You’ve a short memory if you think Volkswagen aren’t robust.
So there’s been a lot of marketing air time about Volkswagen’s publicity stunt regarding changing it’s name to Voltswagen. The depth of the deception was in fact quite impressive – I mean even Scott Keogh was in on it.
But anyone who has suggested that this is in some way going to break the trust between Volkswagen and it’s customers either knows absolutely nothing about branding or has been living a Tom Hanks Castaway life for the past 6 years.
Let me explain why by using an example of a brand which isn’t a mile way in terms of relevance: that would be Volkswagen.
In 2015 you may remember Volkswagen were more than a little naughty. They told a bit of a lie about their emissions standards across more than a few countries. Consequently, people were being exposed to far more poisonous gasses than they thought they were and Volkswagen’s contribution to planet pollution and the deprivation of our health was revealed to be just a tad under-cooked. And of course they were committing Corporate Fraud on a truly mountainous scale. As brand gaffes go it all sounds pretty terminal.
So, what happened the next year? Well, their sales went up.
But now an ill-judged gag is going to kill their brand. Give me strength.
