STRENGTH THROUGH RESPECT
WORDS CHIPPS
EDITORIAL
2017 saw car brand Porsche retire from endurance, Le Mansstyle bike racing (it’s off to do fully electric racing). Rather than gloating about one of its rivals leaving the scene, Toyota used the opportunity to run a video thanking Porsche for its competition over the years and for pushing Toyota to improve.
Porsche had done the same when Audi withdrew at the end of 2016, asking it to ‘come back’ in a jokey advert featuring a Porsche tractor and a farmer with a scrubbing brush.
Having a quality rival is always a good thing. It forces you to think differently and to strive to do better. Being a monopoly is never fun as there’s no reason to improve or to make your customers any happier. And the smaller your niche, the more it cements your stance as doing something right when someone else is doing the same.