Joseph Jett – the trader famous for inspiring an uncharacteristic emetic response from “Neutron Jack” Welch upon unveiling unprecedented trading losses at Kidder Peabody & Co. But given all of the brand baggage, does it make more sense to start anew or blow the dust off the diamond? Unfettered from the millstone of its swashbuckling Solomon association, Citigroup (NYSE: C) tapped into the latent equity of Smith Barney, re-launching it in its financial centers and retail bank branches. Most of the these brands disappeared by acquisition – some might say a variation of three card Monte – rather than bankruptcy. 1910) in Michael Lewis’ Liar’s Poker and Drexel Burnham Lambert (b. Others were immortalized in books, like Solomon Brothers (b. From 1975 – 87 and beginning again 1998, many had good reason to say “Thank you, Paine Webber.” Who can forget the immediate pavlovian response a bon mot from EF Hutton elicited?Īnd the redoubtable John Houseman added immeasurably to the English lexicon (with a little help from WPP’s Ogilvy & Mather) with his unique pronunciation of the word “earrrrrrrrrn” in these spots for Smith Barney: Many of historic financial services brands worked their way into the zeitgeist through relentless consumer advertising campaigns, sometimes in multiple iterations. (b.1850) and the $85 billion bailout of AIG (b.1919) (NYSE: AIG) breaking headlines, what happens to all of these financial brands when the dust finally clears? Even after customers head for the exits, the balance sheets are bereft, and the lights are shut off, do any of these brands have enough intrinsic value for a second act? 1970) (NYSE: FRE), and most recently the bankruptcy of Lehman Bros. 1923), the Federal conservatorship of Fannie Mae (b. Amid the sturm und drang accompanying the meltdown of Bear Stearns (b. Decades of hard-won reputation disappear in days. The transformation from financial high-flyer to defunct also-ran happens today with stunning speed.
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