A Message from the President ... ZZZZZZZZ

The recent First Hawaiian Bank Auto Show has a program to help visitors find their way around the exhibit hall.  Great.

But in the program, there is some totally wasted space.  First Hawaiian Bank, the show's sponsor, has a full page to get out a message about itself and its brand.  What did they do with it?  They have a headline that says "First Hawaiian Bank Message."  Really.  Wow.  I really want to read that since I've been waiting to hear what First Hawaiian has to say.

How hard would it have been to come up with a headline linked to the bank's brand and touting the reasons that they are sponsoring this event??  And the "message" features a pic of the CEO.  Okay, show the CEO, but show him with a car or in the bank - not a head shot!  (There's an old saying in advertising:

When the client moans and sighs
Make the logo twice the size
Should the client prove refractory
Show a picture of the factory
But only in the direst case
Should you show the client's face!)

I'm picking on First Hawaiian, but I can't tell you how many newsletters I get from organizations which have a message from the president whose headline is "Message from the President."

Really, folks, can't we be more interesting than that??

Hot Dog King?

Burger King has recently introduced grilled hot dogs.  I wonder if the executive team checked the name of the company before rolling out the new products.  It's Burger King.  Burgers.  Get it?  Yes, they've introduced other grilled beef products before, but they've at least been in the same family as grilled beef.  Okay, they have chicken, too, but all fast foods seem to have chicken now.  But hot dogs?  Maybe a food too far. 

I understand why there is a yearning for new products for a fast food company like Burger King.  Product news is the lifeblood of marketing.  But the news, ideally, should fit into the brand's position.  The siren song of incremental sales often drowns out the need to stay focused. 

McDonald's has been struggling with "menu creep" for years ... with more and more added products complicating the menu, store operations, speed of service and, ultimately, the customer's understanding of what McDonald's stands for. 

Taco Bell has been a pretty good example of a chain that has been able to introduce new products while staying mostly true to its position.  That's because Mexican style food lends itself to re-combinations of ingredients that result in something that still looks Mexican.

Early reports indicate that BK's hot dogs are driving sales.  Let's see where it drives the brand in the long term.