Ulli Appelbaum often views himself as a contrarian in today’s transactional world of digital marketing.  A true Internationalist, who has lived on several continents and has worked on numerous global brands, he held senior strategy roles at BBDO, Leo Burnett, Fallon Worldwide, and SapientNitro before founding his boutique brand strategy shop, First The Trousers Then The Shoes, Inc. in Minneapolis.  Ulli believes that “Tragically, there are too many positioning trainwrecks in the marketing strategy world.”  As a result, he has written The Brand Positioning Workbook: A Simple How-To Guide to More Compelling Brand Positionings, Faster.
 
The book appears to be deceptively simple, while rich with insights.  Ulli opens with a quote from Proust: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”   Not only does he demonstrate how seeing with new eyes is important to brand positioning, but his perspectives are useful to both new and seasoned professionals because they are actionable.