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FIRST WORD
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@ MarketingAfrica 02 MAL70 / 26 ISSUE
Marketing Africa
On The New World Disorder
One of the most quoted marketing blunders happened in 1985 when The Coca Cola Company decided to introduce a better flavored coke drink which the customers rejected and the company had to revert to the old formula in seventy-nine days.
What most people fail to appreciate is that the Coke officials were not simply being irrational, they were suffering a market share erosion to Pepsi and they needed to act. Unfortunately, their well-researched solution made the problem worse.
Consumers were quick to use an American folksy saying‘ If it ain’ t broke, don’ t fix it’ to refer to the fiasco and it became a seminal reference to warn marketers to resist tampering with the product when the problem is just one’ s fear of the competition.
But it appears that Americans can’ t take their own counsel. America, on July 4th this year will be celebrating 250 years since they declared their independence and have been the beacon of democracy and free enterprise and the results are spectacular.
The American dream became a catch word describing the new world rooted in the ideals of liberty, equality and the pursuit of happiness. One could achieve success and prosperity through individual effort and hard work.
More significant is the role America has played in the global geopolitics since she got involved in the Second World War. America has been a stabilizing force in the world order and its democratic and trade outlook have spurred unprecedented world prosperity.
All was well until they voted a psycho into the highest office of the country. The MAGA agenda runs in total contrast to what America has stood for in the last two and a half centuries and the American dream is fast turning into an American nightmare.
In the MAGA playbook, the delusional Americans are not interested in global prosperity and progress, they are simply interested in white supremacy and a return to the good old days of white dominance and territorial subjugation.
The collective American memory seems to have failed since the current Americans have forgotten that their forefathers emigrated to America to flee from political strife, endless wars and dehumanizing poverty.
The writings were however on the wall that it was not going to be business as usual in America when they decided to elect a reality show celebrity, more interested in his TV ratings rather that pick a seasoned politician qualified to run the country.
His first term in office should have made Americans wary of an American president’ s bromance with autocrats and dictators who were the traditional antithesis of the American ideals and principles.
When during the unlikely second term, he immediately changed the department of defense into the department of war, he was signaling his intentions to the world and his secretary of war went ahead to invite all American military generals for a briefing.
The country that had hitherto been the arbiter of global peace was transforming into an aggressive global bully where in the president’ s mind the selfish interests of America were paramount to the exclusion of any other nation.