Pro global business

As a registered Republican it’s been interesting to see how the party would right itself after the election. I’ve waited and waited. Nothing. The Republican party is a real mess. And they’ve lost their brand identity completely. Right now it doesn’t know which direction to go in.

85% of the problem was George W. He single handedly made everyone in the Republican Parties name mud. But now he’s gone and it’s time to rebuild conservatism within the party. Sure Obama and the general public will continue to blame George W. for all their problems but the truth is it’s on Obama and the Democrats now as they control the country.

So what can Republicans do? Which direction should they go in?

They need to go back to their roots and core brand identity. They need to stand for capitalism, the small business owner, they need to fight the urge to tax everything (like what’s rumored now -soda), they need to stand for big business, they need to stand for LESS government involvement. Conservatism. They need for someone to step forward and start to be the NEW face of the Republican party. Who is that new face?

Now you’ll always have your far right and left in any party so I’m basically going to eliminate them from the equation. I’m also going to eliminate abortion from the issues as the country continually votes 50/50 on the issue. If abortion is tops on your personal voting list you’ll most likely vote in that direction. So if the Republicans bring a pro life candidate through it really won’t make too much of a difference one way or the other. The real issues here are conservatism. But done right.

Currently the Republican party has absolutely no voice as the Democrats control the House, Senate and Presidency. So really there is not much they can do to make a difference. It looks like their strategy is to sit back and give the Democrats enough rope to hang themselves. And I believe this hands off strategy is best and could work. But only time will tell. Right now the American people are still star struck with Obama. Let’s see how they feel 2 years from now.

It’s time to re-build the Republican brand. Not on religion. Not on sensitive issues like abortion or gay marriage (even though Obama was clearly against gay marriage). These issues will all middle out. The one thing that crosses over to all the people is money. Money gets votes. Will you have more or less. Will your small business be over taxed to death or not. Will the government be telling you where to eat (and what not to drink), which car to drive, what bank to get a loan from etc.

Republicans need to unite, start sending some leaders to the forefront. Where is Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich? Personally I think a smart businessman like Mitt Romney is the answer the Republicans need to bring forward conservatism. He’s a proven business leader.

What are your thought fellow Republicans, where should the party go as a brand?

This morning I woke up to news that President Obama has fired GM President Rick Wagoner. Which now means the government is running GM, at least for now. I’ll say it again…The government is running GM.

Sure GM took some bailout money, sold their soul to the devil and are now paying the price. But here’s the part to ponder. Obama and his group gave GM and Chrysler a last chance effort to come back with a plan that would get them out of this mess. A plan? How does a company whip up a marketing/financial plan on the spot when they obviously haven’t had a plan for years?

Was it a big surprise that gas prices went up and their products were gas guzzlers? Was it a big surprise that they built copycat vehicles to compete with Honda and Toyota instead of differentiating themselves?

GM and Chrysler have been clueless for the last 20 years. What’s either of their branding stand for? If Volvo equals safety what does GM and Chrysler stand for? Nothing.

Then factor in the unions. What role did they play in destroying the American car maker? So here’s what you have. A company sucked dry from the unions (Obama supports these guys so it’s not their fault), with no vision or brand identity that’s somehow in trouble? There is only one solution for these brands.

Let them die. Before you know it we’ll see new, exciting brands pop up. They will most likely be niched brands that will differentiate themselves. Maybe we’ll get an automaker that just makes electric cars? Who knows but it’s time to let capitalism shine.

The last thing I want my president doing is acting as a CMO!

President Obama is certainly “changing” the way a President communicates with the people. In his latest update he has developed a website http://www.recovery.gov/ where anyone will be able to see where the money will be spent to help recover our economy.

Here’s what he had to say:

“We won’t just throw money at our problems - we’ll invest in what works,” the president said. “Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made public, and informed by independent experts whenever possible. We’ll launch an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government, and every American will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars by going to a new website called recovery.gov.”

Kudos on the idea. But in reality his plan is going to do nothing. If you make less than $75,000/year you’ll get about $8/week more. And of course Welfare is increased. Stimulate the economy? I think not.

I like the approach President Obama is taking but he has to deliver (like a product/service). If you look at the Obama branding what he’s doing is really nothing more than sizzle, we want the steak! We need a big fat juicy steak.

What do you think? Do you think his sizzle is “changing” your thinking.

Strangely enough I saw a great commercial yesterday. It came on just as I turned on the TV.

It’s for the Navy Seals:

No words, just the excitement about being a Navy Seal. Join us and you too can become an elite, “stealth” soldier. Then I went to the website Navy.com and they further supported the campaign.

I thought it was right on brand. What are your thoughts?

What a day yesterday. The Obama brand took over the White House with quit a splash. I’ve never seen anything like the enthusiasm I saw yesterday. Change is here…

Then the stock market dropped over 300 points, the most in inauguration history. I guess folks investing weren’t so happy.

It’s going to be interesting to see how long this rockstar brand image lasts. I know I’m going to be holding Obama to his promises. In the past politicians usually break their promises but Obama can’t do that. He made it clear that he was the change needed so, the proof will be in the pudding.

Where do you think the Obama brand will go?

As I watch TV shows get cancelled I can’t help but think that last years writer strike ultimately destroyed these brands. Many of them like Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money were on the fast track to becoming major hits, then they got hit by the writers strike. Now they’re gone.

When I think about unions I don’t imagine they ponder the effects they have on the branding. I think they want higher pay, better healthcare, more benefits etc. Back in the day unions were very good and helped many people out. They did their job. But today?

Look at the US auto industry. Many people believe that unions have crushed our ability to compete. As the unions fight for the things they fight for one thing gets neglected…the brand. Now our US automakers are about to go out of business. That’s a lot of unemployed union workers and possibly the death of some major brands.

I’m obviously not a fan of unions but if they are going to play a role in a brands life then maybe part of the unions plan should be to develop a brand advocate. Protection of the brand should always play a role in anything a union negotiates or the brand could die. The last the thing a brand wants to be doing is Pushing Daisies.

There were thousands upon thousands of entries says Rich Sloan of StartUpNation and Brand Identity Guru places 8th. Click over and check it out.

We would like to thank all our kahuna ambassadors for clicking on that damn vote for us button for over 2 months. Your hard work paid off BIG time as it got us to #8 in the USA. You guys rock! I will be posting more on this as I receive more info from StartUpNation.

Yuck is the professional term I use when I see golden opportunities blown. Check out the new company name and logo:

As you can see InBev clearly played to the old logo of Anheuser-Busch. The merger of the two names is at best poor. I think they missed a golden opportunity to rename the entire brand. Let’s hope InBev doesn’t buy another big company because their new name could soon be ABInBevCoors…

What do you think? ABInBev or new name? What about the new logo?

Hat tip to Brand New for the images.

Who are you? What do you want to be? How do you get there? Here are 3 proven methods for obtaining brand identity.

1. Dictate it. You have a vision, that vision is to be the “cheesiest pizza” in town (insert your vision here). Be it. Live it. Make it happen each and every time. Add more cheese and use the best tasting cheese. You own cheese damn it!

2. Brainstorm with outside help. Bring in a company like us and brainstorm it out. Come to your best educated guess at what your brand identity is. Then follow #1.

3. Brand Research. Hire a company like us to conduct real brand research within your target markets. Good unbiased research is a great way to tap into your target market. Then follow rule #1.

Sounds simple right? This is where most businesses fail.

This morning I wake up to see Jonathan Salem Baskin outscooped me again on the Citi branding issues. Damn him! So I’ll just throw my thoughts down but I suggest you bop over to his blog and give it a read (click here).

So laying off 52,000 people ain’t no small task. How will Citi Group handle this from a brand identity perspective?  What is Citi’s brand identity? I know them as a big and powerful lending instition (I have a mortgage from them).

Here are some thoughts:

1. Don’t do any wasteful advertising. And by that I mean lip service. If Citi is going to advertise it better mean something real and tangible to it’s customers. Otherwise they could have kept a few more warm bodies.

2. Citi needs to connect in a personal way with it’s customers. Social media might be a great way to start a conversation.

3. Maybe Citi could start a social network for the 52,000 that were laid off? Citi could play a role in trying to connect past employee’s to new jobs but more importantly they could play a role in their lives still. This could help the negative word of mouth?

4. A serious internal brand identity plan needs to be established and executed at all levels for remaining employee’s. I would recommend that select employee’s play a role in its creation. What Citi does internally today will shape the new company moving forward.

This is a unique opportunity for Citi to really take advantage of a bad situation. If they consider their internal branding they should do fine. But that’s a big if.