The small 3

I really hope that the government does not bailout the small 3 car makers. The mess they are in is of their own doing and the unions. Let them go bankrupt, rewrite the contracts so they can be more competitive and which ever company survives after that so be it. Does anyone miss the air traffic control union?
bad branding, bad product development, bad channels, etc. Classic case in what NOT to do. Jim Manzi has an article and interesting article and chart comparing the foreign car makers economics to the small 3 here.

Sponsorships: Jet Man

Remember Dan and Dave? Two athletes sponsored heavily by Reebok for the Olympics in 1992. Only problem was Dan failed to qualify, making an 8 month campaign useless. According to Sport Business Associates, global sponsorship of professional sports teams in 2006 is estimated to reach US$33.6 billion. This amount of spending certainly shows that sponsorships have become a huge venue for advertising dollars but do they always deliver?

Obviously, some sponsorships work out just fine, but for every win there is the prospect of a Dan and Dave fiasco or a Michael Landis in the Tour de France.

The impetus to write this post was Jet Man. If you did not see this, Yves Rossy strapped a 120lb winged contraption onto his back and flew across the English Channel. He was sponsored by Hublot Geneve, a high end, technically advanced watch firm. A very good fit. I went out to Hubolt's website and they have done a great job of integrating the sponsorship into their website and relating Jet Man to their brand. I can't help to think, though, what would have happened if Jet Man blew up over the English Channel?