Al Ries

Al Ries is one of the most influential marketing minds of the 20th century. He is a renowned author and speaker, having written 18 books and delivered over 5,000 presentations.

Ries was born in 1936 in the Bronx, New York. He originally studied Mechanical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute but soon switched to studying advertising and marketing.

In 1960, Ries began his marketing career in Chicago as an account executive for Minolta cameras. He then caught the attention of Jack Trout, another famous marketing guru, who hired him to work on the advertising of L’eggs Pantyhose.

Ries and Trout earned their stripes as marketing pioneers in the 1970s with their co-authored book ‘Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind’. The book established their idea of ‘positioning', which proposed that customers perceive a product in relation to its competitors. This idea revolutionized the advertising industry, and the book remains the definitive guide on the positioning concept.

While working on positioning, Ries and Trout also created the concept of ‘strategic thinking’. They believed in focusing on the long-term, rather than short-term tactics. This approach has since become the basis for many marketing strategies.

In the early 1980s, Ries formed his own consulting firm, Ries and Ries, which he ran with his daughter Laura. Later on, Ries wrote several books alongside his daughter, including ‘Focus’ and ‘The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing’. Together, they also wrote copywriting and public relations manuals.

Throughout his life, Ries has been a consulting partner for many large companies, such as AT&T and IBM. He also lectured extensively, sharing his wisdom with audiences in over 30 countries.

Though Ries has since retired from consulting, his works remain the foundation for modern marketing strategies. His legacy lives on through the strategies his books have taught us.

Al Ries is an iconic figure in the marketing world, and his works remain as influential today as when he first wrote them. His ideas were revolutionary for his time and his books still stand as the most comprehensive and well-respected source of strategic marketing wisdom.