Where's My Bailout?

The "Bailout" poses a problem for the Obama administration. Its a huge number, but who has felt it personally?

This is where the administration needs to be reminding people that things like low mortgage rates and extended unemployment benefits are a direct result of the federal action.


I think some people are expecting a federal agent to show up and hand them some cash. But don't assume people know how they are being helped.

Graffitti in New York outside the Holland Tunnel proves the point.



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Words Matter

News flash:  Words matter, in business, politics, where ever.  Take the stimulus bill and the government actions to stabilize the banking system.

The word being thrown around by the media is NATIONALIZATION.  What does that mean exactly?  Is the government nationalizing the banks?

The technical answer doesn't really matter, because opponents to the bailout (recovery act, TARP, stimulus) have convinced the public that the government is, in fact, nationalizing the banks. 

They don't need to elaborate on this.  The details only muddy the message.  A recent New Republic article by Noam Scheiber said, 

"Money aside, the question of nationalization poses serious complications of its own. Even defining the concept is maddeningly difficult. At the broadest level, it implies the government would own the banks and nurse them to health before presumably selling them off. What no one knows--and few people specify--is what ownership would mean as a practical matter. Would the government involve itself in day-to-day management? Would it wipe out current shareholders and own the banks entirely, or would it be satisfied with a majority stake? Would nationalization be more like temporary seizure--that is, honestly accounting for bad assets and injecting new capital, then privatizing as quickly as possible?"

People are are busy.  I image most people not directly involved in this (which is most of us) are saying things like, "If event the experts are sure how to define it and what it means, then believing it is nationalization isn't incorrect.  And nationalization sounds bad.  I am against."

Obama has been tactically outflanked because words matter and simple ideas resonate.

Republican 1.  Obama 0.

GM Will Miss Bob Lutz

So I have ranted about Detroit car makers. Here was my basic point: the reason they are in terrible shape is that they are run by the wrong parts of the company. Management has been totally focused on running a huge organization and oh, yeah, every few minutes a car rolls off the assembly line.

Bob Lutz did an interview with Ad Age last week in which he says exactly this. His big accomplishment, according to him, was getting GM to focus on the product and to build cars people want to drive. Kind of scary, but he's right. That is an enormous accomplishment.

I don't think they are there yet, but perhaps closer than they have been in decades.

What A-Rod Can Teach Us

Who can you trust any more? Banks? The government? Baseball players?

Alex Rodriguez cheated. He's not alone, but he is one of the best players in baseball. He told Peter Gammons:

"I felt an enormous amount of pressure," said an emotional Rodriguez of the impetus to perform after inking a 10-year, $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers in the winter of 2000. "I was young. I was stupid."

A-Rod is scrambling now to figure out what to say, act, and respond. Seems to me he had six years to prepare an answer. Some unsolicited advice: it should start with, "Here's why I didn't disclose this six years ago."

His brand is done. Shot. He violated the rule that has become more important than any other these days: be authentic, be real, don't lie.

The same rule holds for corporations, universities, governments. Its not that hard to figure out.

If you want trust, be worthy of our trust.

If you want loyalty, be loyal to the values of your customers.

If you want a relationship, don't lie, obfuscate, or be too cute by half.

We will find out anyway. There is no hiding information any more. Better to hear it from you first and quickly if you had a lapse in judgment. Actions must match words. Now more than ever, we are all from Missouri.

Watch Out For Hyundai

So January car sales were announced today. Chrysler down 55%. Ford down 40%. Toyota down 32%.

Guess whose sales rose in January? Ten guesses wouldn't be enough. Hyundai. Up 12%. Why?

Well, better cars, aggressive pricing in a down economy, sure. But it has to be related to their new ad campaign which offers a contract with buyers that Hyundai will take back your car if you lose your job.



Think about it. Marketers are supposed to get buyers interested in their products and then figure out what will get them to purchase. In some cases, like a car, it is a big decision for the consumer. For Hyundai, as an upstart brand, they have an additional challenge to get consumers to actually consider their brand. In normal times, Hyundai might have a harder time of that. But with everyone being price conscious, suddenly there is an opportunity.

But what is remarkable about the Hyundai story is that not only did they get consumers to consider their product, no simple task, but they also tackled the biggest barrier to purchase. In this economy, can you think of bigger barrier to buying a new car than "I might lose my job and won't be able to afford a new car"?

This is an authentic, timely campaign. It acknowledges the current reality of most consumers and offers a real solution to a real problem -- so much better than "employee-plus pricing." We all know that not even the employees are buying their cars right now.

Cudos to Goodby, Silverstein for this new campaign. And cudos to Hyundai execs for having the guts to go forward with this offer. Hyundai is clearly a marketing driven company at this point. Watch out Detroit.

What do you think? Is this offer enough to get you to consider Hyundai?

What the Snuggie Blanket Proves

Have you seen the Snuggie Blanket? The blanket with arms? They have sold 4 million units since October. Mostly via direct-response TV.

It is a good reminder to me that I am not the target. As a marketer, we can often confuse things and forget that we are not the intended target of the product we are selling. If we are it is irrelevant.

What does our target think? What do they want/need? Let them tell you vs. deciding for them based on what you think.

It is hard sometimes to separate your personal opinion about a prodcut from our professional assessment of what the market thinks, but that is why we are employed.

I don't get the Snuggie, but luckily someone knew the market would want it. Who knew?

The Winner of the Superbowl is etrade

Once again etrade delivers great ads that people will remember. Ad age says their previous ads boosted funded accounts by 32% in the week after the Superbowl last year. Not bad.

Love the golf ad.



Singing baby, not bad.



Funny baby is great.



And the outtakes are hysterical.