3-Step Drop: Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders have been one of the biggest jokes in all of sports the past few seasons.  They have been incorporated into the punchline of countless jokes and parodies.  And this year they didn't disappoint; Head Coach Tom Cable punched an assistant coach in the face breaking his jaw.  Only in Oakland could that happen.  But even with all this organizational incompetence, is there anything a marketer can learn?  Yes.

1. Your visible head - Who is the visible head of the Oakland Raiders; QB JaMarcus Russell, Al Davis, Head Coach Tom Cable?  Probably a mix of all three.  In either case, the perception is not good.  Most people think Al Davis is senile, we already mentioned the head coach's issue, and JaMarcus Russell couldn't hit the inside of a barn if he was standing inside the barn.

The visible head of your organization can do more to help or hurt your brand than any ad campaign the best creative director in the world can dream up.  Your visible head - CEO, CMO, COO, PR - needs to be on top of their game at all times.  In today's world of 24-hour news cycle, blogs and other social media outlets anything they say and do in public will scrutinized.  Whoever this person is in your organization should exude the qualities of your brand at all times and be good for a sound bite or two occasionally.  My favorite: Larry Ellison of Oracle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UYa6gQC14o

2. Deficiencies in strategy make execution look bad - As of this writing, JaMarcus Russell ranks 30th in the NFL in passing with 1 touchdown, 4 interceptions, 378 yards and a pathetic 39.8 passer rating through three games.  Is JaMarcus Russel this bad as a player, as a quarterback?  Probably not.  What this is indicative of is bad strategy by the Raiders play callers.  The Raiders need to run the ball more and put Russell in manageable situations and not ask him to win games with his arm just yet.

Look at your current marketing strategy.  Do you know why your ad looks the way it looks and is running with the frequency that it is?  Do you know why you are positioned in the market where you are?  Should you reposition yourself to gain a competitive advantage, and you should you reposition your competitor to take away their edge?  Your advertising might not be working because there is a key bit of strategy that is lacking; be it in your positioning, creative or messaging strategy.  Oh, I know your agency won an award for it, but if it doesn't help you sell more stuff does it really matter?

3. Don't let your tagline become a punchline - Commitment to Excellence.  Does anyone really think the Raiders are committed to excellence?  Well in actuality they are.  Al Davis wants to win just as much as the the next owner and so do the staff and players of the Raiders.  The problem is with the execution of the Raiders and how it compares to what they say they are about through the use of their tagline or slogan.  The Raiders are usually one of the most penalized teams in the league, we have coaches punching coaches in the face, coaches calling players dumb, and a revolving door of coaches to name a few.  None of these things exude excellence.

Whatever you tagline or corporate slogan may be, constantly review it.  Make sure your brand is living up to it in every touch point that you have.  If you find it is not, change your execution to match the tagline or change your tagline.  If you wait until your tagline becomes a punchline you'll have a hard time reversing course in the minds of your consumers.