I happened to be reading Malcom Gladwell’s excellent book, Outliers, just as MF Global was collapsing, and I came across Gladwell’s discussion about another kind of crash – those involving airplanes. Gladwell offers an interesting observation about the causes of air disasters that could apply to the failures at financial firms, like MF Global, or […]
Sure, the positive comments today from Meredith Whitney helped, but give Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) credit for handling its communications well in a very challenging environment. At one point the stock was down 20 percent as rumors swirled about the firm’s exposure to European sovereign debt and a downgrade by Egan-Jones. By day’s end, however, the […]
At this hour, executives and MF Global are huddling with bankers and lawyers, trying to come up with a deal to sell the firm. It must seem like a surreal exercise, since just days earlier the firm held a solid investment-grade credit rating and a market cap of $620 million. Now, as its clients turn […]
In a vast sea of sameness, Credit Suisse unveiled a distinctive global advertising campaign last month. It’s a good campaign and a good message. The financial crisis and the vilification of banks have made big-splash branding campaigns a rarity among financial firms. Most have scuttled advertising entirely or narrowed it to focus mainly on products. […]
Give credit (no pun intended) to PIMCO chief Bill Gross for dealing honestly with the underperformance of his flagship fund, PIMCO Total Return (PTTRX). In an open letter to investors released today, Gross is candid about the misjudgments that produced an anemic 1.09% total return for the fund so far this year, compared with a […]
The new ad campaign unveiled this week by Bank of America faces an uphill battle to restore the bank’s battered reputation. Advertising alone can’t do the job, really. For the message to stick, it will take a coordinated effort across many communication channels (see a related post here). More important, a lasting improvement in the […]
GE, the embodiment of American capitalism, is under fire from conservatives for CEO Jeff Immelt’s role on a presidential advisory panel and other alleged misdeeds. The sniping has mostly been heard on Fox News and at Republican presidential primary events, but Monday’s Wall Street Journal brought the story right to the doorstep of GE’s clients. […]
I recently heard a senior marketing executive at a top global investment firm discuss their highly successful brand-advertising campaign. (He addressed a group of about 300 people, but I’ve kept him anonymous as I didn’t have permission to attribute his remarks.) His lessons are noteworthy, and so is the campaign, which has been very visible […]
The note earlier today by Morgan Stanley CEO Jim Gorman addressing what he called “confusion and misinformation” about the firm wasn’t too reassuring. It’s not likely to quell the rumors about the firm, nor does it do much to improve Gorman’s stature. By penning such a short memo (a mere 218 words), Gorman clearly did […]
Today’s New York Times spotlights the rich payouts to failed CEOs, drawing special attention to three CEOs who recently were fired: Carol Bartz of Yahoo, Léo Apotheker of HP and Bob Kelly of Bank of New York Mellon. (See my earlier posts on how these departures were communicated.) While it may spark outrage, these payouts […]