Category Archives: Brand News

GM's Bob Lutz on Blogging

Daveandbob_1 I got a chance to spend about an hour with GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz Thursday afternoon at the Denver Auto Show. He was doing a walk through of the GM display with members of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press.

In between all the car talk, I got a chance to ask him about blogging. To him, the best part of blogging is that he can get his messages out without having to rely on editors and the traditional media gatekeepers.

His post Wednesday on the GM Fastlane Blog is a good example of the power of the blog (even to the most powerful of executives). He gets to set the record straight as he sees it. The comments following the post show that not everyone may agree with him, but he does get to say his piece.

By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman

The media coverage on the auto industry of late has done much to paint an ugly portrait of General Motors. This happens when a company’s financial results are not meeting projections and so I can understand and respect the increased scrutiny.

But I must draw a line between legitimate coverage and manipulating facts to create “news.” Which is what happened when remarks I made in answer to a question at an analyst conference in New York last week were taken out of context and twisted just enough to cause panic among a lot of good people.

Many of you probably read something to the effect that….

[continue reading at FastLane]

"Alexander Slept Here"

Midex2Branding Turkey. What a great story for the day after Thanksgiving. Oh wait. It’s the country, not the bird.

I think the suggestion to use Turkey’s history to craft a brand image is a good one.

However, you’ve also got to deal with past images of things like Midnight Express and the usual fears and worries of traveling to the middle east.

Make me feel safe and I’ll think about coming to Turkey and reliving your history.

(by the way, when did they start spelling whiz with two z’s?)

Link: ZAMAN DAILY NEWSPAPER (2004112614182).

Branding Through History

John Grant, one of the co-founders of St. Lukes, Great Britain’s advertising agency of the year, said that if Turkey wants to become a brand, it should use its history to achieve this.

Accepted as the "whizz kid" of the advertisement industry, Grant pointed out Turkey’s great history dating back to ancient times and said: "You have a very young population. If Turkey promotes itself on international platforms using its history, it will achieve its desire to become a brand."

Happy Birthday is trademarked.

This reminds me of the guy who tried to patent the wheel. Apparently this Chinese company is getting away with it.

Chinese company registers “Happy Birthday” brand: [World News]: Hefei (China), Oct 17 : The phrase ‘Happy Birthday’ can no longer be used to brand a range of products in about 25 countries across the world as a Chinese company has registered it as a trade mark.

The countries that the company Fufeng with about 70 products including toys, dresses, shoes and hats, acquired a right over the phrase include the US, Japan and the European Union members, Xinhua reports.

Faced by the increasingly fierce competition in the world toy market, the company realised the importance of branding its products and registered the “well-known and pleasant phrase”, according to a company official who didn’t give his name.

Fufeng is a major toy manufacturer with more than $5 million annual export turnover.

–Indo-Asian News Service Chinese company registers “Happy Birthday” brand