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Channel abuse continues unabated
If you wonder why the distribution channel (retail or wholesale) gets even when they can, you only have to watch the abuse they take most of the time from the manufacturers who supply them. Sure, you...
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Old dogs and new tricks
Who says old dogs can’t learn new tricks and that big companies can’t serve narrow niches? The new General Motors is trying something that seems quite amazing. Will it work? Who knows, but it is...
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Toyota and Apple:Two peas in a pod
Toyota and Apple have both been facing some bad publicity recently. Toyota for unintended acceleration and other issues with their cars, and Apple for the “death grip” issues around the iPhone 4. Both...
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Re-learning to listen … maybe
USA Today had an interesting article in the July 20th issue that suggests “Buick wants to know how they really feel.” A reporter followed a Buick research team as they did in-depth interviews with...
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If you get the product right, “marketing” is a lot easier
It’s no secret that Buick car sales and the Buick brand have been on a downward slide for over two decades. This performance notwithstanding, Buick was selected as one of the surviving brands in the GM...
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Possibly the greatest long-format ad ever
Long format ads are generally longer than one-minute and often associated with direct-order television. However, there can be many other uses of long-format ads, especially in today’s Internet society....
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Never seen this before
I ran into what appears to be a stunningly good idea over the New Year’s weekend. Rocklin Mercedes-Benz has a bistro restaurant on-site at their dealership. This is a high-end bistro restaurant that...
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Following up
We continue to be impressed with Hyundai and their innovations in products and marketing. In a post a couple of years ago (you remember when the world was coming to an end), we talked about Hyundai’s...
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Who’s this one for?
I an a fan of Hyundai‘s innovative marketing and have posted before about their consumer-focused ideas. Their breakthrough program that if you got laid off you could return your car with no further...
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Lucy, you got some ‘splainin’ to do…
An article last week in the NY Times noted that “electric cars [are] sparking little buyer interest.” The article noted that most consumers are misinformed about electric cars in two ways that are...
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Getting It Right in Long Form
Commercials need to be entertaining with a solid message to work well. Too many focus on entertainment, go viral and produce nothing for the bottom line. Then there is an example like this from Audi:...
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Your People Are Not Usually The Real Problem
Most companies when faced with a need to grow revenue ultimately end up deciding to change people. They may change certain sales people, or they may try to hire a superstar from another company, or...
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Is Radio Shack The Next Oldsmobile?
In a failed effort to save the Oldsmobile brand, General Motors concocted the meaningless campaign, “Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile.” Their thinking, apparently, was to try to reposition Oldsmobile from...
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If You Can’t Fix It, Feature It
A while back, Roy Fields, a Corporate Vice President for Teledyne, said those words to me. Over the years, I have decided it was one of the great pieces of advice and “lines” I have ever received....
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Getting In Touch With Customers? … Or An Excuse
Cadillac recently announced they were being split off from GM as a separate business unit. Good for them. As long as they don’t follow Saturn’s fate; as a separate business unit that is. Cadillac also...
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Why Promote What You Don’t Want To Sell?
In a return to the “why are they promoting what they can’t (or won’t) deliver” department, let’s look at the Chevy Spark EV. This vehicle is apparently a “dog.” Sales were dismal and showed no signs of...
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You Didn’t Need to do a Study to Project This
An article in Automotive News Europe citing a “study” by AlixPartners, LLC states that billions will be spent on developing autonomous cars with over 50 major players involved. They then confidently...
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The Danger of Automated Processes
In an effort to increase efficiency, many companies are automating customer experience processes; resulting in unintended problems with effectiveness. I experienced this first hand recently with the...
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