When the previous Mercedes-Benz CEO, Dieter Zetsche, retired in 2019 after a 45 year career, BMW immediately put out a touching and cheeky tribute. If it’s not easily top of mind, you can view it here.
It’s not a new commercial, but it popped up on one of my social feeds this morning and reminded me how special I thought it was the first time I saw it. I think what touched me the most was the way BMW recognized his efforts in a beautiful “last day” storyline, before making light that their brand might be what he’ll choose to drive into retirement.
What it points at and reminds me of, is the healthy competition between the two brands over the years. It even thanks Zetsche for making BMW better through this push and pull for loyalty in the luxury category. That’s a healthy stance for two competing brands and something we could all utilize in our efforts. Why not look at ongoing competition as a way to improve, spinning it as a positive, rather than seeing it as something to overcome?
As you sit with your coffee today, take a few moments to think about the ways you can reframe your thoughts on competition. More specifically, think about the organizations that are doing what you want to do and how they are doing things better? How are they innovating? How are they targeting new audiences? How are they improving their products and ideas? Where is that coming from and how can you get there too? Don’t let competition intimidate your efforts, use it as a bar to reach for. And, when you get there, keep going and hope they catch up.
There’s the old adage by William S. Burroughs, I’m sure you’ve heard, that says “when you stop growing, you start dying” and I think it’s even more true for brands. Let this be your reminder that healthy competition is one of the propulsions to growing stronger. Find the car in the lane that’s just up ahead and catch it, that’s what Mercedes-Benz and BMW have been doing for years—and I think we’d all agree they are doing a pretty good job on the leaderboard.