Excerpted from AdAge, “If GM Has a Brand, It’s General Misery” by Al Ries, December 02, 2008
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Of the 100 most valuable brands in the world, according to Interbrand, 52 are owned by U.S. companies. And how many of the 52 are U.S. automobile brands? Just one: Ford. None of GM’s eight automobile brands made the list…however, 10 automobile brands from outside the U.S…
Part of the fundamental nature of Detroit’s Japanese competition is its ability to build brands. Toyota stands for reliability, Scion for youth, Prius for hybrid, Lexus for luxury.
But what does Saturn stand for? Or Chevrolet? Or Pontiac? Or Buick? Or Cadillac?…
The conventional wisdom is that General Motors has too many (eight).
Over the years, Gillette, has marketed seven different brands…Gillette has an astounding 71% of the world’s wet-shaving market, in part due to its multiple brands.
The difference between Gillette and GM is that each of the seven Gillette brands stands for something specific and each of the eight GM brands does not…
To build a brand, you generally need to “contract” the brand. Instead, GM has introduced expensive Saturns and cheap Cadillacs.
GM’s brands themselves are practically worthless..
Edit by SAC
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To make matters worse GM’s plan to Congress slash its marketing spending by $600 million by 2012. The bright side of this significant reduction in advertising and promotions is that GM will focus its efforts on Chevy, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC, which according to its restructuring plan, account for 83% of its business. While the tighter budget may prompt focused efforts it does not guarantee improved branding. GM will need both to compete.
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Full Article:
http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=132938
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