When you think of First to Market, think of something that has never been done before. Charles Lindberg, for example, was the first person to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean. Few can name the second person, however.

Most people, though, know the third person to fly solo across the Atlantic. Not because that person was Number Three, but because that person was First in Category: First Woman, Amelia Earhart.

photo credit: cliff1066™

Enter the Automobile Recall

Nissan became the second automobile manufacturer this week to announce a voluntary recall of its products. On Monday, General Motors announced a safety recall that covers 1.3-million cars.

While the GM recall is the biggest of the three companies to announce recalls in the past two week, Toyota has taken the largest hit to its reputation because it was First in Category: Major Auto Recall.

Barrie McKenna writes in the Globe and Mail how car makers are finding safety in numbers when it comes to their company’s reputation.

With Toyota taking most of the flak right now, other auto makers may have an incentive to come clean on any problems they may have.

There’s “safety in numbers,” agreed Peter Cohan, a management consultant and lecturer at Babson College.

“They are better admitting them pre-emptively, and using all the bad news about Toyota as something of an umbrella for consumer anger,” he said.

Did you know Honda and Peugeot also have recalls on their products? Probably not.

Reputation Management

There is a time-honored tradition to release bad news on a Friday night after the close of business. It’s a simple reputation management tactic that reduces the chance that a news organization will make a Top Story out of your bad news.

While I have no way of knowing if General Motors was aware of a pending Toyota recall, and doubt that they did know, it was a deft move to announce their recall in the days following Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda’s Congressional testimony. It mitigated bad news for GM, and cleared the way for Nissan.

While Toyota has created an entire website for recall news, General Motors hasn’t. Neither has Honda, Peugeot or Nissan. They’ve dealt with the issue in routine press releases on their corporate websites.

Being Second in Category isn’t a bad thing when it comes to your reputation.

Of the 12 key decision-makers at that meeting, though, only two were Gen Xers and none were Gen Y. The rest were Baby Boomers.

My God, It’s Full of Stars

The outside consultant did a remarkable job synthesizing the focus group data of the older customer base, and then repurposing key strengths into viable tactics to grow a younger market.

The presentation left the Boomers face-to-face with a Monolith from Arthur C. Clarke’s Space Odyssey.

The recommendations made no sense. They didn’t “get it.”

“It was too simple,” they said, “How can we build market share with this?”

Then someone asked the young Administrative Assistant—a card carrying member of Generation Y.

She not only got it, but she loved it.

How’s Your World View?

Managers—particularly in small-sized companies—sometimes make marketing decisions through their own world view. This was the case with the meeting I attended. The older managers weren’t attracted to the younger ideas because, frankly, the managers weren’t part of the target audience.

I fear there are many companies doing just what this group did.

While it may sound simple, or possibly elementary, your managers have to think like the demographic they want to target. If not, they need to find—and trust—people who can. Otherwise, managers will trend toward the least common denominator by selecting a safe path than neither achieves a strategic goal nor finds an intended audience segment.

The Board of Credit Union Advisors, along with the Board of Currency Exchange Advisors and the Board of Debt Management Service Advisors, play a key role in shaping the direction by which the Division of Financial Institutions fulfills its fundamental mission: to protect the interest of depositors, borrowers, shareholders, and consumers of the licensed financial institutions operating in Illinois.

I am honored to accept this appointment and look forward to serving.

photo credit: The U.S. Army

More here from the New York Times.

Accomplished Judge

Client: Citizens to Elect Justice Mary S. Schostok
Agency: Strong Media LLC
Executive Producer: Brian S. McDaniel
Director of Photography: Joe Bogden
Lighting Design: Steve Brown
Graphic Art: Bobby Shepherd
On-Line Editing: Ki Editorial + Design
Audio Production: Propulsion Media Labs

Joe Birkett Endorsement

Client: Citizens for Dan Cronin
Agency: Strong Media LLC
Executive Producer: Brian S. McDaniel
Director of Photography: Joe Bogden
Lighting Design: Steve Brown
Graphic Art: Bobby Shepherd
On-Line Editing: Ki Editorial + Design
Audio Production: Propulsion Media Labs

Family

Client: Citizens to Elect Justice Mary S. Schostok
Agency: Strong Media LLC
Executive Producer: Brian S. McDaniel
Director of Photography: Joe Bogden
Lighting Design: Steve Brown
Graphic Art: Bobby Shepherd
On-Line Editing: Ki Editorial + Design
Audio Production: Propulsion Media Labs

My Approach

Public Safety

Client: Citizens for Dan Cronin
Agency: Strong Media LLC
Executive Producer: Brian S. McDaniel
Director of Photography: Joe Bogden
Lighting Design: Steve Brown
Graphic Art: Bobby Shepherd
On-Line Editing: Ki Editorial + Design
Audio Production: Propulsion Media Labs