Once the arrangement of a ladder has been set in the mind of the public, it is very
tough for a brand to move up the ladder. Even though Pepsi generally wins in blind
taste tests, it cannot knock Coke out of its position at the top. In another example, if
an architecture firm is competing against HOK Sport in the sports arena market, it
may be able to beat the firm on one project, but it will be very difficult to knock it off
the top rung of the ladder. HOK is probably the first firm a prospective client thinks
of for sports arena design, and there is not much other firms can do about that.