Chrysler Financial has who in mind?

Instinct managing partner Greg De Koker has been a Chrysler customer for 20 years with, apparently, no name. A recent lease renewal letter for his Jeep arrived at his door with a one-size-fits-all, "Dear Valued Customer" salutation. The missive went on to explain how committed Chrysler Financial was to making his lease experience a pleasant one from beginning to end.

Yeah, the end.

Canadian consumers have more than 270 makes and models of cars to choose from in today's vast automotive marketplace. Perhaps suggesting a happy ending isn't the best way to encourage a "valued customer" to stay put. For life.

It certainly isn't the best way to rally a struggling Brand that was very recently on the brink of bankruptcy, which is what Chrysler's new owners (the Canadian and American governments) have been attempting to do with the transitioning of the management of Chrysler's Financial Division to Ally Financial.

While they most certainly have good intentions, Ally Financial's disconnected management of Chrysler Financial is regularly creating inconsistent Brand experiences, and repeatedly failing to deliver upon its, "We have YOU in mind" marketing tagline.

What does the Brand Coach coach?

Consistency is the number one rule of Branding, so when you loan your name to someone, make sure that they live your Brand. Every single touchpoint with every single stakeholder is critical — they can build your Brand equity or completely destroy it.

Chrysler's CEO needs to take the wheel and start acting like a Chief Brand Officer. It's the only way to ensure that all of Chrysler's divisions, departments, employees, and strategic partners are delivering remark-able, on-Brand experiences. Every time. With everyone.

A Brand that stands the test of time is one for which Brand has been made the central organizing principle for absolutely everything the company ever says and does.

That includes taking the time to do simple little things like refusing to send out impersonal form letters to customers that you really do want to keep.