Mouthing Off
Posted on 04. Nov, 2010 by The Relationship Era.
Chris Ebbesen has been thinking about the responsibilities that consumers have in brand relationships. Hint: it’s not just about telling the brand how they screwed up. Read Chris’ post, Why don’t we care enough about the things we care about…like honey mustard, on the iMedia Connection blog.
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Low Trust, Higher Transactions
Posted on 17. Sep, 2010 by The Relationship Era.
The air conditioner in my wife’s car went out the other day. We’re about 60,000 miles beyond the warranty life so anything that it takes to fix it is reallocating our money…which I hate. I’m not sure about you, but if possible, I try to avoid taking it to the dealership–really, it’s not the dealership, [...]
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LaHood-winked?
Posted on 12. May, 2010 by The Relationship Era.
According to the NY Times online, U.S. Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, came away from a recent visit to Toyota’s headquarters sensing that the auto giant has experienced a kind of transformation. They’ve apparently seen the error of their ways – a corporate epiphany – and are moving forward to the stern drumbeat of American disapproval. [...]
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Three More Thoughts on Trust
Posted on 26. Apr, 2010 by Doug Levy.
Pete Blackshaw makes some great points in his Ad Age article, Why It’s Time to Hit the Reset Button on Trust. I’d encourage you to give it a read and share with others who might be interested. I’d like to make three quick points that build on his thinking. Pete discusses the difficulty of defining [...]
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Toyota Not Getting Typical Mileage from Credibility
Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by The Relationship Era.
How low can you go? Just ask Toyota. While not quite as unpopular with the public as financial services firms and wireless providers, Japan’s largest auto manufacturer has seen its trust with US consumers plummet during the period starting in early fall 2009 to mid-February 2010. imc²′s recent research demonstrates a dramatic drop in Toyota’s [...]
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Marketing, the Figure-Ground Stimulus, and Values
Posted on 21. Jan, 2010 by Mark McKinney.
I recently read an interesting post by Seth Godin, talking about how he feels that marketing messages are analogous to comic book frames. The marketing message is the crafted communication much like the illustrated comic frame, but the “message” takes place between the frames, where the reader actively imagines the action. His point: “Consumers are [...]
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The Message in the Relationship Era
Posted on 04. Dec, 2009 by Mark McKinney.
Recently, I was in a conversation with a new acquaintance about the changes taking place in marketing. I was talking about the intent of the marketing message in the new Relationship Era, and threw out some opinions about what the message should do. My conversation partner stopped for a minute and commented, “Augustine. The outcome [...]
