Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Casual Articles - The Meaninglessness of Ford Motor Company
It is the inherent desire and need of every business to grow both vertically and horizontally. Organic growth, that is development from within, is often slow and sometimes difficult. That is why there is an increasing trend towards mergers and acquisitions. It could be called an instant expansion.Many big corporations are continuously on the lookout for potential targets for mergers or acquisitions. Some even have a core cell or a senior person concentrating on this aspect. Depending on the company's policy, which may be to diversify or to expand in the same field, add complementary business activity, or to strengthen research facilities, they continuously scan the business world. Normally they report dire
What should Ford or any of the other domestic manufactures do then? Research. Sure, they probably are spending a fortune on research now and can segment their market any which way to Friday. However, I propose that their research is bollocks. Clearly the focus of their research to this point has been solely on usage, attitudes, and market segmentation. While that provides Ford with invaluable market data, it tells them nothing about their customers, prospective or current.
The DNA of any brand resides in the precepts, or germinal beliefs, of the customers the brand wishes to influence. “Live richly” was born out of these precepts and has become the single-minded proposition for Citi. Uncovering these precepts can only be accomplished through research designed to dig deeper than the normal usage and attitude study that most companies pass as “go
We are all out there looking for the same thing right? We want the American dream. We want the simple luxuries that having money affords. We want to be able to support our families from the comfort of our homes. But when we go to pursue it, it all seems like so much smoke and mirrors. How will you find the best home based business?Finding the best home based business really isn't just a pipe dream. People are out there doing it every day. The problem comes in the way the products are marketed. The product ads are telling people that they will get rich overnight; that is not the reality of the situation.The frustration with the best home based businesses is that there are so many people out there tryi
Ford Motor Company has certainly seen its share of this kind of “bad news.” In fact, a recent American Customer Satisfaction Index study ranked Ford last in customer satisfaction amid a continued decrease in sales numbers despite having a majority of new or recently refreshed models. Ford has told the press and its dealers that the reason why perceived quality remains low and dealer and corporate margins continue to shrink is that there are simply too many dealerships.
The rationale, if you can call it that, is that the dealers are not making enough money because there is too much competition between Ford dealers. Dealer profits are down 10% in 2006 alone. The shrinking pool of Ford buyers is being spread too thinly. If dealers are not making money then they cannot take care of the customers as they should and they cannot spend money promoting the brand. Let me repeat that, Ford believes that because dealers are not making money they cannot spend money promoting the brand.
I assure you, I am not making this up. In fact, at Ford’s recent dealer meeting in Las Vegas, there was a roundtable where dealers were invited to come listen to Ford talk about the current state of public relations within the company. As I am sure you can imagine the news was not good. However, Ford representatives actually told the dealers that they needed help on the PR front from the dealers. Not only does Ford believe that it is the responsibility of the dealers to promote the brand, it is also, according to Ford, the responsibility of the dealers to actively engage in PR. Even without marketing expertise and an MBA this sounds like a really bad idea.
One of the fundamental problems with any brand is uniformity of message. Some brands, with incredible foundations bolstered by propriety market and consumer insights, fall flat on their face because they do not make sure all of the brand messages are uniform and meet the standards set by the promise of the brand. On this single criterion alone, Ford fails miserably. Instead of one cohesive brand-driving message where Ford has total control of content, Ford is advocating 3,800 tattered, poorly produced, and ineffective messages. However, Ford’s problems, and those for the other domestic auto manufactures, for that matter, go much deeper than that.
There is a marketing term: single-minded proposition. This can be defined as the key differentiation of your product from the perspective of the customer. Usually, it is a short statement of only a couple of words that says who your product is for and why. This single-minded proposition is most effective if it locked in with the name or logo of a given company. This statement in this context is called a themeline, because, as the name suggests, it is a textural representation of the “theme” or promise of the company.
For example, Citi uses “Live Richly” as their themeline. “Live Richly” goes well beyond a clever ad slogan. In fact, the idea of “live richly” has permeated throughout the organization and Citi now uses “live richly” as the context for the decisions they make within the company. Meaning, whenever a new ad, corporate communication, or a new product or service is introduced, it is judged against the idea of “live richly.” If the new item does not help to further the idea of “live richly” then it is scrapped as it is deemed as not living up to the promise of the brand.
Why does “live richly” work? It comes from the perspective of the consumer they wish to influence. The promise is to help Citi’s clients live more richly, however the client wishes to define “living richly,” be it saving for college, retirement, traveling when you want, or buying a house. With Ford, their current corporate themeline, if you can call it that, is “Bold Moves.” Their ad group has decided to reinforce that by using Taylor Hicks in a new commercial sing a song about “possibilities.” Again, there is no uniformity of message, even from Ford corporate. Ford is telling us to be “Bold” but then reverses course with this incredible non-promise of “possibilities.” Nonsensical.
What should Ford or any of the other domestic manufactures do then? Research. Sure, they probably are spending a fortune on research now and can segment their market any which way to Friday. However, I propose that their research is bollocks. Clearly the focus of their research to this point has been solely on usage, attitudes, and market segmentation. While that provides Ford with invaluable market data, it tells them nothing about their customers, prospective or current.
The DNA of any brand resides in the precepts, or germinal beliefs, of the customers the brand wishes to influence. “Live richly” was born out of these precepts and has become the single-minded proposition for Citi. Uncovering these precepts can only be accomplished through research designed to dig deeper than the normal usage and attitude study that most companies pass as “go
Commercial paper shredders are a perfect solution to meet the paper destruction needs of banks, government offices, other offices, and home. Most commercial shredders are designed to shred up to 80 sheets of paper at a time. These shredders are also capable of shredding staples, paper clips, CDs, floppy disks, and credit cards.Several models of commercial paper shredders are available in a variety of sizes, styles, and makes. Shredders with extra wide throat help to shred oversized paper more quickly. Commercial paper shredders with throats up to 16" wide are available.Strip cut and crosscut models of commercial paper shredders are available. Strip cut models shred paper into long strips. Strip cut m
I assure you, I am not making this up. In fact, at Ford’s recent dealer meeting in Las Vegas, there was a roundtable where dealers were invited to come listen to Ford talk about the current state of public relations within the company. As I am sure you can imagine the news was not good. However, Ford representatives actually told the dealers that they needed help on the PR front from the dealers. Not only does Ford believe that it is the responsibility of the dealers to promote the brand, it is also, according to Ford, the responsibility of the dealers to actively engage in PR. Even without marketing expertise and an MBA this sounds like a really bad idea.
One of the fundamental problems with any brand is uniformity of message. Some brands, with incredible foundations bolstered by propriety market and consumer insights, fall flat on their face because they do not make sure all of the brand messages are uniform and meet the standards set by the promise of the brand. On this single criterion alone, Ford fails miserably. Instead of one cohesive brand-driving message where Ford has total control of content, Ford is advocating 3,800 tattered, poorly produced, and ineffective messages. However, Ford’s problems, and those for the other domestic auto manufactures, for that matter, go much deeper than that.
There is a marketing term: single-minded proposition. This can be defined as the key differentiation of your product from the perspective of the customer. Usually, it is a short statement of only a couple of words that says who your product is for and why. This single-minded proposition is most effective if it locked in with the name or logo of a given company. This statement in this context is called a themeline, because, as the name suggests, it is a textural representation of the “theme” or promise of the company.
For example, Citi uses “Live Richly” as their themeline. “Live Richly” goes well beyond a clever ad slogan. In fact, the idea of “live richly” has permeated throughout the organization and Citi now uses “live richly” as the context for the decisions they make within the company. Meaning, whenever a new ad, corporate communication, or a new product or service is introduced, it is judged against the idea of “live richly.” If the new item does not help to further the idea of “live richly” then it is scrapped as it is deemed as not living up to the promise of the brand.
Why does “live richly” work? It comes from the perspective of the consumer they wish to influence. The promise is to help Citi’s clients live more richly, however the client wishes to define “living richly,” be it saving for college, retirement, traveling when you want, or buying a house. With Ford, their current corporate themeline, if you can call it that, is “Bold Moves.” Their ad group has decided to reinforce that by using Taylor Hicks in a new commercial sing a song about “possibilities.” Again, there is no uniformity of message, even from Ford corporate. Ford is telling us to be “Bold” but then reverses course with this incredible non-promise of “possibilities.” Nonsensical.
What should Ford or any of the other domestic manufactures do then? Research. Sure, they probably are spending a fortune on research now and can segment their market any which way to Friday. However, I propose that their research is bollocks. Clearly the focus of their research to this point has been solely on usage, attitudes, and market segmentation. While that provides Ford with invaluable market data, it tells them nothing about their customers, prospective or current.
The DNA of any brand resides in the precepts, or germinal beliefs, of the customers the brand wishes to influence. “Live richly” was born out of these precepts and has become the single-minded proposition for Citi. Uncovering these precepts can only be accomplished through research designed to dig deeper than the normal usage and attitude study that most companies pass as “go
What if we can wash equipment, buildings, sidewalks and reuse all the water over and over again? Why would we need to do this you ask? Well consider the muddy mess in Beijing after the mighty sand storm put a layer of sand everywhere and filled the skies making air-quality so bad no one could breath.Next consider that they had to seed clouds to get it to rain in order to clear the air. Next the ground is a muddy mess and must be power washed by thousands of pressure washers, water trucks and mobile units. But wait, we need to conserve the water too? Oh now you see the need for such a system? Well such systems capable of doing this do exist. For instance I have heard of run off water being used like this in
There is a marketing term: single-minded proposition. This can be defined as the key differentiation of your product from the perspective of the customer. Usually, it is a short statement of only a couple of words that says who your product is for and why. This single-minded proposition is most effective if it locked in with the name or logo of a given company. This statement in this context is called a themeline, because, as the name suggests, it is a textural representation of the “theme” or promise of the company.
For example, Citi uses “Live Richly” as their themeline. “Live Richly” goes well beyond a clever ad slogan. In fact, the idea of “live richly” has permeated throughout the organization and Citi now uses “live richly” as the context for the decisions they make within the company. Meaning, whenever a new ad, corporate communication, or a new product or service is introduced, it is judged against the idea of “live richly.” If the new item does not help to further the idea of “live richly” then it is scrapped as it is deemed as not living up to the promise of the brand.
Why does “live richly” work? It comes from the perspective of the consumer they wish to influence. The promise is to help Citi’s clients live more richly, however the client wishes to define “living richly,” be it saving for college, retirement, traveling when you want, or buying a house. With Ford, their current corporate themeline, if you can call it that, is “Bold Moves.” Their ad group has decided to reinforce that by using Taylor Hicks in a new commercial sing a song about “possibilities.” Again, there is no uniformity of message, even from Ford corporate. Ford is telling us to be “Bold” but then reverses course with this incredible non-promise of “possibilities.” Nonsensical.
What should Ford or any of the other domestic manufactures do then? Research. Sure, they probably are spending a fortune on research now and can segment their market any which way to Friday. However, I propose that their research is bollocks. Clearly the focus of their research to this point has been solely on usage, attitudes, and market segmentation. While that provides Ford with invaluable market data, it tells them nothing about their customers, prospective or current.
The DNA of any brand resides in the precepts, or germinal beliefs, of the customers the brand wishes to influence. “Live richly” was born out of these precepts and has become the single-minded proposition for Citi. Uncovering these precepts can only be accomplished through research designed to dig deeper than the normal usage and attitude study that most companies pass as “go
The impact of injection molding on the economy is bigger than you think. Since its invention in 1872, the injection molding process (along with the plastics industry) has turned into a multi billion dollar industry. Injection molding manufactures around 32% of plastics by weight. Because of this process, the construction of a lot of durable consumer and industrial items important to us are made cheap.Components and specifications of the machineA typical injection molding machine is made up of the following components: the injection system, hydraulic system, mold system, clamping system and control system. For thermoplastics, the injection molding machine turns pelleted or granular raw plastics into
Why does “live richly” work? It comes from the perspective of the consumer they wish to influence. The promise is to help Citi’s clients live more richly, however the client wishes to define “living richly,” be it saving for college, retirement, traveling when you want, or buying a house. With Ford, their current corporate themeline, if you can call it that, is “Bold Moves.” Their ad group has decided to reinforce that by using Taylor Hicks in a new commercial sing a song about “possibilities.” Again, there is no uniformity of message, even from Ford corporate. Ford is telling us to be “Bold” but then reverses course with this incredible non-promise of “possibilities.” Nonsensical.
What should Ford or any of the other domestic manufactures do then? Research. Sure, they probably are spending a fortune on research now and can segment their market any which way to Friday. However, I propose that their research is bollocks. Clearly the focus of their research to this point has been solely on usage, attitudes, and market segmentation. While that provides Ford with invaluable market data, it tells them nothing about their customers, prospective or current.
The DNA of any brand resides in the precepts, or germinal beliefs, of the customers the brand wishes to influence. “Live richly” was born out of these precepts and has become the single-minded proposition for Citi. Uncovering these precepts can only be accomplished through research designed to dig deeper than the normal usage and attitude study that most companies pass as “go
Henry Ford didn't invent the car. He wasn't even the first manufacturer of the car. In fact, when he jumped into the industry, there were more than 500 manufacturers building automobiles. That's a heavy market. It's what some call a red ocean, tainted by the battling competition. So, why is it that we think of Ford when we think of cars? Because he didn't sail that red ocean. He made a blue ocean strategy that not only built long-term brand equity, but brought the cost of a car down from $1,500 to $250 in a matter of a few years, sending him into uncontested market space.Not long ago, W. Chan Kim and Ren?e Mauborgne detailed the benefits of a blue ocean strategy in the Harvard Business Review. They define a
What should Ford or any of the other domestic manufactures do then? Research. Sure, they probably are spending a fortune on research now and can segment their market any which way to Friday. However, I propose that their research is bollocks. Clearly the focus of their research to this point has been solely on usage, attitudes, and market segmentation. While that provides Ford with invaluable market data, it tells them nothing about their customers, prospective or current.
The DNA of any brand resides in the precepts, or germinal beliefs, of the customers the brand wishes to influence. “Live richly” was born out of these precepts and has become the single-minded proposition for Citi. Uncovering these precepts can only be accomplished through research designed to dig deeper than the normal usage and attitude study that most companies pass as “good research.” Research designed to understand the underlying precepts of those very consumers the brand wishes to influence, helps position the brand not only today, but insures that the brand will be relevant 5 years from now. It keeps your brand ahead of the curve and allows the company and the brand to better predict product life cycles and usage patterns. In short, precepts enable the brand to actually mean something to those it wishes to influence and meaning is what Ford has been lacking for years.
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/7905/casualarticles-The-Meaninglessness-of-Ford-Motor-Company.html">The Meaninglessness of Ford Motor Company</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/7905/casualarticles-The-Meaninglessness-of-Ford-Motor-Company.html]The Meaninglessness of Ford Motor Company[/url]
Related Articles:
Report: Combined Consumer Education and Increased Security Measures Equal Reduced Identity Fraud
Bookmark it:
|