Book Review by

Ajay K. Merchant

MARKETING WARFARE By Al Ries & Jack Trout

The Strategic square

Defensive marketing warfare is for market leaders and involves

courage to attack yourself and block strong competitive moves.

Offensive marketing warfare is for no. 2 companies which involves

finding a weakness in the leaders strength & attack at that point.

The attack should be on as narrow a front as possible.

Flanking marketing warfare is for smaller companies into an

uncontested area. Tactical surprise is an important element.

Guerrilla marketing warfare is for local or regional companies in a

market segment small enough to defend. Important not to act as

a leader and able to bug out at a moments notice.

Introduction

War belongs to the province of business completion, which is

also a conflict of human interest and activities…… Karl von

Clausewitz

Marketing philosophy need to change from the classic

definition which talks about satisfying consumer needs and

wants. In fact in the 1920’s the business was production

oriented.

Today, business must become COMPETITOR ORIENTED.

More & More successful marketing campaigns will have to be

planned like military campaigns.

Understanding Marketing warfare

The true nature of marketing today involves the

conflicts between corporations, not the satisfying

of human needs and wants.

Marketing is the strategy and tactics a company

uses to win the battle of the marketplace.

A study of warfare is not just a study of how to

win. Equally as important is how not to loose.

Chapter 1: 2500 years of war

If marketing is war, then one should study the history of war

itself and apply the military concepts to marketing.

Military Marketing

ARBELA 331 BC: Alexander the Great leading

from the front was able to change tactics almost

instantly.

The ability to shift your forces rapidly is

often the key to marketing victory.

CRECY 1346: Big Technological developments

are revolutionary eg. A longbow used which

fired 6 times faster then a crossbow

Minor technological advantages mistaken

for “longbow” and taking on entrenched

competitor lead to dismal results.

NAPOLEAN BONAPARTE, brilliant strategist

chose battles and arrayed his forces based on

assessment of enemy positions.

Marketing people should also do a

detailed study of the competition as the

first step in developing an effective

marketing strategy.

Chapter 1: 2500 years of war - 2

Military Marketing

WATERLOO 1815: Napolean’s front attack

on British Centre as his last farthing and had

to abandon the crown and battlefield.

Clausewitz’s said that a well-established

defensive position is extremely strong &

very difficult to overcome. Eg. American

Motors for years attacked leaders was sold

to Chrysler including the iconic Jeep brand.

Dumping your losers & focusing on

winning brands is almost always a

good strategy.

The Somme 1916: The introduction of the

machine gun changed the nature of warfare.

Conventional infantry attacks became almost

impossible.

Television and 40 years later the internet

changed the nature of the marketing game.

Chapter 2: The principle of force In marketing, the saying “it’s easier to get to the top rather then to

stay there,” is a myth. In fact it is easier to stay on the top then to get there.

A big company always triumphs over a small company. However smaller companies need to think like field commanders and not forget the principle of force.

Fallacy of “better people”- The difference between winners and losers is seldom people. It is always strategy & therefore a better strategy attracts better people.

Fallacy of “better product”. Misconceptions cannot easily be changed by an advertising or sales effort. The Truth is the perception that is inside the prospects mind and better for a company to accept that and then proceed rather then try to change it.

Chapter 3: The superiority of the

defence The defensive form of war is in itself stronger then the

offense…..Karl von Clausewitz

Throughout military history, defence has proved to be the stronger form of warfare. Eg. In the Korean War America won the South in defence and lost the North in offence. England lost the colonies in offence but won Waterloo on defence.

However one needs to be offensive in the marketing battle to become the leading brand in a product category. This is the paradox in the fruit of victory.

The glamour of offensive war leads marketing manager to charge against competitors with disastrous results.

Defence is stronger then offensive as it is difficult to launch a surprise attack. Also communication of message to millions takes time.

Chapter 4: The new era of competition

Historically military language has only been used in marketing but

not the strategic thinking behind the language.

Marketing promises should be as vague as political ones.

Otherwise, they will erode the effectiveness of your forces.

In the new era of marketing competition is getting brutal and the

name of the game is to take business away from somebody else.

Aggressiveness alone is not the mark of a good military strategy.

More products, more people, more advertisement etc not good

and military history teaches the reverse. It teaches single minded

commitment to win the battle.

Winning is about Thinking smarter, not longer.

Chapter 5: The nature of the

battleground In military battle the terrain is very important and it is the

geographical location. In marketing it is fought on a battleground 6 inches wide, the mind of the prospect. A terrain tricky & difficult to understand.

You don’t win with a better product. You win with a better perception.

Mapping the prospects mind not with the idea to ask what customers want but finding out what positions are held by what companies.

In military, mountains (high grounds) are usually considered strong positions. Similarly when a customer uses a brand name in place of a generic, the mountain in their mind is strong.

Chapter 6: The strategic square There is no one way to fight a marketing war, rather there are 4 ways. The key is

to know which warfare to fight. The type of fight is dependent on your position

in the strategic square.

This can be illustrated with the eg. Of the US Automobile industry, considering

the big four – viz. General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and American Motors.

(Only US brands)

Company Mkt. share Strategy Reason

General Motor 59% Defensive Main competitor Justice department who

would break the company if they wiped

off a competitor.

Ford 26% Offensive Launch offensive attacks on the weak

points of General Motors.

Chrysler 13% Flanking Lee Iacocca did that by launching the first

of many new categories of cars.

American Motors 2% Guerrilla Brand Jeep provided ideal opportunity to

launch Guerrilla tactics

Chapter 7: Principles of defensive warfare

There are 3 basic principles of defensive marketing warfare.

Defensive principle - 1 Defensive principle - 2 Defensive principle - 3

Only the market leader

should consider playing

defence.

The best defensive strategy

is to attack yourself.

Strong competitive moves

should always be blocked.

a. Companies don’t create

leaders but customers do.

a. The defender owns a strong

point in the mind of the

prospect.

a. As the war takes place in

prospects mind, the attacker

will take time to make an

impression.

b. A good marketing leader must

have a clear picture of the actual

situation.

b. Gillette has followed this

strategy relentlessly by attacking

itself.

b. Eg. Chrysler surpassed in

technical innovation but the

credit went to GM.

c. Fool the enemy, never fool

yourself.

c. It is better to take business

from yourself then someone else

do it.

c. Behaviourally people pay

more attention to opinion of

others rather then their own.

d. A company that hesitates to

attack itself ultimately looses

market share.

d. Better to overcover then

undercover. Gillette did not

wait for BIC to succeed in the

disposable razor market.

Chapter 7: Principles of defensive

warfare – 2

1. In case major brands of the company is under a price attack the leader should be emotionally ready to strike back.

2. A live-and-let-live philosophy has no place in warfare.

3. Maintain something in reserve and spend only as much as necessary to “keep the competition in line”.

4. In countries like USA which have strong anti-trust regulations better to exercise power to defend vertically then moving horizontally to extend your power.

5. The goal of defensive strategy is marketing peace.

6. Try to enlarge the pie rather then increasing the size of your slice.

Chapter 8: Principles of offensive

warfare Offensive principle no. 1 Offensive principle no. 2 Offensive principle no. 3

The main consideration is

the strength of the leader’s

position.

Find a weakness in the

leaders strength and

attack at that point.

Launch the attack on as

narrow a front as possible.

a. Most no. 2 or 3 position

companies reaction to marketing

problems is to study their own

strength & weakness. It is imperative

these companies focus on the leader.

a. Need to find a weakness in the

leaders strength and not his

weakness. High product price alone is

not a weakness. Exception Radio v/s

TV as price of both tied together.

a. Offensive warfare should be waged

with narrow lines, as close to single

products as possible. Eg. Dell v/s HP

where Dell has a narrow line of

products selling direct v/s HP having

a wide range selling through multiple

channels.

b. You must take away the leaders

position before you substitute your

own.

b. Company in position 2 or 3 should

become the opposite of the leader.

b. Clausewitz – “Where absolute

superiority is not attainable, you must

produce a relative one”.

c. It is not enough for you to succeed;

the leader must fail.

c. Examples of opposing leader are –

Avis v/s Hertz, Listerine v/s Scope

c. Mistake made by Chrysler and

AMC was attacking on multiple

product lines.

Chapter 8: Principles of offensive

warfare - 2 1. Offensive warfare is not an easy task and odds are in favour of

the defender.

2. There’s weakness in strength. Achilles had a heel that led to his down fall. However good offensive ideas are difficult to sell because they are negative in nature.

3. Federal Express seemed to fail initially when it tried to take on air freight forwarders like Emery and Airborne. Only after they launched the attack on as narrow a front as possible they succeeded. The renewed focus was on small package delivered overnight.

4. Attacking a monopoly. The Wall Street Journal dominated 100% of the market. However it contained both financial and business news. Alternative strategy would be to launch Business Times focussed only on the business aspect and use the 3 offensive principles.

Chapter 9: Principles of flanking warfare

Flanking principle no. 1 Flanking principle no. 2 Flanking principle no. 3

A good flanking move

should be made into an

uncontested area.

Tactical surprise ought to

be an important element of

the plan.

The pursuit is just as

critical as the attack itself.

a. Flanking need not be done by a

new product. However there must

be an element of newness or

exclusivity.

a. Most successful moves are the ones

that are totally unexpected. The

greater the surprise the more time it

takes the leader to react.

a. Clausewitz: “Without pursuit, no

victory can have great effect”. Many

companies quit after they are ahead

which is a big mistake.

b. Flanking skill requires exceptional

foresight as there is no established

market for the product or service.

b. Great flanking moves are under

mined by test marketing, which

expose the strategy to competition.

b. Companies tend to support

products that are losers & not

winners. Shoot the losers & allocate

resources to the winners.

c. It is difficult for the traditional

marketer to market the product with

no market.

c. Always base your strategy on what

the enemy is able to do, not on what

he is likely to do.

c. The objective is to try and win big

and therefore should reinforce

success.

d. Eg. Of flanking are Digital

Equipment created a new category

called “mini computers”

d. Eg. Of successful flanking are Close

Up toothpaste, Lite Beer.

Chapter 9: Principles of flanking

warfare - 2 1. Flanking with low price: The great advantage is that there is already a market there. The

trick is to cut costs where customers wont notice. The no frill approach. Budget flanked both Hertz and Avis in the rent a car market. Day Inns flanked Holiday Inn for low end motel market.

2. Flanking with high price: This is a big benefit as it adds credibility to the product. A classic example was the jewellery store in Arizona which had unsold jewellery. The owned scribbled a note to the sales person saying “Everything in this case, price*1/2”. The salesperson mistook the price as 2 times and all the jewellery was sold.

3. Some of the other forms of flanking and examples are –

Small Size – Sony , Beetle from VW. Subsequently VW made big cars and this led to smaller market share again.

Large size - Prince tennis racquet from Head. They too later made mid size racquets and repeated same mistake like the others.

With Distribution – Dell with direct sales, Avon sold door to door,.

Product Form – Close up took on established Crest with Gel toothpaste.

Chapter 10: Principles of guerrilla

warfare

The key to marketing warfare is to tailor your tactics to your

competition and its size and not to your own company.

Guerrilla principle no. 1 Guerrilla principle no. 2 Guerrilla principle no. 3

Find a segment of the market

small enough to defend.

No matter how successful you

become, never act like the leader.

Be prepared to bug out at a

moment’s notice.

a. Concentrate on a niche or segment of a

market that you can defend against the

business leader. Eg. Computervison focus

on CAD against leader IBM.

a. Leaders of Guerrilla companies do not

go to Harward Business School to learn

how to market.

a. Abandon position the moment the

market turns against you. The guerrilla

does not have resources to waste on a lost

cause.

b. Critical difference from flanking is that

flanking is launched close to the leaders

position to unravel the leader’s share.

b. In large companies, more then half the

employees provide services for other

employees. Guerrillas actually exploit this

weakness as they have maximum line

people and no staff.

b. Flexibility and lean organisation help

guerrilla to take up a new position without

the internal pain and stress that a big

company goes through.

c. Sometimes it is tempting for a guerrilla

to change its strategy to flanking to increase

market share.

c. The small size of guerrilla companies

enables them to take quick decisions.

c. Guerrillas also use their flexibility to

jump into a market quickly when the see

an opportunity.

Chapter 10: Principles of guerrilla

warfare - 2

1. A guerrilla has limited forces and therefore must resist the

temptation to spread them as it would be disastrous.

2. A guerrilla reduces the size of the battleground in order to

achieve a superiority of force.

3. Different types of guerrilla –

Demographic guerrillas – Sometimes combine both geographic

and demographic approaches.

Industry guerrillas – Concentrate on a specific industry and in

the computer industry this is known as vertical marketing.

Product guerrillas

High-end guerrillas

Chapter 11 – The cola war The proper study of war is the study of history. Yet marketing people rarely spend much

time on marketing history.

Coca-Cola v/s. Pepsi – Coca-Cola is over 100 years old and was invented by pharmacist John Styth Pemberton as a exotic patent medicine. It contained cocaine & caffeine. It was one of the most popular brands in 1902 & the subsequent year cocaine was taken out from the formula. It was available in a 6 ½-ounce bottle for a nickel. In the depression Pepsi-cola and Royal Crown emerged as challengers.

Pepsi-cola had launched a classic flanking attack at the low end. They introduced a 12 ounce bottle for a nickel. Coca-cola had heavy investments in the 6 ½ ounce bottle and were unable to cut price (vending machines set up) neither scrap the bottle.

Offensive principle 2 “find a weakness in the leaders strength and attack at that point. The bottle was Coca-Cola’s strength. Coca-cola never used the defensive strategy to have the courage to attack itself instead they let Pepsi attack them. Pepsi also changed its effort from selling through vending machines to supermarket which paid off.

In 1954 sales of Coca-cola dropped and next year & Coca-Cola could not compete for long with the 12 ounce bottle and introduced 10, 12 & 26 ounce bottle. The 6 ½ ounce bottle was history.

Chapter 11 – The cola war 2 The second attack by Pepsi was the “Pepsi generation”. Pepsi found 2 weakness in the

strength of the leader. Coke was the first cola drink and the authenticity was its obvious strength. Older people were more likely to drink Coke and the younger generation Pepsi.

Pepsi’s intent was to reposition competition as out of step, out of touch and out of date. They signed youth icons and youth could express their rebellion's by drinking Pepsi.

In 1970 Coca-Cola found the best defensive strategy for a leader. That is leadership itself . “It’s the real thing.”

Royal Crown which was no. 3 cola tried to attack the two leaders by taking them head to head. It used to outsell Pepsi in 1930’s. The best option was to use guerrilla tactics by finding a small segment and defending it. It also made a very strong flanking move through Diet Rite Cola and enjoyed leadership for 3 years. Then instead of defending this segment it used the profits to attack main-line of the 2 competitors.

7 Up was a successful flanking move and was positioned as the “Uncola” which the company should have never dropped. Further they introduced a decaffeinated cola called Like.

Chapter 12: The beer war After WW II, Schlitz was the no. 1 brand. Budweiser was its nearest

competitor and the leadership changed during the 1950’s. In the crucial years managements put ½ efforts by under spending on advertisements as they were obsessed by ROI. Management never asked what should be the spend to ensure victory.

In 1957 Budweiser grabbed a 1 ½ lead and never looked back & outsold Schlitz 20 to 1. Once you surrender the upper hand and momentum things go from bad to worse.

Hieneken, the first major imported beer in USA, strategy was the flanking principle no. 3: The pursuit is just as critical as the attack itself. They outspent all their imported rivals.

Lowenbrau , Munich campaign compared beer with champagne., thus broadening the market instead of attacking the leader (Hienken) strength. Lowenbrau was imported from Germany a place known for the best beer while Hienken was from Holland not known for beer. Lowenbrau rights were acquired by Miller Brewing & they brewed it in USA. The target was Michelob from Anheuser-Busch.

Chapter 12: The beer war 2 Anseuser attacked back by successfully bringing out the fact that Lowenbrau was

brewed domestically. This missed opportunity was picked up by Beck. However Beck is a weak German name. Further Anseuser counter attacked Hienken with Michelob, as a high priced beer

In 1970 Philip Morris bought Miller Brewing and Miller beer was placed 7th. However with Philip Morris’s money and consistent strategy Miller attacked Budweiser with the slogan “Welcome to Miller Time”by targeting the blue collar people. The results became visible after 3 yes. This made it the no. 2 brand after Budweiser.

The launch of Lite Beer: Lite was a classic flanking move introduced by Miller Brewing in 1975. It followed the principals of flanking – 1. An uncontested area 2. Tactical surprise 3. The pursuit. 22 other light brands were launched. All major beer brands did a line extension with light like Schlitz Light Coors (a successful regional guerrilla) etc.

Chapter 12: The beer war 3 Lessons from Light beer

Nobody has built 2 big brands on one big beer name.

In the long term, line extension is a losers strategy though it appears as a success in the short term. It is like alcohol which makes one euphoric in the short term but long term is a depressant on the central nervous system.

In 1976 Schlitz sold 24 million barrels. The Schlitz Light was launched and now they sell 3 million barrels. A successful flanking move killed both the brands. Similarly when Corrs Light was launched Coors regular sales kept going down. Miller Lite impacted the sales of Miller High Life brand.

No beer company seems to have learnt a lesson.

THOSE WHO CANNOT REMEMBER THE PAST ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT.

Chapter 13: The burger war Historically USA had coffee shops in every hamlet. They were the mom-pop institution

with 6-7 tables. These outlets sold a range of food and it had no relevance with its name. All these regional outlets had their specialities and were guerrillas who protected their own turf.

McDonald struck in the middle with the most popular food item viz. hamburger and cheese burger. The chain followed strict standards and procedures, strict devotion to cleanliness and intense training. They were the first mover and expanded rapidly. In the 1970’s Burger King seemed to have a better quality burger. However You cant become a leader by cooking better burgers. In marketing wars product is to drive home the strategy. Shouldn’t think in betterness but differentness.

Burger King found weakness in the assembly-line system of McDonalds where the latter delivers inexpensive burgers quickly. Customers had to wait in a separate line if they wanted anything special. Burger King ‘s advertisement promised that people wanting something special would not be treated as outcasts.

Chapter 13: The burger war 2 Burger King sales responded to “Have it your Way”. A strength is also a weakness

provided one finds the seam that holds the strength together.

McDonalds first 2 line extensions McChicken and McRib failed. They succeeded with Chicken McNuggets as KFC wasted 8 years to respond. However Chicken McNuggets will take part of the volume from hamburgers. Important to understand the difference between product to advertise, product to sell and product to make profit on. Conceptually, a burger chain advertises the burger, sells the french fries and makes money on soft drinks. Many chains confuse the 3 types of products.

McDonalds which started by attacking the coffee shops is increasingly resembling these chains by pushing for business on the periphery. Burger King seemed obsessed with McDonalds and copied them including Ronald. However Burger King did a course correction and focused on hamburgers with effective campaign. This boosted Burger King sales.

Chapter 13: The burger war 3 Wendys chain used a different flanking attack on the hamburger chains which

were pitched to grownups with adult size portions. There famous

advertisement line “Where’s the beef?”boosted sales in 1984 by 26%. The profit

margins were twice as that of Burger King.

White Castle founded in 1921 is a 170-unit chain which does business exactly

the same way it did when it was founded. They follow the Guerrilla principle no.

2 – No matter how successful you become, never act like the leader. This chain

does not sell other products. Each outlet sell more volume then McDonalds on

a per-establishment basis. While Castle chain peacefully co-exists with their

aggressive neighbours.

Chapter 14 – The computer war Sperry Rand delivered the first commercially sold computer in 1951. A few years later

IBM joined the battle. The former had technological leadership while the latter had an established position in the office market

IBM took the lead over Sperry Rand and consolidated its gain. Many competitors joined the fray but IBM went on to capture 60-70% share. RCA launched the first all-out assault by hiring ex-IBM executives. They tried to emulate IBM instead of flanking or guerrilla & you cant win by emulating the leader.

Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) flanked IBM at the low end by making small computers against IBM’s big computers. IBM made a rare mistake by not covering DEC’s as stated in Defensive principle no. 3: Strong competitive moves should always be blocked. IBM took 11 years to respond by which time DEC market share was 40%. Ken Olsen, President of DEC had the opportunity to put IBM on the mat with a 16-bit processor, but he felt later was better. In a battle between first & better; first usually wins.

The personal computers were also being used as a business computer. DEC squandered this opportunity while IBM was preparing to introduce the PC.

Chapter 14 – The computer war 2 In 1981, the IBM PC was launched and it did not have much resistance in taking over the

business side of the personal computers. IBM rapidly took over the market as there was

no one to defend the market because nobody owned the position. 16 years earlier, DEC

had successfully flanked IBM with the mini computer. Now IBM used the same strategy

to flank DEC with the personal computers.

Offensive principle no 3: Launch the attack on as narrow a front as possible. DEC

introduced not 1 but 3 personal computers. By 1984 IBM was outselling DEC 10 to 1.

It may be possible that one strategic mistake by DEC of not launching personal computer

early in the game led to its destruction. In marketing battle, managers perception is that

better products win. There were various players who attacked IBM unsuccessfully.

Once IBM had a strong hold in the PC market they used the classic defensive strategy.

“Attack Yourself”. However they made a mistake of opening retail stores. It is not the size

that counts, its your position.

Chapter 14 – The computer war 3 Apple is a home computer which tried to take over the no. 2 position from

DEC. It also used aggressive marketing and the name of Macintosh to make

inroads in office computers. Though efforts were made to keep the Apple brand

name and Macintosh name separate the publicity continued to link the two

together. Mr. Steve Wozniak warned against straying from home computer

segment & resigned from Apple.

IBM was the clear leader and who would become 2nd. DEC had the best chance

but they blew it. Compaq took great strides with 2 brilliant flanking strategies.

One by introducing the portable computer and secondly with 16-Mhz Intel

80386 PC. Dell found a way of becoming a leader in PC as the 1st company to

sell computers directly. This was a distribution flank.

Many companies tried to attack IBM but nobody was able to replace IBM.

Chapter 15 – Strategy and tactics Find a tactic that will work, and then build it into a strategy. Warfare teaches us

TACTICS SHOULD DRIVE STRATEGY.

Strategy should evolve out of the mud of the market place, not in some ivory tower. The objective of a grand strategy is to make operation work on a tactical level.

Marketing strategies should be judged for their effectiveness only as the point they come in contact with the customer and the competition.

Napolean Bonaparte & George S. Patton, Jr. were people whose mastery of tactics enabled them to become great strategists.

Advertisement – If one does not know how to use it at a tactical level, one is at a disadvantage as a marketing strategist. It is a critical weapon which must be handled superbly if company is going to win a big marketing victory.

The essence of a sound strategy is to be able to win the marketing war without tactical brilliance. Eg. IBM strategy oto be the first company to introduce personal computers.

Chapter 15 – Strategy and tactics 2 If superb tactics are needed to win the battle, then the strategy is not sound. In other

words, the company that relies on tactical brilliance is also relying on unsound strategy.

If a strategy is soundly conceived from a tactical point of view, then the strategy will direct the tactics.

At any given point of time one objective should dominate a companies strategic plans. This is referred to as SINGLE POINT OF ATTACK. However companies in the name of diversification have failed to adhere to this principle of concentration of force. INFACT some companies have shifted resources from a winning battle to a losing battle.

To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. A good marketing strategy is one that anticipates the competitor’s counter attack as they will make more sacrifices to protect their position.

Action implies strategy and strategy implies tactics. Good strategist living in reality do not let their egos cloud their judgement. They recognise the seamless quality about this continuum.

Chapter 16 – The marketing general Many corporate chiefs hide behind diversification & decentralisation. In fact

decentralisation has dulled the risk taking spirit of business people and companies have wound up with a collection of fiefdoms, none powerful enough to launch a big marketing programme on their own.

ATTRIBUTES OF A MARKETING GENERAL:

1. Flexible: A general must be flexible enough to adjust the strategy to the situation and not vice versa. He must not have any built in biases so all alternatives are considered before making a decision.

2. Courage: Unlimited supply of mental courage is integral. Lee Iacocca summed it in one word “decisiveness”. This is opposed to the macho types who are drawn to a lost cause. It is not the morale which will create marketing victories but vice versa.

3. Bold: This quality becomes rarer as one goes up the ranks. Typically higher caution is showed as one goes higher up the rank.

Chapter 16 – The marketing general 2

4. Know the facts: A good marketing strategy is built from the ground up, starting with the

facts.

5. Luck: Luck plays a very important role. When luck runs out, one ought to be prepared

to quickly cut the losses. “Capitulation is not a disgrace”- Clausewitz. A good marketing

leader must know when it is time to quit. No purpose is served by wasting resources to

conserve ego.

6. Know the rules: Vital to learn the rules or principles of the game. Then one must be

able to play the game without thinking of the rules. Like good habits, rules are learned

to be forgotten. One must examine history of marketing and formulate the strategic

principles that govern the outcome of corporate battles.

STRATEGY & TIMING ARE THE HIMALAYAS OF MARKETING.