November 14, 1926 - October 7, 2022

Al Ries known as the father of positioning died on Oct 7 at age 95, his family made the announcement on Oct 12. Ries was a legendary marketing maverick that remained relevant and sought-after as a consultant and guru until the day he died.

If every brand should own a word, positioning is the word owned by Ries. It put him on the marketing map and built his global brand. In the 1970s, Al Ries and his then-partner Jack Trout rattled the creative agencies on Madison Avenue with their controversial concept of positioning.

In a three-part series, which ran in Advertising Age in 1972, they contended that marketers should forget communicating the benefits of a brand, but rather look inside the mind of the consumer. Success depends on finding an open hole in the mind and becoming the first to fill the hole with a brand.

Now 50 years later, the theory of positioning is still as relevant as ever. The rise of the internet has made our lives more over-communicated than ever, cutting through the clutter takes an even more skillful positioning strategy.

Following the Ad Age articles, Al Ries and Jack Trout published the now iconic book Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind which has sold over 4 million copies and been translated into 22 languages.

Read the original Positioning Articles

The history of Positioning

How Al Ries positioned positioning, interview with AdAge

Rance Crain, former editor-in-chief of Advertising Age, who worked with Mr. Ries on the positioning series said, “Al was one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever known. He understood how things interconnected, and he had a way of making it all seem so logical and inevitable.”

John Schnatter, founder of Papa John’s, a Ries consulting client, and fan of the Positioning book said, “Al was a brilliant marketer, but an even better human being. He was a man of integrity who will be greatly missed.”

Paul Kim, Vice-President of Samsung who hired Mr. Ries as a consultant said “Al was a true visionary, luminary and wonderful person. I really cherish the moments Al and Laura spent with us, and I can say they made a big difference in our Galaxy smartphone brand.”

Frank Fellers, Ries client and founder of Fellers.com said, “After reading “Positioning”, my life was changed forever. I couldn’t put it down. I must have read it 10 times, 100 times. The book and his consulting advice not only set me on a path to build a successful company and get rich, but also influenced my personal behavior. He was a very special person that has influenced the world for the better.”

Frank Merenda, a famed entrepreneur who organized many Ries seminar events, including Al’s sold-out 2019 appearance in front of 3,500 in Italy said, “Al Ries with his teachings on positioning has revolutionized the world of marketing, shaking it from its foundations and slaughtering many useless sacred cows. His influence, wisdom, and vision as a marketing guru are unmatched. There are many marketers. But there will always be only one Al Ries.”

In 1994, Al’s daughter Laura Ries joined her father, and the agency was renamed Ries & Ries, now called RIES. Together they co-authored five groundbreaking books including The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding and The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR.

Over the years, Mr. Ries served as a marketing consultant to dozens of companies around the world including Apple, Disney, Frito-Lay, Ford, Microsoft, Nvidia, Papa Johns, Samsung, Siemens, and Unilever.

In 2007, Mr. Ries and his daughter Laura partnered with Simon Zhang to launch Ries China in Shanghai. The agency has worked with many of the top Chinese companies, including Great Wall Motors, Wong Lo Kat, Robam, and Junlebao Dairy.

Ries will live on as a global positioning consulting company under the leadership of Laura Ries as RIES Chairwoman, and Simon Zhang as RIES CEO.Along with RIES European lead consulting partners including Michael Brandtner, Jens Hansen, and Raul del Rio. RIES will continue to provide strategic positioning consulting services well into the future.

In 2005, Advertising Age voted “positioning” one of the 75 most important ideas of the past 75 years, in 2009 AdAge readers named Positioning the best book they have ever read on marketing, and in 2016 Mr. Ries was inducted into the AMA Marketing Hall of Fame.

Born in Indianapolis, Mr. Ries started his career in advertising at General Electric. In 1956, he headed to New York City, joining Needham Louis & Broby and then Marsteller Inc. By 1963, he was ready to break out on his own and founded Ries Cappiello Colwell advertising agency, subsequently Trout and Ries.

Mr. Ries served in both the U.S. Merchant Marines and the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Korea for a year. After his service, he graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana in 1950.

Mr. Ries is survived by Mary Lou Ries, his wife of 55 years; his children Charles Ries, Dorothy Ries Faison, Barbara Tien, Laura Ries; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.