What does having a “strategic enemy” do for your brand effectiveness? Why is showing always better than telling when it comes to marketing? How can you get your brand into the mind’s eye of your audience by oversimplifying your brand? 

In this podcast episode, Joe Sanok discusses how to oversimplify your brand with Laura Ries. 

Podcast Sponsor: Headway















I want to thank Headway for sponsoring this episode. If you run a group practice, you know that accepting insurance can be overwhelming. Between credentialing, billing, and payroll, the admin side can easily take over your week. Headway was built to help you handle this — and they’re the only platform designed specifically for in-network group practices.

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Curious how Headway can work for you? 

Meet Laura Ries







Laura Ries is a world-renowned positioning strategist, bestselling author, and compelling keynote speaker. As President of Ries & Ries, the branding consultancy she co-founded with her late father, Al Ries, she has advised Fortune 500s and startups across more than 60 countries.

She co-authored foundational books such as The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR, and The Origin of Brands. Her latest work, The Strategic Enemy: How to Build and Position a Brand Worth Fighting For, presents a provocative new angle on how brands can distinguish themselves by defining what they’re not.

Laura is also a regular media commentator on CNN, Fox, CNBC, PBS, and more, bringing clarity to brand discourse in a noisy world.

Visit RIES and connect on Instagram and LinkedIn.

In This Podcast



* Essential marketing terms 

* How to differentiate yourself to be known for something 

* Live it in your work 

* Audit: How to build and position your brand 

* Laura’s advice to private practitioners



Essential marketing terms 

Many people just think, “Branding is my logo”, and that’s part of it – your visual identity is incredibly important, but let’s go back to that essence of branding itself … You want to get that brand inside the [client’s] mind. (Laura Ries) 

Most people are concerned with the external aspects of branding, including the logo, color scheme, website, and social media.  These are important, but they support the end goal, which is to position yourself in the mind of your ideal customer. 

How to differentiate yourself to be known for something

One great way to differentiate is to be a specialist in one key area, whether it’s adolescents, eating disorders, or marriage – there are lots of ways that you can find that specialty. However, the challenge again is to distinguish yourself, because saying you are a specialist doesn’t get you all the way to the end goal of your ideal client working with y...