very little. Now
it throws a lot of press conferences.
 What do you think when a car dealer says,
“We have the best prices in town.”

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Law of Acceleration

 Successful programs are not built on fads;

they’re built on trends. Ninja Turtles could
have been the next Barbie dolls if the market
hadn’t been flooded, and if the makers had
tried to turn the fad into a trend.

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Law of Resources

 Without adequate funding an idea won’t get

off the ground.
 Regardless of how good a product is, the
only product that sells is the one the
consumer is aware of.

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