General Motors Report

8/11/2019 General Motors Report

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FORE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Automobile Brand

GENERAL MOTORSStrategic Brand ManagementSubmitted to: Prof. Jayshree M. Sundar

Submitted BY:

Group 3

Karan Luthra (201064)

Milan Dhingra (201076)

Nainsi Mittal (201082)

Nikhil Dhawan (201087)

Paridhi Agarwal (201102)

Puneet Arora (201111)

Radha Mohan Giri (201113)


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Table of ContentsIntroduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Brand Management Process ......................................................................................................................... 3

Identifying and Establishing Brand Positioning and Values ...................................................................... 3

Plan and Implement the Brand Marketing Programs ............................................................................... 4

Measuring and Interpreting Brand Performance ..................................................................................... 6

Growing and Sustaining Brand Equity....................................................................................................... 6

Brand Elements for General Motors ............................................................................................................. 7

Analysing an Advertising Medium .............................................................................................................. 10

Analysis of Print MediaVOLT ............................................................................................................... 11

Competition ................................................................................................................................................ 15

General Motors India .................................................................................................................................. 15

Brand potential and Future Opportunities ................................................................................................. 16


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Introduction

General Motor is the one of the best automobile company in the word. General Motors

manufacturing the cars and trucks in the international market. Consistently following the concept of acar for every purse and purpose its strategy which during the 1920s for retaining buyers from their first

car to their last. Its extensive brand lineup has long been G.M.s primary weapon and what has helped it

maintain its leader share in the US market and keeping Ford its biggest competitor at bay. GM over the

last 5 years has gone from an 8 band strong firm filing for bankruptcy to going under brand re-

architecture and re-positioning the brand.

Brand Management ProcessTo understand the Strategic Brand Management process followed by GM and its effectiveness over the

year, let us have a look at each of the processes individually:

Identifying and Establishing Brand Positioning and Values

General Motors on a mental map level had gone from first car and a family car brand during the nineties

to a brand considered a dull, boring, gas guzzlers and dominating during the mid-2000. It was during this

time that a major market share was eroded by foreign competitors such as Ford, Toyota etc. Then due

to a change in strategy and focus as a result of brand re-architecture, GM today is known as a brand re-

inventing itself, innovative, exciting and persistent.

General Motors has brands that compete in all defined car segments through brand names like

Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC among others. Thus it faces stiff competition from car manufacturers

like Toyota, Honda, Damiler Chrysler; however, Ford is considered to be its biggest competitor.

Brand

Strategy

Strongest Brand

Present in all

segments

Value Driven

Luxury Car BrandStylish and

Performance

Crossover/SUV

Car Brand

From a stable of 8 well known brands in 2007-08, General Motors decided to trim brand names like

Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn and sold out Saab. GM now has decided to concentrate its efforts on their

four major brands with a differentiated and unique positioning for each brand and maintaining their

individuality which GM had lost following the concept of Badge Engineering during the latter half of

the twentieth century.

Additionally, the famous blue logo of GM is no longer available and its now replaced by an all text

branding, which highlights the sincerity in efforts of GM to revitalize and re-invent itself.


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Old Branding New Branding

Reorganizing the companys the brand architecture makes sense for a number of reasons:

1) The GM name will always be associated with Government Motors

2) The individual brands appeal to very different clientele. The Cadillac buyer sees no benefit to being

associated in any way with the Chevrolet brand. The constant linking of GM with each brand did just

that.

3) No one actually bought the GM brand anywayit was always about the name platesyou bought a

Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac not a GM.

4) Should General Motors seek to sell off any additional name plates (like Opel), distance from the

parent company gives the spun-off brand a better stand-alone chance.

5) Maybe, just maybe, the brand change will help change the companys highly bureaucratic corporate

culture.

Over the years GM has tried to position itself as a NEW RE-INVENTING BRAND through its

Communication strategy. Its communicating with people through various media like TV, Print and Social

Media.

Followed the new Mantra of RE-INVENT (EN-V, Premium Small Cars) Fewer but stronger brands: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC

New energy solutions, new designs, new technologies

A New GM Campaign

May the Best Car Win Campaign

Focus on brands, not the parent company

Formed General Motor Ventures to explore new technologies

GM LABs

Introduced Chevrolet Volt (electric car). Research still going on over new variants

Research in Bio Fuel and Flexible fuels

Plan and Implement the Brand Marketing Programs

General Motors internationally markets the concept of A Brand for Every place now focuses on

maintaining each brands individuality along with a customer-centric approach.


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Additionally, it has started with a new series of television advertising, which focused on the re-invented

GM and conveyed the same to public so that they dont lose faith in the brand. In one of its ads, the

chairman of GM himself talks about how they have evolved as a company and take pride in the fact that

GM Repaid all it loan with interest, 5 years ahead of schedule, back to government.

Additionally, the company recently announced it signed a deal to sponsor Manchester United, theBritish soccer team, citing the teams large international fan base. The announcement came just weeks

after the company said it would opt out of advertising during next years Super Bowlfor financial

reasons and stating Rather than reach 100 million Americans, they can reach 600 million globally.

Better late than never, General Motors finally understands the need of embracing Social Media as an

integral part of marketing program. Immerse and disperseis the how employees join GMs corporate

social media engagement team, are immersed in social media before employees are sent to work within

a General Motors division or brand. Employees stay on the social media team from one to one and half

years, and during their residence employees pick up the basics of corporate social media tactics and

social media communication strategies, including; building relationships with influencers, picking up best

practices, gaining social media ideas to implement and contacts with GMs social media agency

resources.

In any given year 20% of the automobile market is thinking of purchasing a car, 80% of customers are

not in the market to buy. Most marketing dollars are focused in any year on the 20% who are buying.

Christopher Bargers goal at General Motors is to aim his social media efforts at the 80% of customers

who are not in the market to purchase. The strategy is to engage with those 80% of non buyers,

understand what they want from the automobile manufacturer and drive innovation with products by

listening to customers and taking action on what is learned.

The balance that GM tried to strike was about 20/80. Twenty percent of the stuff we were putting out,

whether on Facebook or Twitter or anywhere else, was GM information. The other 80 percent was

responding to peoples questions, responding to what people were saying. Even if they were venting and

saying, We hate you, GM tried to respond. GM even put the CEO in twitter and tried to answer all

questions like a press conference.

Facebook: 4.18 Lakh likes

Twiter: 70,000 followers

The short points being conveyed by GM via their new brand marketing programs are:

o GM wants to be a company all Americans can be proud of.

o Exceed expectations of people

o

Designing, building and selling the best cars in the world through investment in R&D.

o Unmatched quality, technology and fuel designs for tomorrows world

o Invite everyone to look at THE NEW GM

The success or failure of GM will not revolve around the GM brand. No one walks into a car dealership

and asks for a GM car. Their future depends on how well their remaining brands are positioned and how

well each strategy is executed.


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Measuring and Interpreting Brand Performance

When it comes to measuring brand performance, one method could be the market share of GM in

American market. From over 55% market share in 1950s to around 22% in 2008 and 16.9% in 2012, GM

has had its share of fluctuating brand performance. Although it still maintains the leader position in theAmerican market. Of its share in the automotive segment more than half of sales come from Chevrolet

brand which is their strongest brand. So the brand performance in a way is linked with performance of

Chevrolet as a brand.

Taking Brand Value into account, GM as a brand was valued at US $ 1,884 Million in 2009 and ranked

356 on the list of Global 500 brands while in 2012, it is valued at US $ 3,888 Million and ranks 270 in

Global 500 list.

This shows an improvement in GM as a brand and the fact that its new face is finding favor with its

customers.

Growing and Sustaining Brand EquityAfter the re-organization of brand portfolio by General Motors and the positive response it has received

to it over the last few years, it is imperative that the organization continues on its path to grow and

sustain the positive brand image it has built over the last 5 years.

Where once GM was known to dominate the market and dictate its customer on where to go, it has now

changed into customer-focus organization, where responding to customer needs and requirements are

of paramount importance.

The brand now stands for innovation and quality which they would like to continue by investing in their

processes and sharpening their focus on engaging their customers. Thats critical to ensuring that they

have the right features and technologies in their vehicles to win in a competitive marketplace.

With their hoped-for new focus on customers, cars, and culture, GM could be headed in the right

direction. They already have outlined their main priorities and their strategies for future. From a brand

that lost weight during 2008-09 to a brand which has lost the negativity attached to it, its time GM

capitalizes on it and moves forward to become one of the most prestigious automotive manufacturer

brand in the world.

0

10

20

30

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

GM

Ford


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Brand Elements for General Motors

In general, there are six criteria for brand elements as listed below:

1. Memorability

Easily recognized

Easily recalled2. Meaningful

Descriptive

Persuasive

3. Likeable

Fun and interesting

Rich visual and verbal imagery

Aesthetically pleasing

4. Transferable

Within and across product categories

Across geographic boundaries and cultures

5. Adaptable

Flexible

Updatable

6. Protectable

Legally

Competitively

The first three criteria are the marketers offensive strategy and build brand strategy. The latter three,

however, play a defensive role for leveraging and maintaining brand equity in the face of different

opportunities and constraints.

The various Brand Elements and their role in Brand Building

Brand Names: General Motors has dropped many of its marquee brands like Pontiac, Saturn,

Oldsmobile, Hummer, etc. to concentrate mainly on its four brands: Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and

Cadillac.

Chevrolet: The brand name has been derived from Louis Chevrolet, a race car driver, who was

the founder of Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911 and the name of the company used his

image and persona.

Buick: Buick originated as Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company in 1899 and is among the oldest

automobile brands in the world. It was named after David Buick who was an inventor and expert

on internal combustion engines.

GMC: GMC stands for General Motors Corporation. It is one of the several brands of GeneralMotors. The name General Motors was adopted by the founder William Durant after acquisition

of many different car companies including Buick and Chevrolet.

Cadillac: Cadillac brand name after Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, the founder

of Detroit. The name was in recognition of the founder of the city which is also known as Motor

City. So, this brand name directly connects it to the City of Detroit which once was the motor

capital of the world.


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URLs: General Motors has been able to get very relevant domain names or URLs (Uniform

Resource Locators). All of its four major brands have their own websites and connected URLs.

The various URLs are:

GM.COM, CHEVROLET.COM, BUICK.COM, GMC.COM and CADILLAC.COM.

Also in India where only Chevrolet brand is currently in operation, its URL is CHEVROLET.CO.IN

Brand recall is critical for URLs because, at least initially, consumers must remember the URL to

be able to get to the site. We find that General Motors has got URLs which are high on

memorability and enhance brand recall and recognition.

Logos and Symbols: Logos and Symbols are useful for brand recognition and should provoke

visual appeal. The non-word mark logos are called Symbols.

A logo can be a valuable way to identify products. Since logos are non-verbal, they transfer well

across cultures and over a range of product categories.

Brand Logo Meaning and Role in

Brand Building

GM

Also known as

Mark of Excellence

Dropped use inwebsites and cars

after reorganization

in 2009 to focus on

four core brands.

Chevrolet

Inspired from the

Swiss Cross

Also known as

Chevy Bowtie

The yellowishgolden colour

creates a feeling of

relaxation,

optimism and

sportsmanship


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Buick

Rooted in the

ancestral Coat of

Arms of the

founders family

Keeps alive the

memories of thefounder

GMC

Used the verbal

acronym for the

company name

The font gives a

very strong image

to the major line ofmini trucks

Red colour used

shows vitality

Cadillac

The logo is loosely

based on the family

crest of the

namesake

New logo based on

the philosophy of

Art and Science Refreshing design

with clean looking

lines and an

uncluttered

appearance which

reflects their latest

styling studies

Brand Personality: Brand personality is the way a brand speaks and behaves. It means assigning

human personality traits/characteristics to a brand so as to achieve differentiation. General

Motors is present in India only through its Chevrolet brand. Chevrolet has strong technical andmarketing resources. Chevrolets brand personality is: Trustworthy, intelligent, pragmatic,

friendly and full of vitality. Chevrolet in India is concentrating more in the small and medium size

car market and thus is trying to have an image of being a frugal car brand with advertisements

emphasizing on its high mileage and low maintenance. In India, Chevrolet is building up a brand

personality of Frugal, Smart, Up to date and modern car brand.


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Slogans: Slogans are short phrases that communicate descriptive or persuasive information

about the brand. They are an extremely efficient, shorthand means to build brand equity.

Again, we will concentrate on the Chevrolet brand in India and taglines used by the various

offerings.

Chevrolet Aveo U-VA: Incredibly Spacious : It simply ad powerfully tells about a single quality

which is cherished by Indian consumers and that is spaciousness.

Chevrolet Captiva: Choose Your Turf: This tagline very smartly promotes the SUV offering of

Chevrolet and communicates to the customer about the ruggedness and all terrain suitability of

the car. It also banks on the traditional personality of Chevrolet as being a sturdy car brand.

Chevrolet Optra: Enjoy The Drive and Turn on Style: These two taglines for Optra very subtly tell

us about the qualities of this premium offering by Chevrolet in sedan segment. The taglines tell

about the comfortable drive provided by it the high style quotient of the product. The tagline

suitably targets the intended customer who is looking for comfort, elegance and an image of

being stylish.

Chevrolet Spark: Full of Life: this is the offering in the small car segment where new breed

customers are looking for low cost, high mileage and handling. The tagline goes well with the

target customer who is young and dynamic and wants a cool peppy car.

Chevrolet Beat: Gets Your Heart Racing and Plan Ahead: The two taglines target two very

different target customers. The first one targets the young customer who is looking for high

performance and acceleration. The tagline describes about the peppy and high performance

engine of the car. The second one targets the young customer who is planning to start a family.

This tagline tries to drive home the image of the cars long life and spaciousness.

We see that GM and especially Chevrolet in India have used their Brand elements very

consistently and effectively. It has not changed the logo of Chevrolet ever in its long history and

the same is true for its other marquee brands to a large extent. This plays a n important role in

enhancing the memorability of the brand. When we analyze the advertisements, especially the

print ads of the company they convey a lot of information about the products superiority which

is very important for such a high involvement purchase item. All the advertisements, especially

the TV ads show the fun and interesting part of the cars and use a lot of visual imagery and

specific information about particular attributes to give persuasive meaning. The use of logos

help in increasing the transferability of the brands across product categories and geographies.

Analysing an Advertising MediumGeneral Motors communicates with its potential customers through Social Media, Tele Media and Print

Media. Here we will analyze its Print Media Strategy via its Brand Chevrolet Volt.


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Chevrolet- VOLT

First Electric. Then Gas.

The Chevy Volt.

Tag Line: Take the lead and Leave the following to others.

The Chevy Volt is one of the most innovative cars on the market and the start of a new trend, of

combining an electric car with capabilities of a traditional gas vehicle.

The unique selling premise is that the Chevy Volt, as an elite vehicle, embodies the sophistication of

the target market, which takes pride in being the first of its social group to take part in the latest

trend, or start one of their own. The idea is that they are not just keeping up with Joneses they

are the Joneses.

Analysis of Print Media VOLT

The trendsetting people like Jackie Robinson, Steve Jobs & Marilyn featured in the ads are appealing

because the target market relates to the achievements and calibre of these chosen icons.

Each of these people has promoted individualism and is thought of as a cultural trendsetter, which

highlights the goal for the brand positioning of the Chevy Volt. The innovations of the Volt are tied to

these famous trendsetters, which frames the Volt as the up-and-coming cultural trend for the informed

and curious target market.

The big idea is that the Volt is the first of its kind. It is one of the most advanced and innovative electric

vehicles on the market, leaving other car companies to do the following. The campaign slogan, leave

the following to others emphasizes all aspects of being a trendsetter. The target market follows noone, and they are the members of society who take charge and lead in setting social and product

standards. Like the Volt, they have unique characteristics that set them apart from the people who

surround them.


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Magazine Advertisement

The Ad focuses on the fact that Chevrolet is a trend setter


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Newspaper Advertisement

Outdoor Advertisement


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Competition

The main competitors for GM are: Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan , Honda, Peugeot

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are often referred to as the "Big Three" or, more recently the

"Detroit Threebeing the largest automakers in the United States and Canada. They were for a while the

largest in the world and two of them are still a mainstay in the top five. Ford has held the position ofsecond-ranked automaker for the past 56 years, being relegated to third in North American sales, after

being overtaken by Toyota in 2007. That year, Toyota produced more vehicles than GM, though GM still

outsold Toyota that year, giving GM 77 consecutive calendar years of top sales. For the first quarter of

2008, however, Toyota overtook GM in sales as well. In the North American market, the Detroit

automakers retained the top three spots, though their market share is dwindling. Honda passed Chrysler

for the fourth spot in 2008 US sales. Since then, because of Toyota's woes with their recent unintended

acceleration recall, Toyota has fallen back to fourth place in sales, with Honda trailing in fifth place,

allowing the Detroit Three reclaim their Big Three title.

Each of these Competitors has a wide range of vehicles in various segments like: Cars, Crossovers, SUVs,Trucks, Vans and Hybrids.

General Motors IndiaAlthough Chevrolet came to India in 1928, it was forced out in 1950s. After that General Motors, started

out in India in 1996 with Opel. It had launched three models, the Astra, Corsa and Vectra. In 2003, it

switched to Chevrolet. Apart from these two, General Motors had other brands like Buick, GMC and

Cadillac also in its stables. But the way the Indian market was shaping up buyers preferring small cars

because of their low cost, fuel efficiency and ease of parking the company decided to go ahead with

Chevrolet. There was some recall for the brand in India; many people remembered the Chevrolet Impalain old films. In 2003 Chevrolet Sales India Private Limitedwas established and the Chevrolet brand was

re-launched in India. It replaced Opel as the only brand offering by General Motors India Private Limited.

Over the past 9 years, Chevrolet has launched many cars including the famous Beat. The price range

ranges from 3.15L (Spark) to Captiva (18.74L). Aiming for a double digit market share in India, the US

auto major General Motors is turning to small cars to shore up volumes in future. The most awaited

Chevrolet model in the Indian market is the premium hatchback Sail that is expected to debut in the

country in June/July 2012. Chevrolet is currently focussing on developing products that are tailored for

the local market

The problem with the switch to Chevrolet was that there was confusion in the mind of the consumers.

Was it General Motors? Or was it Opel? The first step was to remove everything from all communication

except Chevrolet. The General Motors logo was taken off all advertisements; it was Chevrolet all the

way. Business cards of the sales team sticks to Chevrolet, and so does the official website. The task for

the General Motors team was cut out. The first priority was to offer high fuel efficiency in all its cars.

Three Chevrolet cars have best-in-class mileage: The Spark (18.9 km per litre), Beat (18.2 km per litre)

and Tavera (16.4 km per litre). All the other Chevrolets the U-VA, Optra, Aveo, Cruze and Captiva

are in the top 25 per cent in their respective categories.


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The second task was to keep the prices low. This required the company to have a small car in its

portfolio. Chevrolet went mass in 2007 with the Spark. The Chevrolet small car portfolio got

strengthened last year when it launched the Beat for Rs 3.42 lakh. The company also realised that apart

from the price of the car, buyers also spend a lot on service and maintenance. It devised a scheme

where the company gives free service for three years or 45,000 km, whichever comes early, for the

Spark. This includes spares, service, maintenance and labour. It also guarantees a maximum expenditure

on service for three years on any car

General Motors has tried to build the brand promise for Chevrolet as more a Chevrolet gives more

than rivals. The Cruze thus comes fitted with cruise control and push-button start. The Beat, though

prices under Rs 4 lakh, features automatic climate control, integrated stereo with USB port and stylised

wheels.

Chevrolet Currently has eight brands in India ranging from Spark (3.15L) to Optra (7.41L) to

Captiva(18.74L)

Brand potential and Future OpportunitiesThe company surpassed the bankruptcy phase and finally reached to the profit earning scenario which

clearly shows the brand potential not only in present but also in future. The company is not only

targeting new segments but is also planning to launch varieties in the available brands.

Targeting new segments

The company is focusing towards launching electric vehicle named Equinox Fuel Cell powered by

the GM fourth-generation fuel cell system.

They are also investing on the testing of hydrogen-powered Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles.

Their new innovation in lime light is P.U.M.A. (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility). Its an

electrically powered personal-transporter with two-seat, two-wheeled, used for navigating city

streets. The vehicle runs on large-format lithium-ion batteries that the companies say produce

no emissions, making it environmentally friendly.

They are also working on a new project Windows of Opportunity (WOO). It would help rear seat

passengers, particularly children; have a richer experience on the road. The Windows of

Opportunity (WOO) Project was inspired by psychological studies indicating car passengers

often feel disconnected from their environment, thus the car windows would act as interactivedisplays capable of stimulating awareness, nurturing curiosity and encouraging a stronger

connection with the world outside the vehicle.

They are targeting rural areas and farmers both in China and India.

New varieties in existing market


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