Two interesting articles today got me thinking. The first from Ad Age by Martin Lindstrom looked at the return on investment of sponsoring American Idol by Coke, Ford, and AT&T. The second from the conversation starter blog by HBR contributor Sarah Green on Sarah Palin being unauthentic and that leading to her downfall.
The Lindstrom piece talks about how Coke is integrated with the show and has a ubiquitous feel, basically, it’s tied into the show, its there because the judges need refreshment. Where as some of the other products are a bit forced, those Ford set ups are pretty horrific in my opinion. So Coke wins, it feels like the judges actually like the product (although I’m pretty convinced that its just water in those glasses).
The Green piece discusses the hockey-mom to Saks closet transformation that Palin went through during the presidential campaign and how this might have been her downfall. People want real, Green says, and with Palin they lost the feeling of authenticity they were given when she first came on the scene.
I think these are both related and important lessons for organisations. Know where your product can be placed and where your product will add value rather then take it away or look out of place. A frog belongs in the zoo not in a palace.
