In Search of the Obvious: The Antidote for Today's Marketing Mess

227 Pages·2008·1.34 MB·English

by  Jack Trout

$27.95 USA / $30.95 CAN
(continued from front flap) T
r In
To bring these principles for fi nding the obvious o
The search for any marketing strategy is the
to life, Trout fi nds obvious solutions to today’s u
This book could upset a lot of people. search for the obvious.
troubles for the likes of GM, Coke, Wal-Mart, t
newspapers, and the bewildering beer business. The
Search of
We are in an era of killer competition. Category after
fundamental problem is that effective marketing is
category is perceived as a commodity. This fact is
both complicated and extremely simple—so simple This is the fi rst book to state the obvious: Marketing is a mess. Marketing
the central reason the critically important function
that professional marketers overlook the most guru Jack Trout intends to make a lot of people, who made the mess, very
of marketing is such a mess. It’s also why the average
obvious and effective ideas entirely, in an attempt uncomfortable:
the
chief marketing offi cer barely lasts beyond two years
to be clever or creative. But if an idea is obvious to I
Advertisers are criticized as people who look for the creative and edgy, not the n in the job.
you, it will be obvious to your customers—which is
obvious. They will not be happy.
why it will work.
S O b v i o u s In this book, marketing guru Jack Trout clears
Marketing people are criticized for getting hopelessly entangled in corporate
e up the confusion that surrounds the marketing
egos and complicated projects. They will not be happy.
a profession. Instead of focusing on segmentation or
r customer retention or search engine optimization
Research people are criticized for generating more confusion than clarity. They
c
will not be happy. or data mining, marketers should be searching for
JACK TROUT is President of Trout & Partners, h
that simple, obvious differentiating idea. Marketers
one of the most prestigious marketing fi rms in the

Some big companies are criticized for their ill-fated marketing programs or o not looking for the obvious had better have a very
United States, with offi ces in thirteen countries. His
lack of proper strategy. They will not be happy.
low price.
client list includes Southwest Airlines, IBM, Merrill f

Lynch, Sears, and the U.S. State Department. Wall Street is criticized for putting too much emphasis on unnecessary growth t
This search should begin with what Trout considers
He is the author of several marketing classics, that can be destructive to a brand. They will just ignore this criticism and h
the best book ever written on marketing—even
including Differentiate or Die, Second Edition, continue trying to make as much money as they can. e
though it was published in 1916 and isn’t about
from Wiley. For more information, please visit
But this is a book not written to make people happy but to explain to O marketing. Entitled Obvious Adams: The Story of
www.TroutandPartners.com.
marketers what their real problem is. Only then will they begin to look for the a Successful Business Man, it lays out the fi ve tests
b The Antidote for Today’s
obvious solutions that will separate their products from their competitors—in
of an obvious idea that will lead you to the right
a way that is equally obvious to customers. All this comes with no jargon, no v
marketing strategy for any product.
numbers, no complexity, and a great deal of common sense. i
o Marketing Mess
But In Search of the Obvious goes beyond the
u
obvious by laying out what gets in the way of
s
this search. Things like the Internet, advertising
Jacket Design: Michael J. Freeland
people, marketing people, Wall Street, research,
Jac k Trout
even the future. These are all huge distractions that
keep marketers from their most important task:
differentiating their products.
coauthor of the bestselling book Positioning
(continued on back flap)

IN SEARCH OF
THE OBVIOUS

IN SEARCH OF
THE OBVIOUS
The Antidote for Today’s
Marketing Mess
JACK TROUT
JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.
Copyright#2008byJackTrout.Allrightsreserved.
PublishedbyJohnWiley&Sons,Inc.,Hoboken,NewJersey
PublishedsimultaneouslyinCanada.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData:
Trout,Jack.
Insearchoftheobvious:theantidotefortoday’smarketingmess/JackTrout.
p. cm.
ISBN978-0-470-28859-7(cloth)
1. Marketing. 2. Advertising—Brandnameproducts.
I. Title.
HF5415.T7292008
658.8—dc22
2008016815
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ToRichardMaggiore
ThemanwhointroducedmetoObviousAdams

CONTENTS
Preface xiii
InSearchoftheObvious 1
CHAPTER1.
Thisisthemostimportantchapterinthebook.
Itissimple,profound,andcontainsasecretthat
fewknowof . . . andsomeoneelsewrotemostofit.
WhatGetsintheWayoftheObvious 11
CHAPTER2.
Thereareforcesatplaythatdon’tmakethesearch
easyorsometimesevenpossible.Theytendto
obstructclearthinking.Someforcesareexternal.
Someareinternal.Theyallarethingsofwhichyou
mustbeaware.Forewarnedisforearmed.
TheInternetCanBeanObviousProblem 25
CHAPTER3.
Nothinginthemarketingandbusinessworldhas
receivedsomuchhype.Butbecareful,itisnotthe
ultimatesolution.It’saboutnewwaystoreachpeople
withyourobviousidea.It’sjustanothertoolbutitcan
confusethings.
AdvertisingPeopleCanBeanObvious
CHAPTER4.
Problem 39
Unfortunately,mostadvertisingpeoplelookforthe
creative,nottheobvious.Forthem,theobviousis
vii
viii Contents
toosimpleandnotcleverenough.Theoldguard—Leo
Burnett,DavidOgilvy,andBillBernbach—understood
this.Thenewguard,whomevertheyare,don’t.
MarketingPeopleCanBeanObvious
CHAPTER5.
Problem 57
Marketingpeopleoftendon’tappreciatewhat
theyshouldbefocusingon.Mostgethopelessly
entangledincorporateegosandcomplicated
projects.It’snowonderthatthejobtenureof
achiefmarketingofficerislessthantwoyears.
AnObviousLookattheMarketingProcess 67
CHAPTER6.
Ifmarketingpeoplearetodoabetterjob,theyhave
tohaveaclearunderstandingofthemarketing
process—what’simportantandhowtoevaluate
andoperatethefunctionsinwhichtheyarein
charge.
SomeHelpinThatSearchfortheObvious 93
CHAPTER7.
Thesearchshouldgenerallystartwiththe
competition.It’snotwhatyouwanttodo.It’s
whatyourcompetitionwillletyoudo.Also,you
havetoavoidmakingthekindsofmistakesoften
made.I’llalsosharetwoofmyfavorite
obviousstrategies.
YouMustBeAwareofSomeObvious
CHAPTER8.
GroundRules 129
Inanotherbook,Iwroteaboutthelawsof
marketing.Anumberoftheseareveryimportant
inthesearchfortheobvious.Ignorethemat
yourownrisk.