Today's NYT has a wide ranging piece about the future of GM
Most of the commentators contacted for the piece talk about GM's problem of too many brands, or the fact that GM is a traditional advertiser in a world that needs new marketing solutions. Others cite GM's need to build an emotional connection. Many of these answers seem to be pretty standard, but GMs problems aren't really something they can easily communicate their way out of. The cars need to have and be something. While all the comments made in the NYT piece are true, they don't get to the heart of GM's problem and opportunity: the the one essential communication tool for car marketing, product design.
GM obviously needs to sort its brands out. It appears to have moved Cadillac successfully into the luxury brand category again with design leading the charge, supported by communication that showed off the design.
Positioning the other brands is clearly a major task as well.
But herein lies the opportunity: Toyota, Honda, and increasingly the Koreans, make cars for people who want affordable, practical transportation. They do it efficiently, but they don't do it with any flair. While being reliable and practical, they don't score many points for head turning. Consumers, so we are told, are looking increasingly to design as a means of self-expression, it's always been a truth about cars, but perhaps this has been forgotten at the value end of the market.
