Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1046586 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-30
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .56" h x 6.00" w x 9.16" l, .79 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 223 pages

From Amazon.com
Despite impressive triumphs over the years, leading companies like General Motors, Xerox, and Levi Strauss have also stumbled badly at times. In Big Brands, Big Trouble, Jack Trout points out their biggest missteps as well as the critical lessons that can be learned from them. In his typically no-nonsense manner, Trout--a "positioning" expert who has written numerous bestselling books on the topic and served as a consultant to several of these firms--lays out the myriad errors that caused them and other giants to lose ground in the fight for success. Helpful specifics abound, such as in the chapter on Crest, in which Trout notes how the toothpaste's one-time dominance slipped away when consumer concern over cavities gave way to worries about discoloration, bad breath, and gum disease (which other brands more effectively set themselves up to attack). The lessons Trout takes from this are threefold: even winning positions must occasionally evolve; knowledge of how leadership was initially attained must always be maintained; and competitors must never be given an angle to exploit. Likewise, the section on Burger King discusses how turnover at the top, inconsistent advertising messages, and a loss of focus on how to assault the industry leader resulted in a stagnation that has perpetually mired the chain as a fast-food also-ran. "It's a fact of life that the easiest idea to overlook is the obvious one," Trout notes in this chapter. Since most ideas are apparent only in retrospect, however, his insights should prove invaluable to readers who might easily make similar mistakes. --Howard Rothman

From Publishers Weekly
Trout (Differentiate or Die) does the obvious in his latest book, rehashing the demise of well-known failures such as Xerox and Miller Brewing, and his redundant preaching of unoriginal strategies may irritate. But readers will find salvation in his straightforward, engaging prose and the constant hammering home of lessons (GM failed because it lost touch with the market, and AT&T tanked when it lost its focus). The book's first part is an excellent reminder of what managers should and should not do with a brand, making this a primer for the uninitiated.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Trout, popularizer of "positioning" and president of a prestigious marketing firm (Trout and Partners), uses real-world examples of marketing and management gone wrong. After examining companies like Levi Strauss, AT&T, Xerox, Burger King, and Miller Brewing, Trout identifies the ten most common mistakes made by these big brands and develops a set of expert guidelines for managers and marketers to use to build, protect, manage, and expand their companies as well as compete in today's fierce global economy. One of the most interesting chapters is titled "Trouble in the Wind: Brands with Unresolved Problems," in which Trout briefly discusses the current problems of four well-known companies. These companies, like others, have made unnecessary mistakes and have shattered consumer perceptions. Business practitioners, researchers, and students will all use insights and learn techniques gleaned from the case studies presented here. For CEOs, Trout's message is summed up in his final sentence: "Remember the Titanic." For all business collections. Susan C. Awe, Univ. of New Mexico Lib., Albuquerque
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.