The following is excerpted from an article in FIREHOUSE magazine. The article dealt with marketing your fire department. Marketing fire departments is a relatively new concept, brought on chiefly by the tightening budgets most municipalities are experiencing. Most authors point out the need to keep the services a fire department offers in the public eye, so they aren’t taken for granted.
What does this have to do with railroads? The author of the article used them as an example. For his take on the current state of railroads, read on:
(Brand equity is defined in the article as the measurable and intangible qualities of a brand that customers hold in trust.)
“…Many years ago, the railroads had the strongest brand equity in the United States. Entire cities grew because of the presence of the burgeoning railroads and the goods and services they affected. Unfortunately, we all know what happened to this mighty industry. It is a shadow of its former self. The railroads did not bother to consider the importance of their brand equity and how it could affect their future. The railroads forgot that they were in transportation business, not just the railroad business. Had they planned for their future we might be flying on Santa Fe Airlines or renting Rock Island Rent-a-Car the next time we attend a seminar or convention out of town…
(Some fire department specific comments)
“…I, for one, do not want to tell my grandchildren what the fire department used to do before it became something else and disappeared - like the railroads.”
The mind is a terrible thing to waste and, in this case, the author is most certainly wasted. (ATSF did have an airline, bus company and trucking company after WW-II, but the ICC said NO! to all. A government decision, not some “brand equity” baloney…)
Find that marketing guy’s college and have them issue a recall notice on him. Clearly needs some remedial education and introduction to the real world (along with a lot of other marketing lounge lizzards)…
Good advice for anyone writing any article for a magazine is to always do research about the topic they’re writing about so they get all the facts straight. The guy who wrote this is a total moron. The railroads are still going strong and the country would be lost without them! There wouldn’t be so many trains travelling all over the place if they didn’t have something to haul and somewhere to go. If I were you I’d write a letter to the magazine to set the record straight about just what a vital industry the railroads really are.
The author actually works for Disney and has a Masters in international communication. He has been in the fire service for a number of years, so should be aware of railroads and what they haul, especially from a firefighting standpoint. What struck me about his citing of the railroads was that he may well reflect the public’s impression of the railroads, which is why I posted the excerpt. Those of us who are associated with the railroads either through hobby or career are very aware of where American railroading stands today. But is the average Joe?
His email is in the article - I’ll be passing along some feedback to him.
This is another example of the Govt screwing the railroads and then the carriers get called stupid for not knowing they were in the transportation business. This canard is actually taught in business schools that should know better. The public schools your kids are in are even worse.
It was the Panama Canal Act that kept railroads out of steamships. Railroads started Greyhound and then sold it. I think the commodities clause came with the Elkins Act of 1906. This is the one that separated railroad and coal mine ownership.
The ignorance of the public is almost boundless, and the politicians are worse.
Actually, selling brand equity does work.
You remember the UP adds on TV the last few years?
UP stock jumped whenever they ran the adds, I know, I own some.
And someone at UP understands that every share of stock sold means one more can of rail spikes or pandrol clips bought to expand their railroad.
And, by putting their symbol in the publics eye, they increased the chances of the general public investing in their business.
Plus, the public goodwill generated by those adds, which cost next to nothing to produce, causes complaints from the public(road crossing blocked, train horns at night, ect…) to drop.
Not only is it a great recruiting tool, but it can boost internal moral, which UP really needed a few years a go.
And, like I said, it cost a pittance to produce.
Take Amtrak.
Outside of the east and west coast, their major markets, you rarely see a Amtrak TV adds, yet if they would sell themselves to the public, and had the product to sell, we wouldnt be wondering if they would be around in ten years, we would be wondering when they were going to add even more trains to the schedule.
For what they spend on one person lobbying congress, they could blanket the primetime TV schedule with 30 second adds.
Of coures, they would have to be able to provide the service they are selling, buts thats a whole different can of worms.
Stay Frosty,
Ed[:D]
I’m a UP employe and up here in Iowa I can’t really say those ads improved morale. Most comments, if any, were how they had money for the ads while cutting off jobs.
I myself think those ads are to get public support for remote control, one or no-man trains, reduced liability etc. Have the average person think “Hey, the UP is too important to not give them everything they ask for.”
The UP said they need to hire 5000 new people over the next couple of years, but they don’t act like they want to hire this many. Create a shortage in “qualified applicants” then go to the public and the government and say “we can’t find enought new hires, we need to go up against our unions and force one-man crews.” Just like when a local UP official was quoted by a TV station about the RCO’s used in the yard, if they would be used in over the road service. Answer, “It’s not POLITICALLY feasible at this time.” Need to run some ads.
Ed: Thanx for the measured response. Shouldn’t get down too much on marketing folks (married to one), but Tree68 hit the nail on the head about the preconceived notions that Madison Avenue has about railroads. OLI & Madison Avenue have clashed more than a few times about commercials encouraging risky behavior. It’s not only the marketing folks either, there are plenty of civil engineers out there that can “highway”, but go absolutely stupid when they try to “railroad”. (See it daily)
jeffh: I’m trying to stay neutral on the RCL / RCO issue (you operating guys can haggle over that some more - I do see the pros and cons of the issue). However, linking the marketing efforts (UP, BNSF and NS common here) to the RCL/RCO issue is sour grapes.
I do not want to see what happens if railroads ignore PR marketing all together, that would be ugly for the railroads involved and their employees as misinformation breeds and business dwindles.