Uwe Ellinghaus, recently hired to be Cadillac's first chief marketing officer, says that the luxury marque has done a good job bringing quality cars to the market but that it hasn't done as effective a job on strengthening Cadillac's overall brand identity. Ellinghaus told the Automotive News, "There's already a good start with all of the awards and praise of Cadillac quality, but this won't be sufficient to win customers over. If you don't find the brand relevant, you won't even go into the dealership."
Ellinghaus wants to use Cadillac's distinctive "art & science" vehicle design to sharpen overall brand identity. It's his opinion that in the recent past Cadillac marketing has been too focused on specific products and not on the Cadillac brand.
"The biggest opportunity is building on the iconic design and the distinctive presence that Cadillac has," Ellinghaus told Forbes. "That's the best lever, the biggest competitive advantage, because the other premium manufacturers are far more mainstream and can't be as unique."
"What we need to build upon is the uniqueness of Cadillac and differing aspects from the other car brands. I accepted this job because I was not asked to emulate the success recipe of BMW. Even if I were able to, I wouldn't recommend going down that road because branding is about differentiation and not similarity."
"So many other brands try to copy successful players in the market — not just in automotive. That is dangerous in the long term, because why should someone buy a copy if the original is available?"
It's almost though Ellinghaus wants Cadillac to be Cadillac, not an imitation of German luxury brands.
Though he told the Automotive News that he wants more of an emphasis on the Cadillac brand, saying that there has been too narrow a focus on individual vehicles, Ellinghaus told Forbes that the new ELR extended range hybrid based on the Chevy Volt's drivetrain will be key to growing the overall brand. "I see the biggest branding potential for Cadillac in ELR," he said.
Though he says that he doesn't want to copy BMW's marketing, Ellinghaus feels that Cadillac can learn from the Bavarian automaker. Ellinghaus is looking to how his former employer BMW has been hyping it's "i" electric models long before they've gone on sale at dealers. Ellinghaus explained, "At BMW we said, 'Let's show that electromobility can be emotional and sexy,' and Cadillac understood this as well [with their development of the ELR]. Premium customers do not want what I call a 'rolling declaration of sacrifices' in their cars, as if they are willing to give up anything they like about a car as long as they're driving emissions-free. There are cars in the market that work this way, and even some electrically powered cars that you think are deliberately designed to be ugly so the buyer can say, 'I'm not into cars.'"
"But the example of BMW "i" and Tesla shows that there is interest in fine cars that are EVs. And what I like so much about the ELR is that it is a very innovative car, and premium through and through in design, the interior, and finishing. Sure, the price is high, but it will find an audience that is looking exactly for a car that has wonderful range and fantastic emissions—and also has everything that makes a premium car fun to drive and meets their daily requirements."
Ellinghaus said that he plans to put the weight of the Cadillac brand behind the relatively low-volume ELR. It's possible that GM may give the ELR the prominence of a Super Bowl ad next February. ELR "will be the best lever to get people to think twice about Cadillac," Ellinghaus said.
from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com
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