Why No One Believes GM, Ford and Chrysler Deserved Bailouts

Months ago, I published a post on another blog I write for about the fate of GM, Ford and Chrysler.  I received a lot of negative comments on that post from people who disagreed with my assertion that mismanagement brought about the failure of the Big 3 U.S. auto manufacturers — specifically, focusing on short term gains rather than long term strategy. It’s a trap that executives and managers everywhere fell victim to as stockholders demanded double-digit growth year after year.

There’s a reason why GM, Ford and Chrysler found themselves circling the drain.  I think this chart says it all.  The only surprising thing is that GM, Ford and Chrysler survived as long as they did before they tanked.

The lesson for marketers to learn is this — don’t be the blue lines in this chart.  It shouldn’t take a decade to make the necessary changes to reverse those market share trends.

Sneak Peak – Building Brand Value the Playboy Way

KeySplash Creative President and CEO Susan Gunelius’ newest book, Building Brand Value the Playboy Way, will be released this month in the United Kingdom and in October in the United States.

You can read an excerpt of Building Brand Value the Playboy Way from the book’s Introduction on Entrepreneur.com.

When I started writing this book, I already viewed Hugh Hefner as the ultimate brand champion and brand guardian, and when I finished, that opinion had only grown stronger. Building Brand Value the Playboy Way was written for an academic and professional audience, and describes how one man’s idea to create a lifestyle magazine for men in the 1950s turned into one of the most recognized brands in the world. It’s a fascinating story that all branding and marketing students and professionals can learn from.

Building Brand Value the Playboy Way is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other book stores (both online and offline).

Burger King Bets on Tony Stewart and a Polygraph Test

Burger King’s newest celebrity endorsements are coming from NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.  I just saw my first Burger King commercial starring Tony Stewart this week, and it wasn’t bad.  Considering how popular NASCAR is, I’d imagine the pairing of a popular driver with fast food is decent.

Then I heard that Tony Stewart is taking a live polygraph test online where he will be asked if he really likes Burger King Whoppers, and the appeal of this campaign from Crispin Porter & Bogusky became clear to me.  It’s a clever attempt at creating an integrated marketing program driving television audiences to Burger King’s special website — where visitors can submit their own questions for Stewart’s polygraph test.  And that site is in addition to the existing BKracking.com site that already has interactive features and a sweepstakes game.

Will the effort sell more Whoppers?  It’s hard to say.  I’m not well versed in the NASCAR audience demographics, but it certainly can’t hurt.  If nothing else, it’s got people talking, which has to be good for the Burger King brand.

However, I’m not so sure about the Carrot Top and Erik Estrada appeal (check out the commercial below)?  Since Carrot Top got all pseudo-buff on steroids, he’s disturbingly freaky to look at.  On the other hand, what person older than 35 doesn’t get a bit nostalgic when they see Frank Poncherello?

What do you think?

Google Blogger for Dummies Reviewed by About.com Guide to Google Marziah Karch

Marziah Karch, the About.com Guide to Google, reviewed my book, Google Blogger For Dummies, and gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

You can follow the link to read Marziah’s full review of Google Blogger for Dummies.

9 Reasons to Sign up for the GrowSmartBiz Conference

Some of you might know that I’m on the Network Solutions Social Web Advisory Board, so sometimes I get emails from them announcing events and webinars.  Today, I received an email about the upcoming GrowSmartBiz Conference in Washington, D.C. on September 29, 2009 along with a discount code to get two registrations for $99 (a $500 discount) that I’m happy to share with KeySplash Creative Conversations readers.  Following is the email I received from Network Solutions with all the details:

Nine reasons to sign up today for the GrowSmartBiz Conference in Washington, D.C., Sept. 29!

1. Get an opportunity to network with small business owners and entrepreneurs – learn and grow your business at the same time!
2. Gain insight – including tips and strategies – from more than 20 of the nation’s top small business experts.
3. See Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail and Free, as the conference keynote.
4. Walk away with executable, cost-effective ways to market, promote and grow your business.
5. Find out what others are doing to weather the current economic storm – and pick up strategies and tactics you can apply to your own business.
6. Learn how to navigate your way through what can be a financial maze from people who hav[e done it – and succeeded.
7. Expand your marketing arsenal – figure out how to enhance your current promotional efforts by integrating social media.
8. Score lots of free stuff – including a free domain name from Network Solutions®, a copy of Chris Anderson’s best-selling book, Free, and business planning software from Palo Alto Software.
9. TODAY ONLY, REGISTER TO RECEIVE TWO ADMISSIONS FOR JUST $99 TOTAL – A SAVINGS OF NEARLY $500! But, you have to act fast – the offer is only good Wednesday, September 9 from 12 a.m. EST to 11:59 p.m. EST. REGISTER NOW by using the promo code: GSB999 and clicking here!

Remember When MTV Played Music Videos?

I’m feeling a bit nostalgic today after reading two recent articles.  The first was published on AdWeek about MTV’s new plans to revive MTV.com by making it a more social and entertainment-news focused online destination to compete more closely with sites like Yahoo!’s OMG and AOL’s Popeater.com.  And the second was published in the New York Times and discussed how great VH1 is doing in the ratings since changing the majority of its programming to celebrity reality shows.

And that got me to thinking….

Remember when MTV actually played music videos?

And remember those great “I Want My MTV” commercials in the 1980s?

If I had a dollar for every minute I watched MTV and VH1 in the 1980s…….

United Breaks Guitars – YouTube to the Rescue

First the backstory –

In Spring 2008, musician Dave Carroll took a United Airlines flight heading toward Nebraska for a 1-week tour.  Due to carry-on bag restrictions, he had to check his $3,500 Taylor guitar.  While sitting on the tarmac, another passenger brought everyone’s attention to the United Airlines baggage handlers who were throwing Carroll’s guitar (among other things) into the plane in a manner that left little hope for survival.  After 9 months of phone calls and discussions with a myriad of United Airlines employees, Carroll was finally told that United Airlines would not compensate him for his loss.  You can read the full story here.

So what did Carroll do?  He turned to the power of the social web, namely YouTube, to share his story — and it worked!

Carroll wrote a song and filmed a video called “United Breaks Guitars” (which is very funny) and uploaded it to YouTube on July 9, 2009.  You can view it below (or watch it here).  As of today, not even two months since it’s release, the video has been viewed over 5.3 million times.

Word got out and the video became a big enough viral sensation that United had to respond.  They contacted Carroll and offered to compensate him for the damages done to his guitar, but Carroll declined the money and asked United to donate it to charity.  He uploaded a new video on July 10th in which he describes his discussion with United, which you can watch below (or view it here on YouTube).

On August 17, 2009, Carroll uploaded the second song and video in his 3-part United song series.  As of today, just two weeks later, already nearly 300,000 people have watched the video, shown below (or view it here).

Carroll is now writing the third and final song in his United series, which will be released on YouTube with a corresponding video soon.

There are two things marketers must learn from this story.  First, the social Web is a powerful tool with the potential to make or break a brand.  Make it work for you, not against you.  Second, United breaks guitars.