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Preston Tucker And The Future.

1/29/2019

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During a neighborhood walk with friends several mornings ago, we got talking about Preston Tucker and his innovative automobile from the late 1940s. Thirty years ago, I had written a client speech on the subject, so went searching through basement files (the old paper kind) ‘til I found it. The subject seemed just as fresh today as it did back then.   

It was just after World War II when Preston Tucker, a former policeman, car salesman and engineer/tinkerer, grabbed the future by its collar and shook it. New cars hadn’t been produced since 1942, and the fresh-from-Detroit 1946 models were warmed-over prewar designs. Tucker, however, imagined something radically different, an innovative design that would turn heads and help build the fortune that had always seemed to elude him.  His vision of tomorrow’s automobile took shape in the barn back of his house in Michigan, which housed the Ypsilanti Machine & Tool Company where Tucker had designed (but never could bring to market) an armored car,  an innovative tank turret and a fighter plane.

What eventually would become known as the Tucker Torpedo for its daring new shape was a revolutionary car.  A safe car.  A fast car.  A fuel-efficient car.  A car that could stop on a dime.  A car that knocked your eyes out.  

The Tucker ‘48 was incredible. Nobody had ever seen (or imagined) anything like it. His car was built low to the ground and shaped like the future. It had a windshield wide as a picture window that was designed to pop out in a crash, saving the driver and passenger from popping it out with their heads. It had a third headlight in the center, which pivoted for a better view of the road as the car turned. The engine was in the back. It was fuel-injected and there was a double transaxle to drive the rear wheels. It wasn't clunky looking like most other post-war cars. And wasn't slow, either.  The Tucker Torpedo could go 120 mph - with handling and endurance to match. A prototype Tucker ran around a test track for 24 hours and got 25 miles per gallon. When the car was rolled over at 95 mph to prove how safe it was, the driver walked away from the wreck unscathed, and the car was driven away after one tire change. The windshield popped out, just as planned.

People loved the Tucker Torpedo and wanted to buy them (priced at $2,000, when the average new car cost around $1,200). Crowds surrounded the car everywhere Tucker went. Over time, he raised enough money to put together the people and facility to manufacture and market the car, and although his future seemed assured, the Tucker was a failure. Preston Tucker's dream to produce the finest automobile ever made never got to spread its wings, partly because of his own business and financial limitations but also because of crushing political pressure said to have been engineered by the Big Three American auto manufacturers, who perceived the Torpedo as immediate threat to their future. Only fifty-one Tuckers were ever produced.

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The "competition” may have helped assure a lack of his cars in our future, but Preston Tucker had something to say about that future. It was a sharp warning for America.

“If big business closes the door to the little guy with new ideas,” he said (quoted in a 1988 film about his life and dream), “we might just as well let the Japanese and the Germans walk in here and tell us what to do. We’re going to wake up one morning and find ourselves at the bottom of the heap instead of being king of the hill. We’ll end up preferring things from outside the country to things that Americans build right here. There will probably come a day when we’ll be buying our cars and radios and appliances from our former enemies.” 

People laughed at Preston Tucker’s predictions. They had no concept of a time when American-made automobiles, radios and televisions would nearly be overrun by well-designed, well-made products from Japan and Germany. All they could think about was now. The war was over and heretofore scarce consumer goods had begun reappearing on American shelves. There was a huge demand for new cars as a promising future reached toward the second half of the century. With the demise of Tucker Motor Company, American automakers knew exactly what their near future could have looked like had Tucker’s “car of tomorrow today” succeeded. 

There’s a scene in the film where Tucker is in the barn trying to convince his small development team that there was just about enough steel in a tank turret prototype they had laying around from which to build an automobile prototype.

“Can anybody look me in the eye and say we can’t do it?” Tucker challenged.

The prototype did get built, despite Detroit's scheming, and so did fifty more Tuckers. Forty-seven are said to survive today, at least one of which sold not long ago for close to $3-million. The company didn’t make it, however, and the reasons for that remain controversial, but the car was ahead of its time before it left the sketchpad. The mere reason that Preston Tucker tried and almost succeeded gives us reason alone to admire this man who looked fifty years into the future and got to work making things happen.

 
Note: This reflection on Preston Tucker and the Tucker Torpedo was adapted from a 1989 client business presentation about Future Perfect Thinking.    © 2019 by Brian E. Faulkner

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Ad Dads Aren't As Stupid Anymore.

6/21/2015

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Picture= image © by Brian E. Faulkner -
An article by Michelle Castillo on CNBC.com just prior to Father’s Day claimed that Millennial moms are no longer the sole CEOs of the home and that dads are leaning in to take on more household responsibility (as if such a thing had never happened before!).   Well … maybe now we’ll finally see the end of the “Dumb Husband” TV ads that have plagued our living rooms for such a long time.  You know the ones, where the mom shows up the helpless dad by fixing a faucet, replacing the sink trap without mishap or repairing a light switch -- with ease -- while he bumbles helplessly in the background.

Back in the mid ‘50s, a decade after Rosie the Riveter had retreated back to the home, women were stereotyped as Susie Homemaker.  If the advertising image was to be believed, women did the household chores – including the greatest bulk of child care – while dad did the paying work and his wife dutifully waited for him to come home, in her A-line skirt, peasant blouse and red lipstick.  

My maternal grandmother, who was in her 60s back then, was employed as a department store manager and, most assuredly, did not wear A-line skirts.  She was a working woman and far removed from the sweet, stereotypical granny who smothers her grandchildren with kisses; truth is, she was a tough old Yankee bird very much set in her ways.  This made for tense relations with my Irish-tempered mother, who lived with us in her mother’s house.  But Mom was great.  She stuck up for us whenever it was needed (with Grandma, sometimes to Dad and occasionally to the neighbors) but also nailed us firmly to the door of truth when that was required.  Of course, that meant we couldn’t get away with much, whether within her eyesight or not.  There was another side to that coin, however:  Mom was always there to tend both our physical and emotional wounds.  She was an RN before children came along and didn’t go back to it until we all flew the nest, sometime in the ‘70s.

Now lest you think this Father’s Day reflection is solely about the women of my family, Dad played a looming part in our lives.   He was smart and resourceful – but also demanding – and would tackle just about any kind of chore with vigor, from yard work to repairing the car and rebuilding our decrepit old washing machine several times over.  Which made him totally unlike TV’s inept husband. 

We kids (four brothers spread over ten years) were expected to follow his lead and do some of everything, and it wouldn’t have made any difference had some of us been sisters.  We mowed and clipped the lawn, put out the trash, raked leaves, shoveled snow, weeded the garden and hauled heavy wooden storm windows up two flights of stair to the attic in the spring and back down again in the fall.  We also did the suppertime dishes and couldn’t leave the house until the task was complete.  We dusted furniture, helped with spring cleaning, ran the jet-shaped vacuum cleaner (hateful thing), cleaned our rooms on weekends and made our beds every morning.   We were expected to chip in – without whining.   Dad managed the outside chores, Mom the inside ones.  That’s just how it was in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

My own kids (three daughters, one son) did some work around the house, but not as much demand was put on them as my folks put on me.  Even so, they have grown into successful (even admirable) adults.  Each is diligent and hard-working and appears to have little brook with gender stereotyping, which really is just another form of intellectual dishonesty . 

I doubt that my grandmother ever thought for a moment that she couldn’t do whatever it was she had in mind.  Women of her era worked as teachers, in retail, entertainment, medicine and other professional fields, and it may be that since society didn’t expect much of them outside the home in those days, they expected that much more of themselves.   It just took a while for the times to catch up to the reality (and plain common sense) of considering women as equals in the workplace, although I think their acceptance got retarded to some extent by shrill Feminist voices.   And clearly, the stereotype that a woman’s place is only in the home has yet to vanish entirely. 

It also helped that a second income eventually became critical to family financial success and women began thinking of themselves less as cookie-cutter people and more as individuals, including homemakers.   But then, I think sometime in the ‘80s, TV advertising began depicting men in stereotypical ways just as they had women twenty and thirty years earlier.   To progressive-thinking ad copywriters (men and women), it must have seemed as if justice finally was being served -- and it was up to them to serve it!   The result, therefore, was occasional slice-of-life advertising that presented a softer, more sensitive male persona.  And sometimes an incompetent one.  

When I think of the stereotypical Dumb Husband, I recall a one-time neighbor of ours who pleaded ignorance about anything that remotely resembled a chore; mowing, raking, shoveling, checking the oil on the car, repairing small appliances or fixing that light switch -- all were anathema to him.   His wife did most everything, and rather well, while he bragged to us about how good he was at business (and basketball).  He was an exception who just happened to match an emerging male stereotype.

As brands now seek to engage their diverse customers more authentically, it’s good to see most of the old stereotypes going by the boards – at least in television ads. 

"As we think about bringing new users to (our products), the way you think about our communication and their behavior is a bit different,” said Jennifer Brown, director of marketing for Unilever (Dove, Hellman’s, Lipton, etc.), quoted in the CNBC.com article.  We're sort of adjusting how we reach clients because of that."

And that’s not limited to gender stereotypes.  The current task of creative copywriters appears dedicated to bringing racial balance to advertising.  As a result, there are more black and brown faces in TV spots (and programming) than ever.  In fact, there now seem to be a greater abundance of these faces than otherwise might have been the case had the advertising industry not fallen so thoroughly into racial stereotyping in its early days and had to make up for lost ground.   Bringing racial balance to advertising is long overdue, from a societal and business sense as well as an expression of intellectual honesty.   To do otherwise is both short-sighted and stupid – as long as marketers don’t overcorrect and create frustrating new stereotypes.

Like the Dumb Husband.  

TakeAway:  Advertise your products and service to real people, because it’s real people who buy them, not some thoughtless stereotype.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner


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TaglineS 101: Nobody Says It Better Than Dr. Hansen.

6/1/2015

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Picture- Image © by Brian E. Faulkner -
Tags:  Carolina Men's Clinic, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Camel cigarettes.
Driving north from Charlotte on 1-77 last week my ear caught a radio commercial for The Carolina Men’s Clinic, which is said to be unusually effective at helping men overcome their E.D. issues.  I listened all the way through the spot because I was too tired to reach over and change the station -- stuck in the predictable afternoon clot of traffic where lanes constrict from three to two, an event so normal that the traffic reporters pretty much ignore it.   

I find E.D. commercials particularly irksome, whether on radio or TV, especially since I’m not in the market for release from this particular misery.  But what grabbed my attention this time was the clinic’s claim that “even urologists trust Dr. Hansen to fix their E.D.” 

What a great line, akin to a shoe store bragging about how many podiatrists shop there.   I liked the line so much that I laughed out loud and began listening for the clinic’s spot during subsequent trips to Charlotte.

I have no idea how well the good doc’s treatment works (they claim a 92% success rate vs. a substantial failure rate for the branded pills hawked on TV) and remain mystified how a board certified family practice physician with a background in osteopathy established a clinic to treat men with sexual dysfunction in the first place.   It may be as simple as finding a need and filling it; the need certainly seems to be there.

Another thing I liked about his spot was the promise of a non-intimidating experience -- plus proof in the pudding: treatment guaranteed to work or you get your $199 fee back.  Dr. Hansen may be effective (or not), but either way there’s a lesson here to learn about communicating competitive advantage: 

     (1)  Understand what sets your product or service apart from everybody else’s.

     (2)  State your difference in a few compelling, memorable, authentic words.

     (3)  If possible, have your tagline tell a story.

When I was a young teen being led astray by the tobacco industry, an R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company ad claimed that doctors preferred smoking Camel cigarettes.   I ended up smoking them, too, lured in part by my parents’ example and by RJR's compelling ad, even though their proposition made no sense.  But lots of people smoked in those days; it was socially acceptable – even expected.   So how bad could it be if More Doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette (according to a nationwide survey)?   T
he toughest guys and most elegant women in the movies all smoked ...

I don’t know how well Dr. Hansen’s bit of clever copywriting is working for him, but the lesson here is clear:  his radio spot DID get my attention and DID make me remember what sets the Carolina Men’s Clinic apart, thanks to a handful of ear-catching, memorable words.     

Dr. Hansen doesn’t use the “urologist” claim as a formal tagline, but dontcha think he should?

TakeAway:  A tagline that tells a solid strategic story gathers ears and changes minds.


Content © by Brian E. Faulkner

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VINYL RECORDS: Marketing A Memory.

5/27/2015

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Picture- Image © by Brian E. Faulkner -
I hear that vinyl is back.  No, not vinyl floors or tacky vinyl car tops: vinyl records -- the grooved discs that music used to come on before cassette tapes and CDs and online streaming.  The kind I grew up listening to.  If you’re of the Baby Boom generation, you likely will recall hoarding your pocket change to buy the latest Elvis or Little Richard or Everly Brothers record. 

Three kinds of buyers appear responsible for the rise in vinyl record sales these days: 
  • purists, people who love the more open, warm sound vinyl reproduction provides;
  • young people, for whom vinyl records are a new, more tactile way to listen to indie bands while discovering the music of previous generations (my 29-year-old daughter has been rummaging around for vinyl albums since she was a teenager);
  • and older folks, for whom vinyl not only is a trip down memory lane but an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with all the music waiting in those old boxes of LPs in the basement.

So it’s no surprise that sales of classic artists like The Beatles and Bob Dylan have been selling well on vinyl – helping drive category sales up 15% during the first three months of 2015, while accounting for only about 2% of total album sales.  Top sellers for 2014 were a mix of classic and new artists: Jack White (who has set some vinyl sales records), Arctic Monkeys, Beck, The Beatles’ Abbey Road, Bob Marley’s Legend compilation album from 1984 and a notable young singer/songwriter from New Zealand who calls herself Lorde – among others.

The times they are a-changin’ warbled Dylan back in 1964, and sometimes the times catch us by surprise, especially when a format like LP or 45 rpm records re-emerge from yesteryear to delight us with their new-found authenticity.

You’d think this resurgence of “old as new” products is mostly about nostalgia, a word from Greek that essentially means an ache for home, and you’d mostly be right.  During times of geopolitical turmoil or unsettling societal change, yearning for “the good ol’ days” is common, although we don’t often reach out for nostalgic cues from much further back than our childhoods – which is why toys (and classic cars) from the '50s and '60s can command big Boomer bucks these days.

Heard a bit of conversation on NPR‘s Morning Edition today where a guest was talking about how people are using notebooks or notepads  more often in solo gathering spots like Starbucks.  I recall one person saying that he uses his laptop or tablet for school stuff, not for writing more thoughtful, reflective things like poetry.  If I’m chewing on some ideas, I’d much rather use a notepad than a computer, although writing blog posts come easily on my laptop.  But if I were taking notes in a class, I’d go for pencil and paper every time.  It’s more fluid, more intuitive – at least for me.   Taking notes on a computer requires you to interact with the technology more than you’d do with pen or pencil.

If nostalgia is about recapturing the feeling one had during a simpler, less complex, less technologically saturated and more thoughtful time – personally or as a people, it’s easy to see why vinyl records are enjoying a renaissance.  

And even the old ones sound so good, despite all the crackles and pops that can leap out of the grooves along with the music.  But you don’t mind the noise, do you?   Because they’re your crackles and pops.  You put them there back in the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s when you were just coming up.

Now that’s a memory!   And memories are marketable.

TakeAway:  Your next new product may be something old --  who knows, maybe formal hats will make a comeback!

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner

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Why Toyota's Camry Is Like The Velveteen Rabbit -- and Cadillac's CT6 Is Not.

4/6/2015

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Picture- image courtesy of Toyota -
Tags:  Toyota Camry, Cadillac CT6, Buick, Ford Fusion, The Velveteen Rabbit

Two creative approaches to automobile advertising have caught my eye of late: spots on TV and online for Cadillac’s revolutionary new CT6 luxury performance sedan and a television / online campaign for Toyota’s competent but non-revolutionary Camry.   One campaign engages the mind, the other tugs at the heart.   One campaign is daring, the other is bold.   One is cool and self-centric, the other warm and other-centric.  Both ads are effective.

Let’s start with Toyota, for whom Saatchi, LA has created a series of spots declaring the heretofore ordinary Camry now to be bold – at least by association, because the car only plays a bit part in the ads.  The real drama happens in stories that wrap themselves around the car: 

A young woman finds B.B. King’s guitar in a storage unit, and after “tracking down a legend” in her Camry, returns it to him. 

Another young woman escapes from her wedding just in time, and the getaway car is … a Camry. 

A man comes to realize that “being a dad is more than being a father” as he reflects on those growing-up moments with his daughter, intercut with scenes of them together in a Camry.

Then there’s Sochi medalist Amy Purdy’s paean to her dad, who not only encouraged her through her many physical trials but donated one of his kidneys to save her life. 

Not to mention the spot featuring Amy competing, dancing and modeling as Mohammed Ali narrates. 
Picture- image courtesy of Cadillac -
This is heartfelt stuff.  And although the Camry spots barely move the cool-meter, they do a good job of whacking you in your emotional center (especially if you’re a dad) – and millions of people seem to like them given the YouTube plays they’ve racked up.   But bold? 

Like Cadillac and other auto brands (Buick has been notably successful), Toyota has been trying to crank up their style to generate wider appeal.  Will their “Bold” campaign help attract new buyers, as cars like Ford’s fast-selling Fusion (with a much cooler name) take a bead on Camry’s sales lead?

Marketing experts are divided.  Some say Toyota is headed in the right direction with their Bold campaign but that turning around brand impression takes years, if not generations.  Other say “not so fast,” a Camry is a Camry and no matter how good it may become, it was born to blend in.

Cadillac, too, is all about changing prospective buyers’ impression of their brand – and in recent years they appear to have been succeeding for the most part.  In fact, they appear to have just about exorcised the image of the slab-sided, boat big ‘80s and ‘90s models from people’s minds.  Short of buying up and crushing all the clunky old Caddys left on the road, about all Cadillac can do is (1) design cars that truly stand out in their market niche and (2) have something truly bold to say about them.

Thus, the CT6 “Dare Greatly” campaign, created by Publicis Worldwide, a low-key exercise in creative edginess that presents the car in SoHo, slo-mo style.  
  • “How does a fashion intern (Jason Wu) become an arbiter of style?” the spot asks.
  • “How does a college dropout invent the personal computer?” it asks of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
  • “How does a director take 12 years to shoot a film?” the spot asks of “Boyhood” director Richard Linklater.
  • And in conclusion also asks, “How does a 112 year old carmaker reinvent itself?”

The CT6 launch ad, created by Publicis Worldwide and set to Edith Piaf singing Non, je ne regrettes rien (No, I regret nothing), presents thumbnail descriptions of “only those who dare” in a noir-like New York setting that evokes a sense of mystery and glamor as the newest Cadillac lurks in the background, almost as if an afterthought.   

One does not so much “like” this ad as inhabit it – that is, if you’re in the demographic that GM hopes will lust after this car, which has been designed to raise the game against their European competitors, not so much by emulating them but by establishing a new standard of automotive performance and luxury.       

The CT6 and Camry ads both wrap their product in an image they hope will attract buyers – Camry warms the heart and speaks of “love stuff” while Caddy quickens the pulse and addresses the “daring”.

Both carry off their creative well.  But only Cadillac’s approach seems authentic. 

Ironically, I prefer watching the Camry spots (which makes me older-than-cool and more in their target market).  I like Camrys, which perform their middle-ground, mid-sized sedan function admirably and without pretending to be cool. When I rent one on an out-of-town trip, I am assured of enjoying a competent, quality, unpretentious ride.  Which is what makes a Camry a Camry and part of the reason that nameplate remains the best-selling one in the U.S.  

I think of Margary Williams’ story of The Velveteen Rabbit when considering whether Toyota may be missing the strategic mark with its otherwise well-executed Camry creative.  You may recall the story, where a stuffed bunny yearns to become “Real”. 

“Real isn't how you are made,” the rabbit is told. “It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

Camry is already “real” in its market’s mind.  So why go to such lengths to pretend it really is something else?

TakeAway:  Don’t sell bold unless you’ve got bold to sell.  Instead, communicate what’s really real.  Be authentic!

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner



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Experience Mustang -- All Over Again.

3/14/2015

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While scientists busily try to clone pets and people, an enterprising Orlando firm has re-invented the iconic Ford Mustang.  Their product looks just like the real thing: a 1964.5 Pony car with all the Mustang badges and design cues in place.   http://www.revologycars.com/

For all intents, it is the real thing – only thoroughly updated.

The Ford-licensed product was developed by Tom Scarpello’s Revology Cars in Orlando.  Scarpello, who used to build high performance versions of Ford cars when he worked for the company, loves classic cars but doesn’t like the way they drive.  “A lot of people agree with me,” he says.  “Consumer expectations have advanced and people are finding that carefully and professionally modified classic cars are an exciting alternative.  If the car is built right, the market potential for this type of vehicle is very significant.”  


The “new” Mustang is technologically superior to the original and has great appeal for that reason, unless you’re a purist who can’t imagine cruising around in anything less than the real McCoy.  

“The concept behind the company is to bring a scientific approach to the restoration of classic automobiles, utilizing modern components and manufacturing processes to ‘evolve’ them, to improve their performance, reliability, durability, fuel economy, safety, and comfort, while retaining their essential character and style,” explains Scarpello on the Revologoy Web site.   Open the ashtray and there’s a USB connection.  Turn the window crank, and the power windows go up and down.  Flip on the lights and LEDs illuminate front and back.  Engines, power-trains, suspensions and brakes are sourced from modern vehicles, Revology says, including a Ford manufactured 302 cu. in V8 that puts 265 hp on the ground through either a 4-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission.

So, if you’ve got a spare $119K for the fastback – or $122K for the convertible, get in line.  Or, you could re-build your own classic Mustang if that’s your idea of fun, starting with a 50-year-old (or newer) example, which may be anywhere from in barn-find dismal condition to pin-perfect.  Even a shabby example of a base ‘60s era Mustang with a six cylinder engine can set you back a significant pile of dollars, while a decent survivor (a relatively non-neglected, unmodified car that can be put back on the road in reasonable time with less-than outrageous expense) can cost in the many tens of thousands.   Various examples:  http://barnfinds.com/?s=1966+Mustang

Some people buy and restore classic cars for fun and profit then flip them to the next owner (who may not be so handy with a wrench) and go on to the next project.  Others collect them, some of whom are hoarders with barns or fields full of cars rusting away (see one of the examples above) waiting for that day that never comes.  Others buy (and enjoy) daily drivers.  And some purchase only the best examples and show them.

No matter which path you choose, you’re investing in experience.  You’re buying memories – not perfectly straight sheet metal, blemish-free paint and numbers that match.  Maybe your dad or mom drove a Mustang when they were courting and you want to surprise them on their 50th anniversary with a great-performing car that looks like an authentic new Mustang – because it is, complete with a 100,000 mile warranty.  

Experience sells, whether Mustangs or even something seemingly as mundane as groceries.  Products with “experience” built in make you feel good and make you want to come back for more, whether that’s next week when grocery shopping time rolls around again or decades from now when you get a hankerin’ for that classic car you enjoyed so much all those years ago.   Experience is largely about pleasure.  There are companies you look forward to doing business with (even in relatively mundane product categories) and those that leave you cold.   There are tools that fit perfectly in the hand and are a pleasure to use and tools that barely get the job done.  Airline A wraps its welcome around you, while Airline B treats you like cattle.  Brand is a form of experience, a bridge between product and prospect.

Take one look at Revology’s “new” Ford Mustang and you’ll get the idea.

TakeAway:  Does your product or service provide a brand “experience” that makes your customers or clients look forward to doing business with you -- all over again?    

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner
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Car BUYING Decisions, Car Dealer Surprises.

3/6/2015

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PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
I've been thinking lately about buying a new car – a newer car.  My 1998 Crown Vic with “only" 326,165 miles has been showing signs of terminal illness.  

“It’s the transmission,” my trusty mechanic reported after a test drive.  “You can feel it jerking like a fish on a line.”  Sure enough, I could feel it – and could feel my wallet becoming much lighter if transmission repairs were to cost more than $2,000, which he said was possible. 

“You could always donate it to the fire department for training,”  he added, without a wink or smile, which would have meant he was kidding. As the local fire chief, he was always on the lookout for such things.  But sacrifice my trusty old Crown Vic to the Jaws of Life, a car so clean I've been known to dry if off after a rainstorm? I’d sooner make a planter out of it. That way, I could still wipe the paint clean after it showers.

All of this got me thinking about buying another car:

  On the PLUS side:  I enjoy looking around at new cars.
  On the MINUS side:  I don’t like spending money I don’t have on cars I don’t think I really need.
Turns out there are plenty of Crown Vics for sale online, many of them retired police cars.  Some look like they were driven by the Blues Brothers while others are shiny and new.  There was one attractive non-police LX Sport model for sale recently that appealed to me right away.  Unfortunately, the seller’s ex-wife had taken a baseball bat and high heel shoes to the sheet metal.  He was offering the car cheap, since he’d already bought himself a Jag (wait ‘til she gets a load of that!).

Truth is, the Crown Vic is getting long in the tooth.  The newest of them are 2011s and look pretty much like my ‘98, although mechanical improvements have been made over the years.  Should I look at cars with a turning radius less than a small delivery truck?  Should I consider something more stylish?

As a friend once told me, “Lookin’ don’t cost nothin’.” 

So I headed out in the Crown Vic to see what I could find, with the transmission still jerking like it had a fish on the line.  First stop?  The local Ford store, where I’d heard they had a slightly newer Crown Vic for sale.  Long gone.

“Those Crown Vics sell fast,” said Ed the salesman, who looked every bit the man who’d spent years in sun-soaked car lots talking to people like me.  “So why not keep your Crown Vic?” he asked.  

“The transmission may be on the way out,” I said, looking  as hangdog as possible so Ed would feel sorry for me and cut me a deal on something else. “And my wife says we need a newer, more dependable car to ride our grandchildren around in, since even the closest ones live three hours down the road.  And besides, she says, you need to make a more up-to-date appearance. 

Right on both counts.

“You don’t need to get rid of that car,” said Ed.  Right again -- me and the Crown Vic could keep right on goin’ if it weren't for that pesky transmission problem!

“Maybe it’s something else,” proffered Ed, who had taken an odd tack away from selling me something new in favor of fixing what I was already in.

“Why don’t you go up there to the shop and let them check it out before you make a decision.”

It’s worth a try ...  thanks, Ed!

Jarrod the tech no doubt had seen his share of Crown Vics come through the shop, most probably driven by older folks like me who’d grown content with their cars and weren't so easily smitten by curvaceous new sheet metal, and thus appeared to understand where I was coming from. 

“Feels more like an ignition issue to me,” he proclaimed during our short test ride.  “Transmission’s shifting smoothly.  Car runs good.  Let’s put it on the analyzer.”

“I’ll have to come back,” I said, rather lamely, sliding back into the driver's seat and heading out the door.  Gotta think about this:
* Option 1:  Fix it.  Maybe get to 400,000 miles before it breaks again.
* Option 2:  Sell or trade the car before it breaks (or somebody's ex takes a ball bat to it).
* Option 3:  Buy a newer car and KEEP THE CROWN VIC!   We could use a spare car, right?
I can easily see myself in a sky blue Mustang convertible like this.  Or maybe one of those svelte new Lincoln sedans, although stark reality suggests something more like a used Taurus.  But then what would happen to the Crown Vic if the new car gets the garage?  Leave it out in the SUN?  Or the RAIN?!  

One plus about buying a car is that I get to do business with Ed, a man who defies the car salesman stereotype.  His first impulse was to help me make the right decision, not to feather his own nest by pushing me toward an immediate sale, which he said is not unique to him but an extension of his dealership's customer-first philosophy. So let me know if you’re in the market for a new (or newer) car.  I’ll be glad to pass Ed's name along to you.  Meanwhile, I've got an ignition module to replace on my Crown Vic.

TakeAway:  Surprise your prospects with authentic, customer-first sales and service.  They’ll come back for more -- and tell their friends about it.


Content © by Brian E. Faulkner



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Brands Are Not Your Friends ... Sometimes.

2/10/2015

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Tags:  gawker.com, Twitter, Coca-Cola, Coke, AdWeek, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Maytag
The provocative headline “Brands Are Not Your Friends” popped up on my iPad yesterday evening.   So I had to check it out.

The gist of the article (from blog site gawker.com) was that people should not be sucked into treating brands as “Friends” on social media, because brands “exist solely to distract, deceive, and manipulate us out of our money.”

Their example was Coca-Cola’s “MakeItHappy” Twitter campaign aired during the Super Bowl.  According to AdWeek.com, the brand’s goal was to encourage Twitter users to “mark negative tweets with the #MakeItHappy hashtag. Then, Coke turned those words into cute art images using ASCII lettering code.”

All well and good … creative and harmless you might say, and very much in line with the frothy, friendly good-time image Coke likes to project.   But Gawker apparently was nearly struck dumb with the perceived idiocy of the campaign, which they presumed was designed to “trick you into buying more Coke,” although company marketers likely would not have put it that way. 

So Gawker, which appears to trade in provocative takes on celebrities and media, came up with some digital skullduggery, which I will allow AdWeek’s writer to explain out of my fear of inaccurately describing something I barely understand:

“Gawker created a Twitter bot, @MeinCoke, which tweeted (quotes from) Mein Kampf at Coca-Cola to see if the brand would turn lines from Hitler's autobiographical manifesto into art.”  It worked, and Coke quit the campaign.

“It's unfortunate that Gawker is trying to turn this campaign into something that it isn't,” a Coca-Cola spokesperson told AdWeek. “Building a bot that attempts to spread hate through #MakeItHappy is a perfect example of the pervasive online negativity Coca-Cola wanted to address with this campaign."

All this collective mindlessness got me to thinking about brands and whether they are, in fact, our friends.  And my conclusion is … sometimes.   Is Coca-Cola my friend?   Not really.  Their product does not nourish and even may be harmful, given the 800 cans of soft drinks that American males consume every year, according to recent stats.  Consumption by both males and females reportedly has been rising since the ‘70s. 

My point here is not to make trolls out of Coca-Cola or any other soft drink marketer; we are free to make, sell and consume most anything we want here in this country.   And if we consider some products to be harmful, we also are free to not consume them.

In synch with what I have termed Marketable Truth in blog posts on this site and in my consulting work, it may be useful to have consumers decide whether brands actually keep their promises.  If somebody sells you a tool and it breaks, their brand claim is not authentic – but if it lasts for 25 years like our Maytag washer did, it earns a high score.  If a retailer claims great service but doesn’t deliver, they get a low score, which may prompt them to improve. 

So why not place brands on a “promise continuum”?   Call it the Brand Performance Index (or the Real Thing Index, should you prefer) – and you be the judge.  

Products like fresh fruits and vegetables likely would score high, except maybe for broccoli if you’re under 10 or are George H. W. Bush.  Soft drinks would score low -- or would they?   They might score high if people believe they’re getting the refreshing promise they expected from their Coke or Pepsi or Mountain Dew, or even a lifestyle boost.  Same goes for my favorite single malt whiskey!

So it’s up to us to decide, not some marketer … or even Michael Bloomberg.  Brand promise is best measured by consumer experience.

TakeAway:  How would your brand score on the Real Thing Index?

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner




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THe Real Thing: (not Coca-COla)

12/20/2014

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PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
Popped into a music store yesterday to buy a gift for my guitar-playing son and hadn’t been there more than a minute before I spied what looked at first glance like a Martin D-45 marked down to around $300.  If so, that would be the deal of the century, and should I have stumbled on such a rarity, its purchase, no doubt, would have made me feel less bummed over having sold my '63 Martin 00018 twenty years ago to buy an alternator for my old Chevy Celebrity.

The D-45, for those not acquainted with premium-quality guitars, is C. F. Martin’s flagship model, complete with abalone inlays, fancy purfling, East Indian rosewood sides and back and a sound that stands up and speaks with both sweetness and authority. 


The pretender in that guitar shop didn’t even come close, although it did have some attractive inlay work.  Apparently, a previous shop owner (now deceased) had a bunch of guitars made up in Korea to look like the best of the best American instruments and had his name put on them.  The guitar on display was one of the few would-be Martins or Gibsons or Fenders that hadn’t been sold over the years.

Guitars, like pianos, invite you to play them – or not.  It’s either a match made in heaven or a block of wood with strings on it (a guitar-shaped object, as the derision goes).   This particular guitar felt heavy, played thick and did not sing.  It was more of a decoration than a serious musical instrument – something you’d hang on the wall of a Nashville-themed restaurant.

Brands are a lot like that.  The best ones sing.  They wrap you into an experience that you look forward to – whether you buy a product for pleasure, utility or both (like the Black & Decker rechargeable lawnmower I finally bought last year).  I never have been much of a guitarist, but I always looked forward to playing my Martin.  I liked its song.  And it made me feel more accomplished than I actually was.   

I paid $300 for that guitar in 1970.  Today, it would bring around $3,000, maybe more.  A big D-45 from the same era could fetch upwards of twice that (the first one was custom made for Gene Autry in 1933).  These days, MSRP on a D-45 fresh from Nazareth is close to $11,000 -- and worth every dime.

I once had an acquaintance with a D-45 for sale.  He advertised it in the classifieds (in the part of North Carolina where a D-45 could be considered a six-string holy grail).  No takers.  So he doubled the price.

It sold lickety-split!  That guitar was the real thing – and (finally) priced accordingly.

It’s tempting to suggest that in order to sell something lickety-split it needs to sing like a Martin D-45 and be as costly, but ain't necessarily so.  A satisfying experience (like I used to get from my old Martin 00018 and still get from my lawnmower) can occur in all product categories and at all price levels. With guitars, that ranges from collector instruments on down through a student’s first guitar, which should NOT be a block of wood but have a sound that draws the ear in and strings that play with enough ease to encourage.  Too many parents make the mistake of buying a “bargain” instrument for their child to learn on and then wonder why the thing ends up stuck back in the closet after a couple of months. 

Quality, of course, can be maddeningly difficult to get a grip on.  One of my least favorite definitions is the industrial-bland “conformance to requirements.” 

Bah!

True quality should delight and amaze.  It should make you want what it’s got, whether resident in a fine guitar, a beautiful set of gears for a transmission or something as simple as a flashlight that feels good and works every time, a tool that you can use with confidence while searching for that old guitar you know must be back there in the closet somewhere …

TakeAway:  Be the real thing, the brand or product that people look forward to using (or building into the things they make) – no matter what you’re selling.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner 


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Taglines & Brands.

11/14/2014

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PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
Here are some of my most popular recent posts about brands and taglines:

A Tagline for Tomorrow: How to Win Big in 2016                                               


Subject:  10 characteristics of an effective tagline. 

Despite its overwhelming success, the Republican 2014 midterm election campaign was a sorry example of strategic positioning.  Yes, the Republicans improved their ground game and voter motivation differed markedly than in 2010 and 2012.  And yes, there was considerable angst afoot about the president and his policies, his slide toward extra-Constitutional thinking and his enthusiasm for progressive social initiatives that cut deep into traditional American culture. 

But absent the “Nobama” ax the Republicans swung with such gusto, there was a clear lack of strategic underpinning to their midterm messaging ...

Read more here:
  www.brianefaulkner.com/blog/how-to-win-big-in-2016-a-tagline-for-tomorrow



PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
New Whole Foods Tagline Nails It!


Subject:  Your Tagline Should Tell The Truth!

Two words at the bottom of a Whole Foods sales receipt caught my eye recently:  VALUES MATTER.

“What’s up with this?” we asked?

“You know, values – the things people believe.  They matter.  That’s what Whole Foods is all about.”

Of course.  Whole Foods Market® has hung its mostly organic hat on that for years.  A tilt toward unadulterated, unmanufactured foods has been their stock in trade ever since John Mackey and his wife started their first store in 1978.  Company “values” still encompass trust and the greater good … and attract a refreshing variety of both staff and customers.

But these days, Whole Foods Market is far from alone in offering organic fare.  Even the most mundane mainstream grocer now carries some organics, and the leaders among them have gone in heavy for it – even Walmart, for heaven’s sake!   Not to mention a plethora of “natural foods” competitors out there who would like to eat WFM’s lunch. 

So Whole Foods needs a way to stand out … again.

Read more here:  www.brianefaulkner.com//blog/new-whole-foods-tagline-nails-it

 



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Building a Fortress Brand: Ford Possessed, Chevy Obsessed.


Subject:  Brands That Connect at the Heart.

Heard the other day about a WWII vet from New Jersey  selling his automobile collection.  Six cars, every one of them a Ford.  Not a Chevy in the bunch.  He was lifetime loyal to the Ford brand, so much so that “If you had a Chevy you didn’t come in my driveway.  You parked out on the road.”

The choice used to be that simple for those of us who came of age in the automobile saturated culture of post-war America – especially the full-bore 1950s, the decade of classic cars and classic rock (neither of which were deemed classic at the time).  Ford and Chevrolet were the butter-and-bread choices of Americans 50+ years ago, before the car market got choked up with so many different brands and models – not to mention the infinite variants of those brands and models ...

Read more here:  www.brianefaulkner.com/blog/ford-possessed-chevy-obsessed-building-a-fortress-brand


PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
Godiva's Alluring Words & Enduring Promise.


Subject:  Stick to your  brand's promise.


When I traveled for business more than I do now, I’d occasionally come across a Godiva boutique and add a small purchase of their memorable chocolates to my personal expenses.  It was a pleasant surprise to turn a corner in some upscale mall or market and spot the luxurious Godiva logo.   No matter where my thoughts had been, they immediately shifted to “chocolate” and the stolen moment I was about to experience.

From way back in 1926, when chocolatier Joseph Draps first opened his Brussels shop, Godiva has been superb at crafting words to describe their “extraordinary richness and design, a collection of passion and purity” (the founder's words).  Today’s wordsmiths describe Godiva as “a sought after name with the timeless quality of passion, style, sensuality and modern boldness.”  Their corporate boilerplate proclaims GODIVA Chocolatier as a brand that “consumers universally associate with prestige, elegance and quality …”


Read More Here:  www.brianefaulkner.com/blog/godivas-alluring-words-enduring-promise




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Brand as Handshake:  A New Twist on an Old Problem.


Subject:  Be authentic.

How do you brand something as ordinary as fresh vegetables?  If you’re a grower who sells veggies to grocery store produce departments, how do you make your product stand out over competitors' brands?  Oddly enough, most fresh produce remains unbranded.  But not vegetables and fruit grown by D’Arrigo Bros. Company, of California, pioneers in produce branding.

Back in 1920, two Sicilian immigrant brothers discovered the fertile land of central California and thought it would be perfect for growing broccoli ...

Read more here:  www.brianefaulkner.com/blog/brand-as-handshake-a-new-twist-on-an-old-problem 


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    sample blog:

    This is a sample blog  for writer Brian E. Faulkner.   It presents stories about brands that do a good job communicating competitive advantage. Stories have been gleaned from the business press, personal experience and occasional interviews. Updates are made from time to time, and every so often there will be a post of general interest -- about things like success, passion, social trends, etc. 

    Author

    Brian Faulkner is a writer and strategic communication consultant who helps business clients explain their competitive advantage in compelling and enduring ways.
     
    He also is a five-time Emmy award winning Public Television writer & narrator for a highly-rated and well-loved magazine series.

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