credibility

With reports that the oil gusher in the Gulf is nearly kaput, BP's new CEO announced Friday that the company would scale back its cleanup efforts in areas where there is no more oil. Makes sense. Still bad for the brand, though.

There are two problems with which BP must contend, one situational and the other conceptual:

P&G's Dawn dishwashing detergent is facing an immense and somewhat delicate opportunity: it has been donating product to help clean wildlife impacted by oil spills since the Exxon Valdez in 1989, and it is already making a contribution to BP's Gulf disaster relief. I understand that its marketers are considering how much more it might do without getting accused of opportunism.

Twitter accounts with a profile picture have ten times the number of followers as those without. This finding comes from an analysis of 9 million Twitter account by HubSpot using their TwitterGrader tool. Accounts with a profile picture have an average of over 250 followers; those without a profile picture have an average of about 25.

(NOTE: This essay draws on a chapter in my new book, Bright Lights & Dim Bulbs, which identifies nine radical branding and marketing insights for innovative business leaders to watch in 2010).

In case you haven't noticed it, almost every public and commercial establishment blew up this year. Your reputation and brand aren't what they used to be.

JPMorgan Chase announced earlier this week that it plans to hire 1,500 new mortgage and small business bankers by the end of 2010. I think this is a tremendous branding opportunity.

"We have invested in new systems, aggressively grown our capacity and are now looking to increase our sales force," said its head of home lending in a statement reported on CNN.

How Important Is It For Social Media Leads To Eat Their Own Dogfood?

by: Sigurd Rinde

According to Business Week, here, Toyota approached at least three major magazine companies to explore product integration - product placement as it goes.

As expected it made a few scratch their heads - "We'll sell our mothers, but this doesn't work" as one magazine executive puts it.

I tend to agree with the skeptics.