Big Brands Big Trouble: Lessons Learned the Hard Way - Hardcover

"[b]usiness practioners, researchers, and students will all use insights and learn techniques gleaned from the case studies presented...for all business collections" (Library Journal, August 2001) "readers will find salvation in [Trout's] straightforward, engaging prose and the constant hammering home of lessons." (Publishers Weekly, October 1, 2001) "snappy, readable book...the colorful stories of failure and the hardheaded, concrete advice make for an engaging sermon." (Harvard Business Review, October 2001) Business Book of the Week (Money Week, 23 November 2001) "...a fabulous collection of mistakes..Trout finishes this book with good-humoured attitude...even if you learn little from this book it is still worth reading for the delicious schadenfreude it will give you." (Brand Strategy, December 2001) "...Trout may be a humble marketing advisor, but he knows what ails big-brand America - and he has the remedy...it may be one of the longest business pitches in history, but it's a great read for all that." (Sunday Times - Book of the Week, 2 December 2001) "...he provides in depth case studies and the book clearly demonstrates what can commonly go wrong..." (Business Monthly, November 2001) "In Big Brands, Big Trouble he gives striaght-to-the-point advice on how to maintain leadership and exploit opportunities using in-depth case studies." (Ambassador, February/March 2002) "...a valuable starting point for us all..." (Professional Manager, March 2002) "...its a great refresher course for marketers and sound grounding for chief executives...brilliantly insightful..." (Marketing Mix, 18 September 2003)

One of the most respected marketing gurus in the world shows why some of today's biggest brands are having trouble and how to avoid repeating their mistakes. It wasn't long ago that Levi-Strauss, Xerox, Crest, AT&T, Firestone, and Digital Equipment dominated their respective markets. What happened to undermine their standings and of those of other superbrands? Are their declines simply the inevitable consequence of change and the birth of new competition? In this important predecessor to the classic Differentiate or Die, "the king of positioning," Jack Trout answers that question with a resounding "No!" Writing in his signature, straight-from-the-hip style he reveals the disastrous marketing and strategy blunders that led to the dissolution of the most recognized superbrands. He clearly shows how those mistakes could have been avoided. With the help of in-depth case studies chronicling the events leading up to the falls from grace of Sears, Miller Brewing, Xerox, Crest, Burger King, and other past market leaders, he identifies the ten most common mistakes that big brands make, and he develops a set of expert guidelines for marketing managers and executives on how to build, protect, manage, and expand their companies' brands and avoid brand-killing blunders.