Differentiate or Die : Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition

Since Differentiate or Die published 7 years ago, competition for mindshare in a world of lookalike products and services has only intensified. This may explain why trade sales of this marketing classic have gone up during the past year, now that product differences are rapidly and easily copied. The message of the book is that companies often fail to see what their most emotionally powerful and unique attribute is, and management fails to implement a consistent strategy to emphasize that attribute throughout the company. Trout explains how to use core ideas like heritage, market leadership, and being first, to rationalize consumers' unconscious emotions so that managers can bind these ideas to their products. This is Trout's brilliant solution to the challenge of differentiation, in a world of me-too products. Differentiation is different from branding; it is the essence of what branding is about. In this revised edition, Trout demonstrates successful differentiation through examples from around the world, using core ideas like heritage, market leadership, and being first to rationalize consumers' unconscious emotions so that managers can bind them to products. This revised edition features updated examples from Russia and China, new research on brand commoditization, new information on differentiation in the new world of Buzz, a new chapter on differentiating anything, a strengthened "Specialization" chapter, and an in-depth explanation of the perils of line-extension and how it undermines differentiation.

Jack Trout is President of Trout & Partners Ltd. (www.troutandpartners.com), one of the nation's most prestigious marketing firms with offices in twenty-two countries. He is recognized as a top marketing guru and is the creator of the revolutionary concept of positioning. He is also the coauthor of the bestselling classic Positioning, among many other titles.

Steve Rivkin is founder of Rivkin & Associates LLC (www.rivkin.net), a marketing and communication consultancy. He is coauthor of five books on marketing and communication strategy and is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences around the world.