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Podcast: Negotiate Anything
Episode:

Stop Playing Nice: Make an Enemy, Build a Brand
Category: Business
Duration: 00:52:48
Publish Date: 2025-08-14 09:00:00
Description:

Be nice, be invisible—brand leaders pick a strategic enemy and own the category.


⁠Buy the book The Strategic Enemy - How To Build & Position a Brand Worth Fighting For. By Laura Ries⁠


In this episode, branding strategist Laura Ries (daughter of positioning pioneer Al Ries) breaks down why playing it safe kills momentum, how to define a category you can own, and how the psychology of contrast turns brands into movements. We dig into visual hammers, multi-brand vs. line extensions, and the bold decision to say no so a brand can finally say something.

You’ll learn:

  • What a strategic enemy is (and isn’t)—and why it supercharges word-of-mouth

  • How to choose the right category first, then dominate it with brand

  • The role of a visual hammer (icon, color, shape) in instant recognition

  • Why line extensions backfire—and when a new brand is the winning move

  • How personal branding uses the same rules (signature look, ruthless focus)

  • Why advertising should reinforce, not introduce, a positioning
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