General Motors' Hummer brand is not unlike a Timex watch. It takes a licking, but somehow manages on keep on ticking. Despite an ongoing barrage of complaints and criticism from environmentalists
and various other anti-SUV activists, the Hummer keeps humming along. While other SUV sales have dropped, the Hummer's are up 87 percent in the U.S. this year and are expected to increase in Europe
and Asia. That last point says a lot, considering gas prices are even higher overseas than they are here. Although the Hummer is not in a position to save its battered parent company, the Hummer's
success and marketing strategy offer an intriguing study of how a brand can succeed in the face of adversity. After all, it's not many products that have not one but several Web sites solely dedicated
to knocking it around. Much of this success story can be attributed to the work of Susan Docherty, who oversees the brand for GM. She says she visits all those critical Web sites regularly because,
"You need to know what your enemy's thinking."
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