Marobella's Branding SoapBox

Hey Harley, It's About Time.

An Open Letter to Harley Davidson:

Mr. Davidson,

For years, I have pondered buying one of your bikes. Especially, the V-Rod. Now that I have 2-kids, my desire has waned because of the risks. Every spring, I get the urge to roll down to the the local dealership and make it happen. But, this is the first time I have had the urge at the dawn of a Chicago winter. It is shaping up to be the hottest Chicago winter on record because of your use of Marisa Miller in your VRSC campaign. Whoa.

The funny thing is that I can't remember Harley ever going the Maxim cover, sex route this overtly. Sure, sex is part of the Harley experience, but the brand hasn't been a part of communicating that. Having her as part of your campaign is perfect. First, she isn't 21 and appeals to men of all ages. Being 30, a Victoria's Secret model and a perennial cover girl lends huge to the brand. This move helps push guys on the fence over the edge to buy a bike. And, you have 2 other things going for your right now, bikes are better on gas and Sons Of Anarchy, the new show on FX. I think I secretly wish I was a biker.

Anyway, Mr. Davidson, thank you for selling out to the temptation of 'sex-sells'. Oh yea, and thanks for the YouTube Video

Bring Back The Yugo

So much attention has been given to the meltdown of the mortgage market over the past year or so that 2 other credit markets not far behind, have been little talked about.

The first is the credit card market where people have been racking up debt that they can't afford and now the credit card companies are moving interest rates up and lowering your minimums without warning, sometimes under what you actually owe. And the 3rd market that about to fall apart is the auto market. People are having a harder and harder time getting loans and leases to buy a car. People with good jobs and good credit, even.

I mean, who actually pays cash for a car in full? Not many. So, with people not able to get a loan or lease and the credit crunch, people are going to be forced to pay cash for a car.
If public transportation isn't an option, then a car is a necessity. I predict the rise of the $5k used car market. Cars that are in the $5k range will be flying off the used car  lots. If people can't finance and most average Americans don't have a great deal of savings, they can scrape together $5k to buy a car. The risk is that it will require thousands of dollars of work in the subsequent years because it is most likely an older car with high mileage.

Something You Don't See Everyday

My alma mater, Bentley College in Waltham, MA is now known as Bentley University. I had heard this was a long time coming as the school made significant progress academically and with the resources of the school. I am proud to be a graduate of this school and thought it to be an interesting exercise in branding. The official word is that it will make the school more attractive to international students and the unofficial word is they can charge more per year. Just kidding, but I bet that is part of the allure.

Does this mean I get a new diploma and class ring?

Starting A Corporate Blog

Mr. Joseph Jaffe recently wrote about 10 Reasons Why Companies Should Blog which was a response to B.L. Ochman in AdAge, who wrote about 10 Reasons Why Companies Shouldn't Blog. In fact, I agree with Jaffe that B.L.'s article sounded like every empty excuse that a company makes to not do something that matters - simply because they can't, don't understand it or are afraid of commitment. In fact, I could have sworn I was reading an article written by a 'dead client walking'. Do you know what that is? That is the client inside of an organization that refuses to accept that the world is changing around him/her and will be obsolete in a matter of minutes.

The irony in all this is that the best companies with blogs are the ones that have limited resources (start ups) and understand the value in connecting directly with the marketplace rather than speaking at the market.

Writing a blog does take time, nurturing, reciprocation with the other bloggers/commenters and most of all patience. This is not if you build it, they will come proposition. It takes the time of a dedicated person on staff that understands the blog-o-sphere and how to navigate it, the etiquette and the connections that exist. That person becomes your brands ambassador to the blog space. They have to get it. The reciprocation is also critical, not being afraid to post on other company's blogs or respond to negative remarks. Even things as simple as understanding with a trackback is and how to use it....

The blog is the forum for brands to be transparent without spinning, show the flaws without being insecure and truly build relationships with customers, prospects, recruits and their own people internally.