Beyond Petroleum?

What happens when a petroleum company claims to be green, but really isn’t? Putting solar panels on a few concept stations doesn’t offset the environmental disaster in the Gulf.

Of course for British Petroleum it is much more than an environmental disaster, this is a publicity disaster of the highest magnitude, and likely a big hit to quarterly profits.

The lesson for other brands is simple: if you market around values that you don’t have, customers will find out. And they won’t be your customers anymore. When your brand suffers a public relations snafu that exposes such a values-based hypocrisy, the negative perception will only increase exponentially.

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Theme o’ the Day

Yesterdays recurring theme was Jennifer Lopez.

Today it’s lobsters.

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Chicken or Egg?

It so happens I figured this out a while back. By “this” I mean the answer to the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

The answer is: the egg.

It’s biology. Transmittable mutation takes place genetically, right? So, the proto-chicken has an intimate moment with a proto-rooster, which results in the development of an embryo within the egg. Now, the mutation which makes this egg a chicken and not a proto-chicken takes place inside the egg. Right?

So when the proto-chicken lays that egg, the first real chicken is in the process of forming inside. And when it hatches, voila. Chicken.

Seems right, doesn’t it?

Doesn’t really have anything to do with branding, does it?

– Doug

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Another reason Detroit is in the toilet

So I’m reading this article someone sent me about how unhappy Saturn owners are that GM is planning to dispose of their beloved brand, and I come across the following piece of wisdom – a comment about Saturn’s decline from success to failure:

Walter S. McManus, the head of the Automotive Analysis Division of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, says he could see it coming.

“Brand loyalty is overrated,” McManus stated flatly. “It is costly to do all the fuzzies, and Saturn’s example is clear that it doesn’t pay off for what is essentially an economy-car company. Women especially appreciated the Saturn way, but Honda sells more cars to women, despite having a less female-friendly approach.”

OK. So the first question is, could everyone in the American auto industry be this stupid? Because that would explain a lot, wouldn’t it? Honestly, does anyone in the industry actually agree with McManus’ proposition that Saturn has failed because of their efforts to build brand loyalty and their focus on “the fuzzies?”

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