---
title: Al Ries — who he was | RGM® Glossary
url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/al-ries/
updated: 2026-06-10
source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/al-ries/
---

# Al Ries

/æl ɹaɪz/proper noun

“Positioning is not what you do to a product. It's what you do to the mind of the prospect.”

Name
:   Al Ries

Lived
:   1926-2022

With
:   Jack Trout

Key work
:   Positioning (1981)

## Forms & parts of speech

Ries · proper noun

Strategist; shorthand for the positioning school.

"Classic **Ries** — don't be better, be first in a new category."

## Who he was, in plain terms

Al Ries was an American marketing strategist who, with partner Jack Trout, gave the field its most durable idea: positioning — the battle for a single clear slot in the prospect's mind. Their 1972 Ad Age series and the 1981 book *Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind* reframed marketing as a war of perception, not product.

## The key ideas

The mind hates confusion and holds few brands per category, so own ONE word (Volvo = safety); if you can't be first in a category, create a category you can be first in; line extension dilutes the very position that made the name valuable; and perception beats product — there are no best products, only best-positioned ones. Later, with daughter Laura Ries, he championed brand focus and PR-before-advertising.

## Why he still matters

Category design, niche-down advice, the one-word brand exercise — all are Ries & Trout with new vocabulary. April Dunford's modern positioning practice explicitly stands on this foundation. Whenever a startup is told "be first in a smaller pond," the advice is paraphrasing 1981.

**Worked example.** A startup fighting giants on "best CRM" gets nowhere. The Ries move: stop fighting for an owned word and create the winnable category — "the CRM for law firms" — where it is first by definition. The mind files it instantly, sales conversations shorten, and the giants' size stops mattering. Perception, not product, changed.

**Failure modes to watch.** Owning zero words by claiming five; line-extending a focused brand into mush; and quoting positioning while shipping me-too messaging that asks the mind to overwrite a leader.

## Synonyms & antonyms

### Synonyms

Al RiesRiesRies and Trout

## Origin & history

Born 1926 in Indianapolis; ad man at GE before founding Ries Cappiello Colwell (1963). "Positioning" emerged in his and Jack Trout's 1972 Advertising Age series "The Positioning Era Cometh," becoming the 1981 book. Died 2022.

Etymology: [source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Ries).

## Usage trends

Search interest for this term over the last five years:

[View interest-over-time on Google Trends →](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=al%20ries&date=today%205-y)

## Common questions

Who was Al Ries?
:   American marketing strategist (1926-2022) who, with Jack Trout, created the concept of positioning.

What is Al Ries known for?
:   Positioning - The Battle for Your Mind (1981), the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, and the focus/category-first school of strategy.

What was Ries' core idea?
:   Marketing battles happen in the prospect's mind — own one clear word or be first in a category you create.

## Related tools & calculators

- tool[Brand lift forecaster](/tools/brand-lift-forecaster/)

## Resources & people to follow

- book*Positioning* — Ries & Trout
- book*The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing* — Ries & Trout
- referenceWikipedia — Al Ries

Curated, non-competitor resources verified per term.

## Related training

- module[Growth marketing foundations](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/)

## Disciplines

Areas of marketing where al ries is a core concern:

[Advertising history](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/)[Brand strategy](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/)

## Read next

## Related terms

[Brand positioning](/glossary/brand-positioning/)[Positioning statement](/glossary/positioning-statement/)[Category design](/glossary/category-design/)[Brand promise](/glossary/brand-promise/)[Mental availability](/glossary/mental-availability/)

## Sources

1. trends[Google Trends — "al ries"](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=al%20ries&date=today%205-y)