BrandDigital | BrandSimple: The Blog

There is no shortage of opinion on how Tiger handled his mea culpa and what he can do to restore his brand’s image. As for Toyota, the other brand in the news these days up against public demand for answers to less than stellar behavior, there is still some room for commentary. In fact, I had the opportunity to weigh in on the topic in a recent interview with CTV during which I suggested that the company’s biggest mistake, in terms of brand repair, is not having gotten ahead of the story quickly enough. While it’s always easy to play armchair quarterback and offer up solutions that are simple in theory, putting them into place in such a large and global company like Toyota is another thing. However, I believe there are some actions that the company can take at this point in time which will help restore its brand’s equity before it’s too late. I invite you to watch the interview here.

Image courtesy of Canada AM

The biggest upset in this year’s Super Bowl wasn’t that the Saints beat the Colts, although that was pretty exciting. It was that most of the commercials were less than wonderful. Like everyone in the marketing business, I watched the game expecting to be bowled over by the ads, or at least a good number of them. Yes, I chuckled at the little kid protecting both his mom and his Doritos from a besotted suitor. And the coca-cola ad, in which Monty Burns gets his come-uppence, followed by a Coke and a smile, made me smile. I also really like the Google ad which used the device of a charming search-story line to reinforce its brand promise. But in more cases than not, the branding seemed to shift into neutral. Not a smart media moment. When you’ve got such a diverse audience and a one-shot opp to present your brand promise, you’ve either got to break the rules with conviction, not half measures, or you’ve got to tell your brand’s story with simple brilliance. In this edition of Forbes Online, I write about how events like the Super Bowl and the Olympics offer companies the chance to make the play for millions of viewers at the same time, occasions few and far between since digital technology took over our lives. When consumers can compare and contrast ads and brands in such a finite amount of time and space, it’s not the time to go neutral, but go for the win.

Image permission being requested @coca-cola-art.com

The toaster wasn’t toasting fast enough. No, it wasn’t broken. I was having a “double-click mentality” moment. You know, those moments during an ordinary day when the ordinary stuff we do seems to take too much time as a result of our being behavior modified by the instant gratification of digital activities. Downloading books, music, and movies. Scanning directions onto our mobile devices. Using QR codes to get exclusive access to discounts. Or, like Target has done in a recent non-digital promotion, sending coupons that are good for any brand of a whole bunch of products so I don’t have to spend time clipping and filing coupons for my personal favorites. I’ve written a short piece about this “double-click mentality” and its implications for brands in the latest edition of Forbes Online. Specifically, how brands with an understanding of our “now-now” state of mind are more likely to build brand loyalty and leadership. Take a look. I promise it won’t take more than a double-click’s worth of time to read.