Tiger to get larger role in GM advertising? G5 replacement coming?

[nadepalma]

SOURCE: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...24/PROMOBLOG01

Tiger Woods could get a larger role in GM advertising

By JAMIE LAREAU | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
AutoWeek | Published 12/18/06, 11:01 am et




PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Tiger Woods might one day stump for General Motors brands other than Buick. The broader role could be part of an aggressive marketing effort to revive the Buick, Pontiac and GMC brands in 2007.

A new GMC crossover vehicle, the Acadia, is arriving in dealerships. Buick dealers will get a similar vehicle, the Enclave, next year. Pontiac, meanwhile, might receive a new entry-level car similar to the G5, John Larson, GM's general manager of Pontiac-Buick-GMC, said during a recent event here.

The brands' sales are down so far this year (see box), although GM's drive to trim fleet sales accounts for some of the decline.

The new products provide the Buick-Pontiac-GMC channel with opportunities to expand advertising beyond traditional TV and print to grassroots and alternative forms such as drive events and Web advertising, Larson said. That would help GM reach younger buyers, he added.

"This is our chance, and all we need is a good marketing platform - an emotional platform," Larson said.

That's where Woods comes in. Larson said he and GM marketing executives have been talking about using the professional golfer to advertise other GM brands.

"Tiger is a tremendous asset for us," Larson said. "I think there are more opportunities for Tiger, maybe a little more broadly, not necessarily just in the B-P-G channel but across GM as well."

But he said that would involve changes to Woods' endorsement contract. Larson declined to comment on the specifics of Woods' contract with GM but confirmed Woods will stump for Buick for at least another year.

Target: Woman buyers

GMC has a largely fresh portfolio of products, Larson said, with the new Sierra pickup, Yukon SUV and the Acadia. It's expected to get a revamped Canyon small pickup in the 2009 model year.

The Acadia is GMC's chance to branch out from traditional, NFL-type advertising to reach more female consumers. Larson expects the male-to-female mix on the Acadia to be close to 50-50, a first for a GMC product.

"We use the home-life platform very effectively," Larson said. "Whether it's HGTV (the home and garden cable channel) - the home giveaways and relationships with those and integration in all the home-garden shows - we've really gone that route and used sports as the biggest platform to get people to understand GMC is out there. Expect to see big things from us this year."

It's been nearly two years since GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz described Buick and Pontiac as "damaged brands" to a group of analysts at the New York auto show. While Larson and Lutz say Buick and Pontiac are nowhere near where they need to be, they are no longer "damaged."

"I said that at a time when the brand equity of the two divisions was still going down," Lutz said at the same press event. "We are now seeing a reversal of that, and the Buick Lucerne certainly has gone a long ways to reversing the fortunes of Buick."

Sales are down

Buick launched the Lucerne late last year. While total Buick sales are down 13.7 percent through November compared with the year-ago time frame, Buick has sold 90,821 Lucernes this year.

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[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by Auto Week

Pontiac, meanwhile, might receive a new entry-level car similar to the G5, John Larson, GM's general manager of Pontiac-Buick-GMC, said during a recent event here.

WOW, that certainly is interesting. I wonder what Larson is hinting at?

Is he saying that we'll also get a G5 sedan? (that's "similar", no?)

Is he saying that an updated G5 (getting an MCE like the Cobalt) qualifies as a "new entry-level product like the G5"?

Is he saying that the G5 is scrapped and we'll have something else altogether? Could we soon be getting a "G4" RWD vehicle to be sold as an entry-level Pontiac (might this be at NAIAS?)

Is he saying that a replacement for the Vibe is on the way? (we've seen spypics of this on Edmunds, but it isn't "official" if it's going to Pontiac or moving to another division in light of Pontiac's pending decision to possibly move RWD).

What IS he saying? Or is he just teasing us cause he can?

Just thinking out loud.

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by Auto Week

"Tiger is a tremendous asset for us," Larson said. "I think there are more opportunities for Tiger, maybe a little more broadly, not necessarily just in the B-P-G channel but across GM as well."

I think that has interesting possiblities. But I would have him start off pitching for BPG first to see how that goes before stumping for all of GM.

Honestly, while I think it's a decent idea for him to be stumping for the entire BPG division, I hope he doesn't muddy the waters in confusing what the brands stand for. If Pontiac is "Fuel for the Soul" (or whatever it is now), there's no reason to be confusing that with "We are professional grade", etc. Let each brand be distinct and I'm kinda curious how they can deliver that message with one spokesperson in one set of advertisements --- unless he's stumping for the dealerships themselves as, "Come visit your local Buick, Pontiac, GMC dealership...etc, etc."

Just wondering is all....

[chevydlrmn]

how about a sweet little kappa coupe/sedan???

[VCDJ]

Average age of buick is 68. No way lol. You can only see people with gray hair driving buick and going 10 below speed limit. If buick does not change its image soon they will go along with oldsmobile.

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by chevydlrmn

how about a sweet little kappa coupe/sedan???

I personally would love this, but not sure if this is in the cards as of yet. They've hinted at it, and they've spoken about it -- but is it feasible right now?

When GM decided to move forward with the Kappa platform, they wanted it to be flexible enough for coupes/convertibles/sedans. We've seen two outta three of those things.

But many have said that stretching it to make a sedan wouldn't be possible to do at this time (b/c of logistics, expense, engineering limitations of the platform? Who knows!). I can remember one person saying that if they were to stretch it or widen it, the fact that it sits on what amounts to a kinda-sorta-mini-Corvette platform would be the proportions would be off and the car wouldn't be practical. Perhaps so, I'm not an engineer.

Nevertheless, Lutz said sometime back that they're starting to make their money back on their Kappa investment and there could be future Kappa variants of it at a later point. Others have said/hinted that Kappa 2 might support such a vehicle and be flexible enough to be stretched and lengthed accordingly.

If the latter is the case, then maybe we'll see a Pontiac G4 Sedan or Coupe or "Shooting Brake" that is larger and more user-friendly than the current Kappa cars.

Whatever they decide to do, I just hope that they do it right and don't take any short cuts.

The chances of such a product coming out for Pontiac in the next few years aren't very good or else we probably would have heard much more about it. Be that as it may, I hope we DO hear something soon and Kappa 2 or whatever platform the use is being developed right now.

Til then, it would be in GM's best interest to update the G5 when they update the Cobalt to make it look more distinctive and more like Pontiac. The G5 may have to be a placeholder, but while it's doing that, they can make it the best it can be til the "real" entry-level product arrives -- afterall there is no reason to let these customers run to a competitor or spot some other brand additional sales.

And while they're at it, drop the Vibe when this happens. The Vibe is a nice enough car, but doesn't fit Pontiac's "new" image moving forward. When/If they decide to move to RWD, they need to take this under consideration and move such a product to another GM brand (GM won't give up it's stake at NUMMI -- never will, since they learn more about the Toyota Production System. My guess is that if they decide to fold the Vibe at Pontiac we could see a small/crossover/thingy go to Chevy or Saturn or just be dropped from the US lineup but continue to be sold in Mexico and Canada or just rebadged as a Chevy for other markets outside the US, etc. --- but that's just my thoughts on this).

[yukonho]

Originally Posted by VCDJ

Average age of buick is 68. No way lol. You can only see people with gray hair driving buick and going 10 below speed limit. If buick does not change its image soon they will go along with oldsmobile.

Actually it could be just the oppsite. The bigest portion of the population is getting older. Remember all the reports that the youngens will be supporting 100's of retired folks with their paycheck withholdings. The Long Term Care industry is growing. Grandma has to be able to get to the nursing home to visit Grandpa and Aunt Bessie. Why not in a Buick. Lets face it, this is the demographic that has the largest potential. The only down side is repeat purchases for the next 40 years, they will all be dead by then. But all the hand me down Buick's will leave a good taste in the kids mouths and they can buy a new one. This works people!

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by VCDJ

Average age of buick is 68. No way lol. You can only see people with gray hair driving buick and going 10 below speed limit. If buick does not change its image soon they will go along with oldsmobile.

They are changing their image as we speak. Vehicles like the Lucerne and the Enclave are game changers for the brand. Add in a substantially updated LaCrosse (when the Super arrives) and they should get much more attention.

But Rome wasn't built in a day and much more needs to be seen. I hope they follow through whatever the plans they have in place are.

[VCDJ]

Originally Posted by nadepalma

They are changing their image as we speak. Vehicles like the Lucerne and the Enclave are game changers for the brand. Add in a substantially updated LaCrosse (when the Super arrives) and they should get much more attention.

But Rome wasn't built in a day and much more needs to be seen. I hope they follow through whatever the plans they have in place are.

Lucerne is not a game change vehicle, how can it be. it has a 4-speed and a 3.8l engin that produces less then 200 hp. Enclave yes it looks good it has 6-speed and 3.6l engine. Lacrosse and lucerne are just out dated. GM should be ebaresed for making a 3.8L engine that gets less then 200hp. Azera has a 3.8 with 260hp and you are saying lucerne is a game changer.

[GM-Joe]

Glad the Lucerne is having decent success.

I think it is a nice looking car, but not quite world beater. The styling is a definite good step in the right direction, thus should see its footprint in future Buick's.

[Xeper]

I just hope it isnt the Cobalt sedan variant and maybe something more sporty than the G5. That would be awesome.

[throwback]

The G5 is way to close to the Cobalt stylistically. They need something much more distinctive. How about a 2 door Vibe spin off?

[OrlandoGuy80]

I think a Vibe-type vehicle is great for Pontiac, but with modifications. Pontiac (and GM in general) needs something that will connect with the fast-and-furious crowd that are flocking to Mitsubishi Evos and Subaru Stis. A true Pontiac-style small wagon/hatch should be AWD/RWD and turbocharged.

What I envision is Pontiac having a mostly RWD lineup, but if a FWD fits with the brand image, then that is fine. There is nothing saying that the brand can't support two types of sporty: classic, brutal RWD cars (i.e. GTO, G8, Firebird, maybe a stripped down, faster Solstice) and modern, turbo FWD cars (i.e. AWD turbo G4 & hatch/wagon-type vehicle). Right now none of the division's cars, with the exception of the Solstice, really truly fits what Pontiac should be. Once a RWD G8 comes out, the new GTO arrives, and the FWD G6 gets the axe (still crossing my fingers on this one), the brand will be much closer to what it should be.

(And my apologies to the G6 owners- it's a great car, but I don't think it belongs at Pontiac.)

[Xeper]

Originally Posted by OrlandoGuy80

(And my apologies to the G6 owners- it's a great car, but I don't think it belongs at Pontiac.)

This coming from a guy who owns an xB?

[cfch3399]

Woods is not an asset but a drain of money. Get rid of him and find someone chaeper with more appeal. Or drop the expensive spokesperson model entirely. Is there any car brand using that form of marketing?