In the seventies, the authors coined the word positioning to describe the process of putting your brand or company into the mind of the prospect. Their speeches and articles made positioning the most widely used concept in advertising and marketing circles. Their book Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind has since become a classic in its field.
In the eighties, Al Ries and Jack Trout introduced a revolutionary concept called Marketing Warfare. Marketing, according to the authors, is not serving the customer. The true nature of marketing today is outwitting, outflanking, and outfighting the competition. In short, marketing is war where the enemy is your competitors and the ground to be won is the customer.