The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

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The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

• By Al Ries and Jack Trout

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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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. The Law of Leadership

• Its better to be first than it is to be better.
• The basic issue in marketing is creating a
  category you can be first in.
• E.g., most people know who flew across the
  Atlantic first, but not second.
• Sometimes called The First Mover Advantage

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The Law of Category

• If you cant be first in a category, set up a new
  category you can be first in.
• E.g., most people dont know who flew across the
  Atlantic third, but they know who the first woman
  to do that was.
• Lexus was the first Japanese luxury car

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. The Law of the Mind

• Its better to be first in the mind than to be
  first in the marketplace.
• E.g., Altair 8800 was the first PC, but Apple got
  first in the mind.
• IBM was the first software vendor, but now we
  associate software with

6
The Law of Perception

• Marketing is not a battle of products it is a
  battle of perceptions.
• Is Honda better than Toyota? Is Toyota better
  than Honda?
• Which would you rather have? Why?

7
The Law of Focus

• The most powerful concept in marketing is owning
  a word in the prospects 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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The Law of Exclusivity

• Two companies cannot own the same word in the
  prospects mind.
• What companies do you think of when I say
  operating system or mustard or frozen pizza?

9
The Law of the Ladder

• What strategy to use depends on which rung you
  occupy on the ladder.
• E.g., Avis is 2nd we try harder.
• Hardees is third or forth, and they try even
  harderand trying to find an unoccupied rung
• Being closer to the top usually leads to risk
  aversion

10
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 youre shooting for second place, your
  strategy is determined by the leader.
• E.g., Coke is an old soft drink, so Pepsi went
  successfully for the choice of a new generation.

12
The Law of Division

• Over time, a category will divide and become two
  or more categories.
• e.g., computers, automobiles, coffee

13
The Law of Perspective

• Marketing effects take place over an extended
  period of time.
• Dont expect results to be instantaneous
• A successful campaign can resonate for years

14
The Law of Line Extension

• There is an irresistible pressure to extend the
  equity of the brand.
• Coming soon Arm and Hammer Cat Food

15
The 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.
• For years Honda focused all its efforts on the
  Civic (cvcc) and dominated the sub-compact market

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The Law of Attributes

• For every attribute, there is an opposite,
  effective attribute.
• E.g., Crest toothpaste fights cavities, but Close
  Up freshens breath.
• PC is synonymous with business computing, Apple
  creativity

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The Law of Candour

• When you admit a negative, the prospect will give
  you a positive.
• E.g., the 1970 VW will stay ugly longer implies
  reliability not good looks.
• Prospects know what the truth is, and they reward
  honesty
• UPSs brown trucks are ugly, but we love the truck

18
The 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., the Allied invasion of Normandy.

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The Law of Unpredictability

• Unless you write your competitors plans, you
  cant predict the future.
• It is best to be flexible and ready to react to
  changes in the market.

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The 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

21
The Law of Failure

• Failure is to be expected and accepted.
• Ford almost lost the company on the Edsel in the
  50s
• Radio Shack and Apple marketed some disappointing
  computers in the 80s

22
The 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.

23
The Law of Acceleration

• Successful programs are not built on fads
  theyre built on trends. Ninja Turtles could
  have been the next Barbie dolls if the market
  hadnt been flooded, and if the makers had tried
  to turn the fad into a trend.

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The Law of Resources

• Without adequate funding an idea wont get off
  the ground.
• Regardless of how good a product is, the only
  product that sells is the one the consumer is
  aware of.