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Big 3 automaker bailout: Planes, cars, PR
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The Big 3 automakers, CEOs of GM, Chrysler, and Ford, have returned to Capitol Hill to plead their case to receive $34B in federal funds. They will argue (again) that the bailout will keep them in business thus saving millions of American jobs across the country (from manufacturer to dealer operations) and the Government will uphold the American tradition (culturally and economically) of having automobiles made in the U.S.A.
They failed the first time, in part , because their PR war was lost when they arrived in town via plane.…private planes called corporate jets. How could they not have seen the irony? They weren’t asking for Gulfstream or Boeing to be bailed out so why would they fly instead of drive? It took days of embarrassing headlines -- mostly focusing on their indulgent and shameful spending – but the irony is staring us in the face. If they can’t answer the question they spent multi-millions putting to us: Have you driven a Ford lately? Or, embracing their own logo that Chevrolet is the Heartbeat of America, then why should we bail them out?
Many years ago, a top hotel exec told me that a visiting executive who had hoped to do significant business with his hotel chain, booked rooms at a competing property. Huh? Hotel A is good enough to do a business deal with but they aren’t good enough to patronize? Needless to say, once the visiting executive revealed he was staying at Hotel B…the meeting quickly ended and so did the deal.
CEOs need to breathe, eat, sleep, walk, talk their brands to convince us of their value. Russell Simmons, Hip Hop Mogul, almost always appears in public wearing his own apparel brand of Phat Farm or Argyle Culture. Donald Trump always reiterates that his properties (hotels, casinos, golf courses, buildings) are the most luxurious, most magnificent and most preferred and lives in them himself. And, to reinforce their importance to regular and first-time viewers/listeners, Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh regularly talk about their ratings and how their content and opinions are picked up by others . This isn’t shameless self-promotion but rather people at the top believing in their value and reminding us by through using and talking about products, services, vision and views.
So, not only did the Big 3 insult us by not embracing the mode of transportation they are convincing us we need – but they lost a huge opportunity to parade their brands across the country. They seemed to have caught on and have not only driven their cars this time – but forward-thinking hybrids and other new models to showcase their value to their constituency… all of us.
For more info , visit these links: CEOs of Big 3 fly jets and Big 3 back for rescue.
Read previous Publicity Examiner post on PR and endorsements.
Read previous Publicity Examiner post on PR and endorsements.
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