Rose Matlock Consulting

One of my favorite conversations with people is the idea that just because something existed before, it must continue to exist in the future.  On the surface, it seems to make sense but under closer examination we can think of several examples that would prove otherwise.  Take for instance, your dinner you will have tonight.  Imagine a beautiful spread of steak, grilled vegetables, fresh piping hot bread and a lovely glass of wine.  Sounds delicious doesn’t it?  I bet it will look fantastic as well…

Of course, once you start eating it, the whole look and smell of the meal will be destroyed!  How dare you!  I want that meal preserved at all cost!  Obviously, this would be the ranting of an un-well man wouldn’t it?  Yet, many business’ and individuals engage in the exact same flaw in logic.  Sometimes referred to as “anchoring” or “focalism”, the logical error is the result of making a decision using only one piece of data, while typically ignoring newer, more relevant information.  Two stories this week brought me back to this:  Pepsi and Saab.  Soda and Cars?  Read on…

Pepsi announced this week that they will not be paying for advertising during the 2010 Super Bowl, the first time they will be not involved in 24 years.  Many in advertising are calling this madness.  Won’t Coca Cola gain an extraordinary advantage?  How can Pepsi survive…without the masculine frivolity that Super Bowl spot provide.  Simple – they have looked beyond the one fact most have focused on, namely they have had an ad for the last 24 years and instead are focusing on the future and other more relevant data points.  To begin with, Google News shows 347 articles just in the last 12 hours about Pepsi NOT advertising.  Jeez, that’s almost as good as having a spot but…it’s free!  More importantly, Pepsi is recognizing that while mega-brand halo advertising still has a place, it now has to share space with niche marketing, viral videos and social networking.  Each of these functions as a result of feeling like the viewer is in a small and unique group.  The Super Bowl is regularly promoted as one of the most viewed television events of the year.  How can one be special…if everyone saw it?  Good job Pepsi.

The second story that caught my attention was the announcement that Saab would be shut down by GM at year end after failing to attract the right buyout and financing offer from bidders.  The news has been met with dismay from many and lamented much as the loss of Saturn already announced earlier this year.  A careful analysis show that the retirement of these brands is not the result of failing to have credit liquidity or a freezing of M&A in the car market.  No, it is the inevitable outgrowth of consolidation in a capital heavy industry and perhaps just as an importantly…these were two brands that had simply not kept with the times.  In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Saab and Saturn were desirable cars (albeit by different groups) but those halcyon days of yore have been long since past.  Each new ad campaign by Saturn became more laughable as it tried valiantly to stay relevant and when was the last time anyone was truly yearning for a Saab?  No, the taste and desires of the next generation of car consumers have begun to move past these legacy brands and for the health of GM and really the industry as a whole, its time they became the content for the next Car & Driver review of great cars of the past.

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