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.

Top 5 Songs in 2008 Commercials

Music is an underutilized tool in advertising. There were a few advertisers who used music as a key element of their advertising, as opposed to a background track to fill dead space.

So here's my list of top songs for 2008:

Advertiser: Amstel Light
Song: Chelsea Dagger
Musician: The Fratellis

Amstel used this spot and this song to reenergize their brand and highlight its import credentials. It is much more male focused than their traditional message. My guess is this is aimed at Heineken and Stella drinkers who view Amstel as a girl's beer. Looks like they are muscling it up.




Advertiser: Bacardi
Song: The Muddle
Musician: ?

Bacardi was a bit genius this year by branding the mojito. These cool spots with thumping music really worked.


Advertiser: Apple iPod nano
Song: Bruises
Musician: Chairlift

What needs to be said? Apple is the master of using music in their spots. Their entire iPod series is pure genius and has created several music hits such as Bruises. Apple is best in class.



Advertiser: Nike
Song: List of Demands
Musician: Saul Williams

Nike is nothing but cool. They use great cinematography and music in all their spots to create an attitude and energy that few other advertisers can match. This spot makes you want to get up an run.



Advertiser: Lincoln MKS
Song: Technologic
Musician: Daft Punk

Lincoln is trying to change its image, to be more edgy, focused on technical superiority, which is a slight reach from where the brand has been. These spots help move Lincoln closer to Cadillac and further away from Buick.





If you are curious about music in commercials there are a few good sources (gotta love the internet):
http://www.squidoo.com/tv_commercial_music
http://www.whatsthatcalled.com/forum/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=1&
http://adtunes.com/
http://findthatsong.net/
http://www.google.com/Top/Arts/Television/Commercials/

What Business Are They In?

Some companies do not know what business they are in.

The car makers have made this clear. They are in a consumer products business, but run the company like they are a finance company or a manufacturer. Consider Proctor and Gamble. They manufacture a whole lot of products from Pampers to Tide. But they understand the business they are in. They are not run by the finance function or the manufacturing function. They are run by the brand managers.

The U.S. airline industry is another where management has a fundamental misunderstanding of which business they are in. They are run as if they were in the transportation business. Just because you own planes and move people and luggage around doesn't mean you are in the transportation business. They are in the service business, just like Ritz Carlton or Marriott. Ritz Carlton does not treat its guests as if it were in the real estate business just because they own hotels.

Think about it. How memorable is it when a flight attendant is actually pleasant and truly accommodating? When was the last innovation in the airline business that was done for the consumer's interest and not the airlines'? You wonder why Southwest has done well? It has managed to combine good service with cheap prices. The service is appropriate for the price you pay. It is a fair trade and consumers have voted with their dollars.

What business is your company in? Who really runs the company? Companies who really understand their business and their customers have aligned the answers to these two questions.