In 1982, two employees at Xerox —John Warnock and Charles Geschke— decided to quit and start their own business. They were excited about developments in tech. So they wanted to ride the wave. Their idea was simple. As more people used computers, the world needed better ways to work with digital files. So they created…
Category: Positioning
Counter-Positioning: Why Your Brand Needs An Enemy To Grow Faster (And How To Choose One)
In the 1970s, BMW was an unpopular brand in the US. The other German brands already captured a place in American drivers’ minds. Mercedes meant comfort. Porsche meant sporty luxury. And Volkswagen meant practicality. But BMW? It had no identity. Some people didn’t even know that it was German — they thought BMW stood for…
Anchoring Beyond Pricing: How To Increase Your Brand’s Perceived Value
In the mid-1940s, the diamond cartel De Beers had a challenge probably no other company ever had. They controlled almost all the diamond mines in the world. And they had an excessive supply after the discoveries of huge mines a few decades earlier. But they had a dilemma. If they reduced the price and made…
Repositioning: How to Turn Your Strengths Into Profitable Growth (Without Spending More)
In the 80s, the Swiss watch industry was in an existential crisis. Japanese brands had flooded the market after quartz technology became accessible. Seiko, Casio, Citizen… It was like a revolution. Suddenly, Japanese brands could produce less expensive and more accurate watches. Put yourself in the shoes of the Swiss. You see mechanical watchmaking as…
Bowling Alley Strategy: How New Players Dominate Big Markets
In 2000, Marc Benioff decided to declare war. He founded Salesforce a year earlier and entered the competitive CRM market. And Siebel Systems was the market leader with a 45% market share. So Salesforce desperately needed to get known. Benioff worked with an agency to come up with a bold campaign. You know what was…
