Where Brands Go Wrong: Laura Ries on Positioning
Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People
Guy Kawasaki
4.5 • 679 Ratings
🗓️ 17 September 2025
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What does it take to build a brand that dominates the mind—and outlasts the competition? Positioning strategist Laura Ries has the answer.
As the president of Ries & Ries and co-author of the classic 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, Laura has advised Fortune 500 companies around the world. In this conversation, she shares how growing up with her father, branding legend Al Ries, shaped her career, and how her new book The Strategic Enemy reveals why every great brand needs a rival.
From Volvo and Tesla to Liquid Death and Dude Wipes, Laura dissects the successes and failures that prove one truth: brands don’t win by being better, they win by being different.
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Guy Kawasaki is on a mission to make you remarkable. His Remarkable People podcast features interviews with remarkable people such as Jane Goodall, Marc Benioff, Woz, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Bob Cialdini. Every episode will make you more remarkable.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From October 7th to 9th in San Francisco, the Masters of Scale Summit returns. |
| 0:05.6 | It's where the boldest minds in business, tech, and beyond gather to build the future. |
| 0:11.5 | And we want you to join us. |
| 0:13.7 | Here from the CEO of the New York Times, scientists using cutting-edge technology to find cures, |
| 0:18.9 | the leader of crypto powerhouse coinbase, |
| 0:21.5 | a retired four-star general, and many, many more. They're all on the same stage, and it's not just |
| 0:28.0 | another conference. It is the gathering for remarkable people. Apply to attend at masters |
| 0:34.3 | ofscale.com slash remarkable. That's masters of scale.com slash remarkable. |
| 0:40.6 | When you think to buy a car, what's the first question you want? What brand? Not really. |
| 0:45.5 | Most people think of what type of car, right? Do I want an electric? Do I want a truck? Do I want a small? |
| 0:50.6 | Do I want an SUV? And then they think, what brands do I most closely associate with that |
| 0:55.9 | category? So the strength in the category is the ultimate power in branding. Understanding your |
| 1:01.1 | category, where you lie in that category, and perhaps if you can stand for and dominate a new |
| 1:06.8 | category. And if you have the willingness and patience and courage to do that, it's a very |
| 1:11.8 | long-term effective strategy. |
| 1:16.1 | It's Guy Kawasaki. This is the Remarkable People podcast, and we go all over looking for |
| 1:22.6 | remarkable people to help you become remarkable too. Today is a guest that will help you not only be a remarkable person, but remarkable company, |
| 1:33.4 | remarkable product, remarkable service. |
| 1:36.3 | She is Laura Reese, and she is, I would say, one of the sharpest minds in marketing and |
| 1:42.3 | branding. |
| 1:43.5 | She's the president of a firm called |
| 1:45.7 | Reese and Reese. She's co-author of the 22 immutable laws of branding, which I read and I |
... |
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