Biography

Call 1.800.966.1380 to contact Al Ries booking agent, publicist, manager, pr firm, representative and management company for booking Al Ries speaker appearances, autograph signing, endorsement deals or hiring Al Ries as a keynote speaker for your next event. Find Al Ries official website information, speaker fees, booking fees, costs and schedule. Al Ries is a legendary marketing strategist and the bestselling author (or co-author) of 11 books on marketing including "Positioning", "Marketing Warfare", "Focus", "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding", "The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR" and his latest, "War in the Boardroom".

After graduating from DePauw University, Al Ries worked in the advertising department of General Electric before founding his own advertising agency in New York City, Ries Cappiello Colwell in 1963. The agency later changed to marketing strategy firm, Trout & Ries.

In 1972, Al co-authored the now infamous three-part series of articles declaring the arrival of the Positioning Era in Advertising Age magazine. The concept of positioning revolutionized how people viewed advertising and marketing. Marketing was traditionally thought of as communications, but successful brands are those that find an open hole in the mind and then become the first to fill the hole with their brand name.

When Advertising Age magazine choose the 75 most important ad moments of the last 75 years celebrating the publication's 75th anniversary, the emergence of positioning came in at number #56. Ad Age commented on how the concept remains just as relevant in today's environment, "The positioning era doesn't end. What became a part of the marketing lexicon in the early '70's holds its own in the textbooks of today."

Al Ries was president of the Association of Industrial Advertisers (now the Business Marketing Association) and the Advertising Club of New York. He was also chairman of the Club's Andy Awards. In 1989, Sales & Marketing Executives International gave him its "Tops in Marketing" award. In 1999, PR Week magazine named him one of the 100 most influential PR people of the 20th century.

Always one for controversy, Al's book, "The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR", has generated enormous interest in the marketing community. The book made both the Business Week and The Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. In addition to being reviewed by these publications, it was also reviewed by USA Today, Harvard Business Review, Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times and many other publications.

Al Ries currently writes a monthly marketing column for AdAge.com. Al's favorite activities include snorkeling, horseback riding and driving with the top down. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Mary Lou.

PFP Sports & Celebrity Talent PFP is a speakers bureau and booking agency providing Al Ries speaker, personal appearance and endorsement information. Booking Al Ries for appearances, as a motivational speaker, keynote speaker, for a fundraising event, grand opening, television or radio commercial, PR campaign or trade show is easy through our agency. For more info, contact Al Ries through PFP Sports & Celebrity Talent at 1.800.966.1380.