Sublime

Most marketers spend too much time worrying about how to revive products which are in trouble, and too little time worrying about how to make successful products even more successful. It is the mark of a brave man to admit defeat, cut his loss, and move on. Concentrate your time, your brains, and your advertising money on your successes. Back your

We’re all selling ideas. Whatever the form, the process is the same. And if we get really good at it and we think about it the right way, our idea can sell forever, an infinite number of times.

“We’re better than our competitors” isn’t repositioning. It’s comparative advertising and not very effective. There’s a psychological flaw in the advertiser’s reasoning which the prospect is quick to detect. “If your brand is so good, how come it’s not the leader?”

Run up a red flag whenever you hear the words: “Why should we limit ourselves?” You should limit your brand. That’s the essence of branding. Your brand has to stand for something both simple and narrow in the mind. This limitation is the essential part of the branding process.

This calls for great restraint and subtlety. The big winners in business and in life are those people who have found open positions near the center of the spectrum. Not at the edge.

Differentiation, the art of standing out from the competition, is not front-page news. What IS front-page news, in a world of extreme clutter, is that you need more than differentiation. You need RADICAL differentiation. The new rule: When everybody zigs, zag.

Appeal to a customer segment, find a base of differentiation, and the competition’s advertising will have no effect. Be so amazing that customers naturally prefer you.

Any loss leaders you might need — and these should be kept to a minimum — should be treated as a marketing expense in your accounting.