Something Rotten in the City of Detroit

This week the American Auto Industry entered a state of crisis.  The once invulnerable barons of Detroit muscle now throw themselves at the mercy of the American legislature pockets drawn empty and begging for alms in a state of realizational shock.  Gone is the lustrous swagger, the unassailable confidence, the Italian suits are buried deep in the recesses of cedar wood closets, the diamond studded cuff-links lie lonely on the Italian marble  counter tops.  Indeed we can now proclaim with all certainty that Detroit is Dead.

Of course the doctors are working feverishly, desperate discourse on rescue packages, capital infusion, possible ripple-effect consequences.  The cynics are abuzz, glowing with über-confidence & “I told you so” rhetoric.  The talking points are all the rage, de-unionization, poor management, chapter 11 necessity.  All the while the question of how slips to the back of the room, reduced to a whisper underneath the wave of partisan bickering.

I personally believe that some of the reasons behind the collapse of Detroit may be readily identified.  I divulge if I may:

Several years ago a movie premiered entitled, The Fast & the Furious.  The movie detailed the lives of California street racers, centering on the hard-nosed, tough-lived, Brandosian car thief who races out of economic necessity and the sympathetic, intelligent, white-bred, undercover police officer.  These two all-American boys face off in a medium that is uniquely American, the drag race.  The movies Japanese characters are portrayed as criminals, spending vast sums on engines and parts, cheating and killing, and as vehemently Un-American as possible.   The movie ends with the lead character’s Detroit muscle car escaping from the undercover police officers souped-up import, the supremacy of the American automobile, and the inescapably good character of the rebel preserved.

Fast forward to the third movie in the Fast & Furious saga, Tokyo Drift.  The series is now in Tokyo where a bumbling, Gumpian, American hillbilly finds himself awash in Tokyo, Japan after one street race too many drives his mother to exile the young man with his aging, post-alcoholic father whose Detroit kit car stands on cement blocks in the garage.  Here the American bravado is seen as a hindrance, the race itself centers on fancy new techniques that the American must learn and master, as he suffers a humiliating defeat.  He is out of place, out-classed, and in the end prevails only when he lets go of his American-cowboy mindset and immerses himself in the Japanese cultural idioms.

This conversion is symptomatic of the American automotive brand.  The “Big 3″ have simply not done enough to curve the downward fall of the American brand, and their efforts in marketing and re branding have been terrible.  Consider the following; American automakers realized that they were losing ground in the 18-37 demographic so they came up with a simpleton strategy, give cars cool names like focus, fusion, and malibu and focus advertising by inclusion of dancing girls, techno music, football players and hip-hop stars.  What they missed was highlighting innovative technical features that spoke directly to that demographic.   The rebel image of James Dean or Steve McQueen was replaced with Lil’ John and one of the Barber brothers (the one that didn’t win the Superbowl).  Detroit continued to market its autos as  “quintessentially American”, the liberty, the patriot, the freedom, “This is our Country”.  In an era of unilateral wars, waterboarding, and cowboy politics is any wonder that these cars didn’t play well in the global market?

American street racers, once in unconquerable symbols of Detroit muscles, dumped Ford and Chevy for smooth Asian imports, and the near plethora of customizable parts and upgrades.  Unfazed and uncaring American automakers turned their heads toward an even smaller market segment in the global racing community, NASCAR.  As the target markets grew smaller and smaller, revenues decreased, and profits began free-falling.  Leading us to ask,  how does Detroit re-brand and save its industry?

First the automakers need to ally with their workers, push for universal health care solutions and controls on prescription drug costs to relieve pressures of labor costs.  Next public relations need to drive some aspects of protectionism push forward with MPG standards, and invent proprietary quality standards.  The focus now needs to shift to Market Penetration and a unified marketing message.  Highlight the innovative nature of American inventiveness after all this is the country of Edison, Ipods, and Polaroid film.  Marketers for the American auto industry need to abandon product placement, and simply bankroll films where ass-kicking American rebels decry import Autos as weak and unreliable science projects.  New ways for consumers to buy and observe Autos without timely trips to the dealer must occur.  Dealers must now be encouraged to come up with new creative ways to host events, infiltrating social networking sites and circles, and boosting the marketing message.  If Detroit is to survive, it will have to learn to flex its marketing muscle again.  This renewed push in marketing must start now, with a renewed attempt to convince Americans that Detroit is worth saving, and not to pull the plug on its life support.

An Open-Ended Letter to Congress

Distinguished members of congress,

In these very hard financial times it is important for our elected officials to act swiftly and gracefully to insure the continued prosperity of this great nation.  The current economic recession coupled with what may be the most significant downturn in housing in the history of this nation has forced tax payers to invest directly in these companies, or to use common vernacular, bail them out.  I am writing this letter because I believe that congress must again act swiftly to prevent the failure of one of America’s most important resources, myself.

Members of congress I urge you to pass the Na’im McKee Economic Assistance for the Betterment of Almost the Whole United States Act, better known as NMEAFTBATWUSA.  I implore you to act swiftly to buy my troubled assets such as my ballooning student aid debt, my used Ford Escape, and my high-APR credit card.  Simply put, I cannot be allowed to fail.  My failure would cause an irreconcilable, cataclysmic economic slide and when coupled with the coming earthquakes, impending hurricanes, the rapture, and the return of a revamped version of, “That’s my Mama”, the failure of our great country would be virtually assured.  Thousands of small businesses would be forced to consider bankruptcy if I were to fail, Tipsy’s Liquor world, Wok In $1-a-scoop, and Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles would be devastated by the losses.

Unlike members of the “Big 3″ Detroit automakers I have a precise plan for how I will retool and reshape my business strategy to insure that taxpayer dollars are not wasted.  First I would arbitrarily bet half of the dollars on the New York Jets.  I have now come to the conclusion that Brett Favre is simply never going to die, and his Herculean, Samsonian, man-strength is simply a much better investment than say T-Bonds, or Collateralized Debt Obligations.  Secondly, I would use another quarter of the money to pepper telephone poles with “Get Paid to Lose Weight” Fliers, this lucrative “cash-cow” offers an endless supply of cash in today’s world of the super-obese.  With the last quarter of the money I would put a down-payment on Mexico, that’s right Mexico.  In a stunning bit of Jeffersonian trickery I would simply put a “down-payment” on Mexico, and force a principal agreement using a NINJA (No Income No Job or Assets) loan to establish a payback schedule for my 200-year, adjustable rate, jumbo loan.

Congress in these tough times what this nation needs are “deciders”, you must act now to pass the NMEAFTBATWUSA stimulus plan lest you be responsible for the utter destruction of all humanity.  I implore you to consider the consequences of inaction, and may God forgive your wretched souls.

Your loving and perpetual citizen,

Na’im

Nintendo commits sepuku, gonzo-marketing style

The Nintendo Wii will go down in the annals of history as a remarkable and unlikely success story, which has returned us twirty-somethings to a state of nostalgic bliss.  The system which combined a revolutionary control system and innovative gaming ideas was an instant success, and for months suburban housewives angrily went to fisticuffs over empty shelves in department stores all over the country.  The game was instantly appealing winning over virtually every demographic from preschool to the geriatric ward.

In the beginning Nintendo’s marketing efforts were well-placed, branding itself as a family system by use of muted-color, television advertisements that emphasized people (of all races, and ages) playing the system rather than the games themselves.  Nintendo’s digital branding followed the same course consisting of a simple white-grayscale color scheme (think 2001: A Space Odyssey) and globally-filtered videos of consumers playing certain games.  Delivering one punch after another the Wii delivered games like Zelda, Wii Sports, Mario Kart and Super Smash brothers, which loosened the irritable bowels of Sony and Microsoft executives, and effectively winning the highly contested Christmas shopping season of 2007.  Nintendo followed up this success with the Wii fit an innovative peripheral which brought yoga, aerobics, and balance into the gaming world featuring a board that was able to detect slight changes in pressure and weight.  It appeared as though the gaming system that beat Atari and Sega was back in form.

It was exactly at this point that I realized that Nintendo began its tragic downward spiral, behind a failed marketing strategy and a incredible lack of foresight.  Just when Nintendo had the public rioting at the spout, the tap went dry.  A series of terribly adapted games exposed problems in the motion-sensing control apparatus.  Games such as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and Call of Duty were aggressively marketed for rival systems highlighting their graphics, sound, and multiplayer options while the Wii was left behind.  Game developers eager to cash in on the high demand for Wii games let loose a torrent of poorly designed, cryptically marketed games such as Trophy Hunting, Rockstar Ping Pong, and Pet Pals animal doctor.  Nintendo seemingly gave up on some target segments, concentrating nearly all of their market efforts on the youth demographic with whimsically stupid ideas like Wii Music (a great concept, but utterly pointless) and Animal crossing.  Peripherals like the Wii blaster, and adventure game mat were exposed as poorly designed add-ons that neither boosted the playability nor the enjoyment of any of the games.  Nintendo’s marketing went Gonzo featuring over-produced, idiotic commercials like the Hollywood squares-inspired Wii music commercials.

Now Nintendo is facing a full-on revolt, Xbox lowered the price of its system and the victory of Blu-Ray has turned the Playstation 3 into a multi-function, smart-buy system.  Games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Gears of War have driven down demand for silly, nitrous oxide-powered family fun.  Wii Games seem to have given up on the innovative control system, and games seem more focused on acute wrist operations versus physical, full-body motion.  Nintendo has done little in the area of marketing to stem the tide, and appears ready to commit ritual suicide at the feet of it’s masters.

The good news for Nintendo is that it is not too late to reverse course and to save what may be the most innovative gaming system since the original 8-bit wonder hit shelves in the late eighties.  Nintendo has to focus on designing the entire customer experience.  This means focusing its marketing message to a core segment and reinvigorating its overall brand perception.  From purchase to play Nintendo must design how customers will perceive, purchase, play, and replay their games.  Nintendo needs to alter the way that consumers purchase their games, this can be offered by opening the Wii Ware portal.  Instead of being an essentially pay to play service Nintendo can focus its efforts on being a pay then play system, by making classic games free and offering side-games for purchased games, as well as demos of new games available.  By turning the Wii Ware portal into a market research tool, Nintendo can test new ideas and innovative techniques.  This allows the Wii to be rebranded and allots for consumer exploration an essential phase of the design process, and accomplishes this without the need for additional consumer purchase.  A twitter style message board would be a welcome software add-on for the Wii.

Next Nintendo needs to become mysteriously propietary.  Too many Wii games have simply become a “last resort” option for games designed for other systems.  Other games just suck, they really suck.  Nintendo needs to retain its own testing staff, and games need to have a longer approval period.  Nintendo needs to have a more dictatorial role in how these games are marketed and needs to place a high emphasis on Games being unique in design and function.

Nintendo needs to fire most of their marketing staff, for failing what could be the iphone of the gaming industry.  Their marketing efforts have gone Gonzo as their marketing message has simply been lost in translation, and their marketing mix has become stale and boring.  Nintendo needs to focus on making games that are equally appealing to people eight, eighteen, or eighty years of age, by focusing on innovative design with a consumer focus.  This will ultimately mean less games, but will ultimately lead to higher demand.  Nintendo needs to pick its battles with Sony and Microsoft wisely, by offering Wii version of games that are unique from their graphically superior cousins.

Nintendo must act quickly, or else it can simply kneel, open the kimono and and go slash-slash on the belly.