Tiger Woods is taking a break from golf

He issued an apology to the public yesterday, feeling that he had betrayed his family as well as his investors. Moreover, he said he would suspend from playing golf indefinitely. Recently, many high profile celebrities and public figures have fallen from grace due to their infidelity. Talk show host David Letterman, Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, and Presidential candidate John Edwards were all scorned by the public for their extramartial affairs. However, nobody has fallen so hard like Tiger did. Is that because of his racial background that America has spent extra efforts punishing him.? Yes, he cheated and lied. Elin was hurt. Immediately after Tiger confessed his infidelity, the media scourged him for the number of women he meddled with. To the contrary, none of the others have gone on to the extent to suspend their careers. David Letterman is still hosting the Late Night Show, Mark Sanford is still the governor, and John Edwards had a baby with his mistress and Elizabeth remains married to him. Most of all, nobody has suggested that any of them need treatment for their sex addiction.

Do you think Tiger is being punished too harshly?

Toyota Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/user/ToyotaUSA?srchid=K610_p280322058#p/c/9FC450C0F2BFE90B

Toyota has released a commerical to reassure their customers that the company and the employees are on top fixing the faulty gas pedal issue. Do you think it's effective? I have read the comments posted on Youtube and the feedback is mixed with both skepticism and applauses. Long term customers who have owned Toyotas believe the company still know their trade. New customers who have had bad experiences with recent models vow not to purchase from Toyota again.

This recall demonstrates one thing. If customers have bad experiences with products, you will lose the customers forever. It doesn't matter that you have done well before. The past success does not guarantee the future. The bad experiences establish unfavorable salient brand associations on the mental map. Customers will recall unfavorable affects when they see the Toyota brand.

I think what Toyota needs to do is to have the long term customers be the support group and talk to the new customers with bad experiences. The company can make another commercial with testimonials from long term Toyota owners. They can talk about their fond memories with their Toyotas. That'd be more effective. Hopefully, that should convince the skeptics.

Toyota Recall

Toyota has issued the biggest recall in its history. Though Toyota issued recalls in the past, this time the recall is world-wide affecting millions of cars. The monetary loss is estimated at $2 billion. What is more at stake is the reputation. Like many Japanese automakers, Toyota has built its name on reliability. Unlike the previous ones, this recall is serious in nature because faulty gas pedals if stuck could result in high speed fatal accidents.

So would Toyota's reputation go down the drain? The company has been criticized for compromising its quality by producing too many models. It's tried to be everything for everyone. It's a big marketing mistake. You can not please everyone. You must know where your strength is.

Would this recall be the beginning of the decline for Toyota and one day the company end up like its American peers. The recall will definitely change the brand association. Reliability might not be a salient association from now on. Most of all, many customers will lose confidence in the brand. It will Toyota take a long time to win it back.