Martha plugs Buick -- it's a good thing
Brett Clanton / The Detroit News
December 1, 2005
In a bid to pitch its graying Buick brand to a younger, more affluent audience, General Motors Corp. has selected a familiar celebrity partner.
Martha Stewart -- queen of a home living empire and recently discharged inmate from a West Virginia federal prison -- has been tapped to showcase the new Buick Lucerne sedan in two of her TV shows.
Stewart featured the Lucerne in a Wednesday night episode of her Donald Trump-style reality show "The Apprentice" and follows up today with another pitch on a live broadcast of her talk show "Martha" (10 a.m. WXYZ-TV Channel 7).
The two product placement efforts come as GM is launching a new ad campaign for its struggling Buick brand, whose average buyer is 63 years old. While Stewart is 64, she appeals to a somewhat younger, more upscale demographic that Buick covets.
Her Martha Stewart Everyday line has helped Kmart attract shoppers who otherwise wouldn't have considered the chain.
Even so, hooking up with Martha is not likely to be a magic pill for Buick even with its revamped vehicle lineup, said Wes Brown, an automotive marketing analyst with Iceology Inc. in Los Angeles. "Unfortunately," he said, "Buick is still regarded as being for someone who is old."
Buick's new marketing campaign -- developed by Birmingham-based McCann Erikson Worldwide -- features the slogan "Beyond Precision," which is meant to highlight the engineering expertise and attention to detail that goes into Buicks.
The ads replace a short-lived campaign called "Dream Up," which featured Aerosmith's classic rock anthem "Dream On."
But rather than helping, Buick's rotating ad themes may have the effect of fatiguing customers who often respond better to a consistent, clear message, Brown said.
"If you're the consumer, it seems like every six months that they seem to find a new tag line and a new position for the brand," he said. "It makes the consumer very confused."
Last year, the Buick brand was rumored as a possible target for elimination in GM's ongoing restructuring -- an idea shot down by the company. But with GM's financial troubles mounting, executives again are being forced to defend why GM needs eight vehicle brands.
"I don't think it's how many, it's how you manage them is always the way I've looked at it," said Mark LaNeve, GM North America's vice president of marketing and sales in a recent interview.
While Buick sales are down 8.5 percent this year, GM said new models such as the Terraza minivan and LaCrosse midsize sedan will give Buick the ammunition it needs to boost sales and widen its appeal.
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