The Reselling of General Motors

After years spent sending car-buyers confusing messages, GM aims to find some brand images and stick to them

By David Welch

Typical General Motors. First, the company ditches Buick's new advertising campaign in September after just a couple of months on the airwaves. Then, on Dec. 4, GM promotes Susan Docherty, the former head of Buick who approved the ads, and her replacement leaves after eight days, before the company settles on a new general manager for Buick.

That may be an extreme example, even for GM. But it does show the revolving door of brand general managers and flip-flopping ad campaigns at GM for the past two decades. Consumers are confused by the company's brands because it has changed personnel and direction so many times. "They have got to focus," says Daniel Gorrell, president of AutoStrategem, an automotive marketing consulting firm. "In marketing, it's about bombarding a consumer with a proposition. It's finding a relevant message and staying on that message."

Backed by the advice of retired Coca-Cola (KO) Chairman and CEO Neville Isdell—who sits on GM's board and has a rabbi-like role in marketing—GM is trying to establish consistent leadership, message, and image for its brands. That means getting everything moving in step—from the design of the cars, to advertising, to how dealer showrooms look. "Everything communicates," Isdell said in an interview. "This is a long road, but it needs consistency."

GM hasn't had anything like that in years. Brands such as Saturn and Buick have changed ad campaigns routinely. Saturn's marketing, for example, lurched from cars built around people, to waving the flag with "Rethink American." The change left consumers wondering whether Saturn was still a folksy people's brand or an American alternative to Japanese cars. Only Cadillac and Chevy trucks have stuck to their guns, advertising Cadillac's edgy styling and performance cars and Chevy's brawny, all-American image. Saturn, which GM is winding down, had about a half-dozen different marketing themes this decade. Vice-Chairman Robert A. Lutz says Pontiac, which is also headed for the scrap heap, had as many as six different general managers since he joined GM in 2001.

Buick's "World Class" Message

From now on, Lutz wants GM's new brand general managers for Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Buick-GMC—all of whom were named to their posts within the past four months—to stay atop those brands for some time. "I hope for some stability," Lutz said in an e-mail. "It's a major issue in maintaining any sort of consistency."

Strangely, scrapping Buick's campaign in September was a step toward devising a message that GM could carry for the brand in the long run, says Docherty. "Take a Look at Me Now" was meant to show that Buick's new models, such as the Enclave SUV and Lacrosse sedan, were more sophisticated vehicles than the boulevard boats that consumers associate with the brand.

Lutz hated the campaign. He said it didn't focus on the cars and wasted money. "The product must be the hero and you have to make meaningful claims about it," Lutz said in an interview.

Plus, the old theme wasn't a message GM could stick with, says Docherty, who is now GM's vice-president for sales and marketing. Even if it worked, "Take a Look at Me Now" is a temporary comeback story.

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