Jack Trout

John Francis "Jack" Trout (January 31, 1935 – June 4, 2017) was an American advertising executive and an owner of Trout & Partners, a consulting firm. He was one of the founders and pioneers of positioning theory and also marketing warfare theory.

Jack Trout
Born	John Francis Trout January 31, 1935 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Died	June 4, 2017 (aged 82) Old Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater	Iona College
Occupation	Advertising executive

Career

Trout started his business career in the advertising department of General Electric. From there he went on to become a divisional advertising manager at Uniroyal.[1] Then he joined Al Ries in the advertising agency and marketing strategy firm where they worked together for over twenty-six years.[2]

He was the founder and president of the international marketing strategy firm "Trout and Partners". The firm is represented in offices in many countries worldwide including emerging markets.[3] Trout worked with a number of different client companies, including AT&T, Apple, Citicorp, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Southwest Airlines and Xerox. When working with pizza chain Papa John's, Trout was majorly involved in the invention of the chain's slogan "better ingredients, better pizza".[3]

In the fall of 2002, Trout began working with the United States Department of State in order to "train new diplomats in the art of projecting a positive image of America overseas" as a part of the Brand America campaign, which sought to improve public opinion about the upcoming Iraq War.[4]

Trout died of intestinal cancer at his home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, at the age of 82.[5]

Books

• Big Brands, Big Trouble: Lessons Learned the Hard Way. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 2001. ISBN 978-0471263036.[6]
• A Genie's Wisdom: A Fable of How a CEO Learned to Be a Marketing Genius. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 2002. ISBN 978-0471236085.[7]
• Jack Trout on Strategy. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. 2004. ISBN 978-1259589621.[8]
• In Search of the Obvious: The Antidote for Today's Marketing Mess. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. 2008. ISBN 978-0470288597.[9]

With Steve Rivkin

• The New Positioning: The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. 1996. ISBN 978-0070653283.[10]
• The Power of Simplicity. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. 1998. ISBN 978-0071373326.[11]
• Differentiate or Die. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 2000. ISBN 978-0471028925.[12]
• Repositioning: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change, and Crisis. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. 2010. ISBN 978-0071635592.

With Al Ries

• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. 1981. ISBN 0-07-137358-6.[3]
• Marketing Warfare. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. 1986. ASIN B007YIUE0C.[13]
• Bottom-Up Marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. 1989. ISBN 978-0070527331.[14]
• Horse Sense: The Key to Success Is Finding a Horse to Ride. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. 1990. ISBN 978-0070527355.
• The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. New York: HarperCollins. 1993. ISBN 978-0887306662.[15]

References

1. Sandomir, Richard (June 7, 2017). "Jack Trout, Who Fought for Consumers' Minds and Money, Dies at 82". The New York Times.
2. John R. Hall (October 18, 2004). "Marketing guru talks about differentiation: Jack Trout holds court with a packed audience at AirTime 500 Fall Expo". Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
3. Blossom, Debbie (March 18, 2006). "Marketing wizard due in Tulsa: Internationally known Jack Trout will address the Tulsa Advertising Federation". Tulsa World. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
4. Noel C. Paul (March 24, 2003). "Selling war: a review of the campaign; Darts at Hussein as an exercise in 'repositioning the competitor'? Marketers weigh in". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
5. Neff, Jack (June 5, 2017). "Jack Trout, Co-Author of 'Positioning,' Dies at 82". Advertising Age.
6. Sue Westcott Alessandri (January 1, 2004). "The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR / Big Brands, Big Trouble: Lessons Learned the Hard Way". Journalism & Mass Communication Educator. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
7. Lazare, Lewis (December 4, 2002). "Book lists marketing sins". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
8. Joseph F. McKenna (March 1, 2008). "Catching up with Jack". Tooling & Production. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
9. Lute Harmon Sr. (September 1, 2009). "Get healthy in Cleveland". Inside Business Magazine. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
10. Petrozzello, Donna (February 12, 1996). "Jack Trout pushes the 'power of sound'(marketing guru on the importance of sound in advertising)". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
11. Ramsay, John (March 4, 1999). "The Power of Simplicity". Supply Management. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
12. K. T. Chelvi (October 29, 2001). "Jack Trout advises on retaining, capturing bigger market share". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
13. Bunn, Dina (January 11, 1998). "Marketing Is War And Winner Gets The Sales, Consultant Says". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
14. Doyle, Tracy (May 1, 2004). "Tactical Switch". Medical Marketing & Media. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
15. "Marketing: Ries & Trout's 22 laws". Soft-Letter. September 30, 1993. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2012.