Jack Trout, one of the most famous names in the world of marketing strategy, is president of Trout & Partners. He is a popular speaker and the coauthor of such best-selling business classics as Positioning, The New Positioning, and Marketing Warfare. Trout's firm consults to such clients as AT&T, IBM, Merck, Southwest Airlines, and Warner-Lambert. He is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Steve Rivkin is coauthor of The New Positioning and head of his own communications consulting firm, whose clients include Kraft Foods, Olin Corp., and Horizon Health System. He is based in Glen Rock, New Jersey.