Posted by Scott Dunn on September 29, 2008
Any good manufacturer would deep-six a brand that has a 17% approval rating.
Any good retailer would show it the door.
Any good consumer would return it and demand a refund.
Unfortunately, congress is a brand that has tenure. We can’t get rid of it. We can only change its members every two or six years.
The current economic bail-out mess has been described as:
A failed administration, and a failed congress,
bailing out failed businesses that have failed the country,
yet we are assured that it cannot fail!
Our constitution guarantees legislative continuity, but it is silent about competence.
The market is brutal for brands that fail. Over ninety percent of new products and new stores are gone after two years. Here are some reasons why brands fail. One could only wish that our leaders would pay attention:
- They don’t stand for anything in particular
- They don’t listen
- They don’t keep up-to-date
- They think they are bullet-proof
- They think they are above the laws (of marketing that is)
I think that politicians should take Marketing #101. (They obviously skipped Economics and History.) Good marketers live by these rules:
- We exist because of our customers and survive at their pleasure
- We offer a promise and we keep it
- We aren’t the boss
- We are trustworthy
- We are accountable, right now, every day
We have term limits for our president, for good reason. Why not for congress? Sure, we would give up some experience, but we would gain more from fresh air.
I tell my students that if they want to succeed in marketing they should first go out and sell something. That is a humbling experience. They would learn how to fail—graciously. They would have to experience the real world. Politicians—likewise?
“Public Service” is a noble calling. But where has it gone wrong?
George Lemmond
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Posted by Scott Dunn on September 23, 2008
An opponent called Lincoln a baboon and a senator hit another with his cane. Not too long ago we saw legislators duke it out in Japan, and Google reports statesmen’s physical bashings in Jakarta, Taiwan, and the Czech Republic.
Are those good ole days gone forever? The worst I’ve seen lately is, “My opponent’s campaign has reached a new low with his lies and half-truths.” Really—how about really low blows with the gloves off?
I’d favor capital punishment for attacks on anyone’s family. Otherwise, let it rip.
Aren’t you sick of hearing, “My distinguished opponent, with whom I have the highest personal regard, is somewhat misguided on this issue.” That is a non-Freudian slip. What he was thinking was, “He is a bumbling fool and I question his ancestry and the circumstances of his birth.”
We need a police force that enforces non-civility in all political ads. No gentility, only verbal body slams are allowed. Politeness is very boring. Good ads are intrusive. Old-fashioned boxing (under the Marques of Queensbury rules) is being swamped by Ultimate Fights, where the only thing it seems you can’t do is disembowel. Hockey fans want fistfights, Nascar thrives on wrecks. Gladiators win with blood, toreadors earn ears. Americans want a (fair?) fight.
I want to hear what they really think about issues, and what they know about the other guy’s deficiencies (read dirt). Here’s a format that will work for any televised debates:
- In an isolation booth with one mike
- Just the two of them, seated facing each other, three feet apart
- They take turns asking any question they choose
- The other one has one minute to answer, then the first one can shout over
- After five minutes a bell rings and the other guy asks his question
- Two hour limit
All’s fair in love and war. Why not in elections? Let’s fight!
George Lemmond
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Posted by Scott Dunn on September 19, 2008
What are your favorite current ads? A lot of my young students answered that question with the Chic-fil-A “Eat More Chikin” campaign. (Others chose products and ads that I’m not familiar with. I guess those advertisers know who their target is not.)
I had to suggest my choice, and here it is, and why:
In case you are one of the few who hadn’t seen it—
- Yogi Berra is in the chair and admonishes the barber not to cut it too close—“Do you think I got that insurance?”
- The barber asks, “What insurance is that, Yogi?” A dialogue ensues between Yogi and the Aflac duck, thatincludes the memorable lines “The one that you need when you don’t need it,” and “And it gives you cash, which is as good as money.”
- The duck leaves the shop, with a trail of mystified customers.
I think this is a classic, because:
- It uses a recognizable and likeable celebrity. (It’s risky to use famous people, because they sometimes they fall from fame, some consumer groups don’t like them, or the connection with the product is vague.)
- The central point is the benefit of the product.
- The conversation is low key and short.
- It is funny. Why do I think it’s funny? Because I’ve seen people laugh.
- It lasts. This is at the least its third year.
Back to the “Eat More Chiken” ads. It has legs—tt lends itself to other related materials. It is centered on the benefit of eating chicken. It has a memorable charm.
We ask you to nominate the best of the current ads. (Or, if you prefer, What makes them click, what makes them timeless?)
Oh, before we forget. The Aflac/Yogi and the “More Chikin” ads have the most important attribute: they (at least apparently) have sold a lot of insurance and chicken sandwiches.
George Lemmond
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