Green Pragmatism

Eco-savvy consumers should be at the center of your brand strategy.

Hub, January 22, 2009 — Despite its Hollywood trendiness, the average person doesn’t go out and buy a Prius just to feel good about reducing his or her carbon footprint. Most people buy cars that meet their motoring needs and end up choosing a Prius because its environmental proof-points align with their personal requirements.

It’s the classic emotional/rational balance: a high-mileage vehicle from a respected, reliable manufacturer means lower consumption of greenhouse-gas producing (not to mention high price-volatility) fossil fuels.

The Prius appeal is a perfect example of green pragmatism, because the vehicle’s environmental benefits are used for more than just a “feel good” green spin — they are rational product proof-points. As a result, the consumers’... continue reading

If GM Has a Brand, It's General Misery†

Company Has Eight Brands, but No Brand Messaging

Advertising Age, December 2, 2008 — "How Detroit drove into a ditch" is the headline of an article in the Oct. 25 issue of The Wall Street Journal.

When the most respected business publication in the world writes a 2,000-word article on the problems of the U.S. automobile industry, you have to assume it knows what it's writing about. Especially since the author of the article is the Journal's former Detroit bureau chief and a man who is writing a book about America's car culture.

Can the Chevy Volt Save GM?

Take a closer look at the plug-in electric vehicle GM hopes will kick-start a much-needed turnaround

BusinessWeek, October 29, 2008 — Far away from the complex merger negotiations and dicey political maneuvering (BusinessWeek.com, 10/28/08) that promise to reshape America's largest automaker, General Motors (GM), design director Bob Boniface is coolly contemplating the company's future.

The Volt is probably GM's last, best hope for the future and certainly its most significant upcoming vehicle. A plug-in electric car with an onboard gas-burning engine that can recharge the vehicle's batteries, the Volt has to affirm the company's ability to innovate and, eventually, create a financial foothold from which the battered automaker can begin to turn itself around.

How to Stay in the Black While Going Green†

Marketers' Product Focus Can Overlook Important Customer Needs

Advertising Age, April 2, 2008 — Philips launched EarthLight, an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb, in 1994. The bulb had a clumsy shape that was incompatible with most conventional lamps, a confusing package and a price tag of $15 compared to 75 cents for incandescent bulbs. Sales languished. Although it was well intended, the environmental positioning of the EarthLight appealed to only the greenest of consumers.

To be successful, green marketing must satisfy two objectives: improved environmental quality and customer satisfaction. Misjudging either or overemphasizing the former at the expense of the latter — as Philips did with the EarthLight — can be called "green marketing myopia."

Think Big

Prophet, September 14, 2007 — In this article that appeared originally in the Wall Street Journal, Dave Aaker argues that to win market share, don’t try to influence what brand of product people buy. Change how they use the product in the first place.

Say ‘Hybrid’ and Many People Will Hear ‘Prius’

One reason for the success of the Toyota Prius may be that buyers want everyone to know they are driving a hybrid

New York Times, July 4, 2007 — A riddle: Why has the Toyota Prius enjoyed such success, with sales of more than 400,000 in the United States, when most other hybrid models struggle to find buyers?

One answer may be that buyers of the Prius want everyone to know they are driving a hybrid.

Brands For the Chattering Masses

New York Times, December 17, 2006 — FOR many, many decades, successful branding — one of the corporate world's holy grails — involved a clear set of rules.