I certainly believe ideas are the coin of the realm in marketing — and in many other areas of life as well (politics, culture, literature, etc.). In this Part 2 of our continuing exploration of good and bad ideas, we offer examples that hold many lessons for the marketers among us.

GOOD IDEA — Web 2.0: An effective way to brand what is truly different, new and positive in this latest Internet revolution.

BAD IDEA — The me-tooism of many of the Web 2.0 start ups: Do we really need another YouTube, MySpace or even Google? Entrepreneurs, get some new ideas! At least no one is trying to reinvent eBay. That category looks shut out forever.

GOOD IDEA — Daimler/Mercedes Benz dumping Chrysler: They even had to pay the private equity firm to take it off their hands.

BAD IDEA — Daimler/Mercedes Benz "merging" with Chrysler in the first place: What a great way to ruin a world-class brand. It’s like Four Seasons Hotels "merging" with Motel Six.

GOOD IDEA — "Compassionate conservatism," "new tone in Washington," "competence of the first MBA president," "fiscal prudence," "a little humility in foreign affairs":  All pretty good ideas that then Governor George W. Bush ran effectively on in 2000.

BAD IDEA — Reneging on your promises and values: Too bad that now President Bush has not kept one of the above promises (MBA competence?!!). No wonder his approval rating is at just 29%, the lowest of his presidency and one of the lowest in American presidential history. (Huge lessons here for corporate brand stewards!)

GOOD IDEA — "Alt A" and other alternative mortgage funding models: These non-traditional mortgage strategies opened home ownership to many deserving families and singles.

BAD IDEA – Not checking on the financial wherewithal and suitability of many customers to see if they can even afford and manage a mortgage: Greed wins out again and the suprime mess is what we got. The problem with the still unfolding subprime crisis is not the disreputable mortgage companies and banks who are losing money on this financial debacle, but the families who now are out on the street because they can’t afford the mortgages they should never had gotten in the first place. It’s heartbreaking for those hard working people.

GOOD IDEA —  Apple’s consistent innovation: They just stay true to their brand promise/essence of innovation. The Apple Stores and the soon to be launched iPhone are the latest brilliant examples of this company’s single-minded focus on continuous innovation.

BAD IDEA — Dell’s dull as dishwater products and indifference to branding and consumers: It looks like Dell finally got the message, and is now trying to become a real marketing company instead of just a supply chain distributor. Michael Dell has a huge challenge on his hands. And, he has never shown himself to be a marketer.

GOOD IDEA — Starbucks’ "third place" retailing concept and bringing quality coffee to the masses: Howard Schultz and team deserve all the accolades and wealth they collected for creating Starbucks.

BAD IDEA — The growth-driven homogenization of Starbucks: Even Mr. Schultz admitted this in his now famous memo the troops. It’s true, the stores are losing their soul with automatic espresso makers, no real role for the barristas, no grinding of coffee (the smell is so important to the Starbucks experience). But, it goes beyond all of that. The stores are dirty, outdated and frankly no longer inviting. We are addicted to Starbucks, so we’ll keep coming, but if they don’t slow down and focus on the product experience they could become like Wendy’s or Burger King (see below).

GOOD IDEA — The amazing comeback of McDonald’s, based on emphasizing fast food fundamentals: Hot food, quick service, value prices, clean surroundings and new products. Do that consistently in fast food and you can win like McDonald’s.

BAD IDEA — Wendy’s falling from its leadership perch because of a lack of focus on the fundamentals and no real innovation: Forget the "digit in the chili" hoax (poor Wendy’s was victimized by that one, but they handled it pretty well), Wendy’s has not kept pace with change and innovation in the category. As a result, the once fast food leader is now on the block to be sold.

GOOD IDEA — Modular, high tech, green homes: Check out the magazine "Dwell" sometime and see where the housing business is going (and should go). These modular homes are the housing equivalents of BMW’s.

BAD IDEA — McMansions slapped together with bailing wire and paper mache: At least, that is what they look like. The recent housing boom created a lot of these abominations. Why people want to live in them is just beyond this writer/marketer.

GOOD IDEA — Socially responsible globalization: There actually are some examples of this, like the companies who now enforce human rights and basic working standards in their contract manufacturing facilities throughout the Third World (Nike and Reebok are two examples…although they were forced to do this because of pressure from workers’ right groups and the growing awareness of consumers about these issues).

BAD IDEA — Companies like the US "maker" and UK brand rights holder of Tommy the Train: You’d have to be a hermit on a deserted island not to be aware of this globalization debacle. The Chinese factory that makes the Tommy the Train toys for the aforementioned US and UK companies used lead in its paints, thus putting at risk thousands of children around the world who love these toys. The US company handled this crisis in a less than timely and responsible way, and the UK brand rights holder has disavowed any responsibility for the crisis. They just pointed the finger at their US licensee; but, they own the brand!! This recall, the recent pet food poisoning crisis, and the tainted toothpaste scare are huge wake up calls for globalizing companies the world over. If you are GE, P&G, Adidas, or you name it multinational, you have to be concerned with every step in your global supply chain. If you want the benefits of global sourcing, you must take the responsibility to police it for the good of your customers and society overall.

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