GM marketing going through a big shake-up

Cadillac - Mark of Leadership

GM is in the middle of a very shaky time with regard to its marketing department. In the past year alone, 17 of GM’s marketing leaders have either left the company or changed jobs, and there have been 4 U.S. marketing chiefs. This turmoil has left a clear mission for current U.S. marketing chief Joel Ewanick: restore order and purpose to GM’s brands.

Joel Ewanick

Sources inside GM say that Ewanick, who has worked for Nissan, Porsche, and Hyundai, needs to work with enough autonomy to flex his creative muscle. He has decided to take an approach that focuses less on GM as a corporation, but instead focuses on each brand individually.

Ewanick has gotten rid of Chevrolet’s weeks-old tag line, “Excellence for All,” and Cadillac’s “Mark of Leadership” slogan will probably miss the cut for the next round of ads.

Right now, Ewanick is heavily targeting Chevrolet, especially via social media through online campaigns to utilize Facebook, YouTube, and blogs. Social media is one area where GM trails the other manufacturers.

With all the changes that have transpired at GM with regards to marketing since the bankruptcy, many are shaky and nervous, but all seem to be optimistic, noting that the whole marketing team is new, and that there is now a clean slate to work off of. What’s really important at this point is that GM marketing staffers and new brand chiefs work together-Cadillac, Chevy, and Buick-GMC have each gone through 3 head marketers in the past year.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)