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Chris Perry was just named vice president of marketing for Chevrolet. The automotive veteran, who most recently was the vice president of marketing at Hyundai, has been in the industry for 20 years. Perry spent those 20 years working in the marketing field in the automotive industry and spent the other five as a marketing professional outside his current industry. Continue reading.
If you were holding your breath for an SS version of Chevrolet Cruze, well, you can stop now and resume normal respiration. Chevrolet marketing chief Jim Campbell told Jalopnik that there won’t be a 2011 Cruze SS, or one added later on in the model cycle, despite rumors of the top-of-the-line Cruze having fans inside GM’s offices. Continue reading.
Chevrolet was in full force at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) interactive – a conference that takes place every spring in Austin, Texas. Besides showing off the Camaro, Volt, and Cruze to over 185,000 attendees, the bow tie brand took a very unique and innovative approach to learn the best practices of emerging social media. To do just that, Chevy launched a pilot test of three mobile applications that allow it to connect to consumers. According to Jim Campbell, General Manager of the Chevrolet brand:
Social media is a powerful tool in a digital world where people can get news instantly on their smart phone, watch television shows on streaming video, and communicate with friends on social-networking sites. For Chevrolet, South by Southwest provides an invaluable opportunity to learn how best to communicate with customers in by leveraging these technologies.
The three apps up for review consist of location-based social networking, quick response, and augmented reality. Click past the break to read all about them and for the coveted GM Authority Take! (more…)
Sometime in the beginning of February, Chevrolet Chief Jim Campbell announced that the bow tie brand will no longer use its ‘An American Revolution’ tagline. Citing a new communications strategy, Campbell told Automotive News that
There’s not really an all-new theme … It’s really communications focused at those target customers.
Essentially, this means the plan is to use different marketing approaches to reach the various target markets (customers). You could also say that the Chevrolet brand name will become the tagline in and of itself.
This humble blogger was a fan of the ‘American Revolution’ motto, but its time has come – and gone. If executed properly, customers can be reached with targeted ads by promoting the Chevrolet brand name alone. And given the recent slump in the American auto industry, identifying Chevy’s American roots may not be a strength, but rather a weakness (as much as it saddens me to say that).
However, GM’s recent ‘May The Best Car Win’ promotional (and marketing) campaign may be considered a unifying catchphrase between all of The General’s brands. But even then, I think it’s a fairly established and agreed-upon fact that each GM brand must be able to stand on its own from both the sales and financial perspectives.
For the sake of nostalgia, here’s the commercial that kicked off the American Revolution campaign. Michael Bay and Transformers fans will undoubtedly catch a few Autobot references.
[Source: Automotive News]
The vehicle diagnostics feature of GM’s OnStar system is not widely publicized, but it’s extremely useful. In a nutshell, OnStar emails subscribers a monthly vehicle status report, complete with service reminders and any maintenance requirements. After using the system to collect data, GM recently reported that 99.3 percent of Chevrolet vehicles enrolled in the program revealed no problems with the engine and transmission systems of those vehicles. This is an important number, as it not only demonstrates the quality of Chevy vehicles, but also the constant improvement in quality enabled by the diagnostics program.
What’s really valuable here is OnStar’s ability to collect data through the remote diagnostics feature and hand this data over to engineers, who in turn make constant improvements in quality and reliability of the vehicles at the design and engineering stages. This is just another situation proving that knowledge and information is power, facilitating improvement by recognizing weak spots.
Moreover, these numbers represent the importance of quality and reliability at Chevy and the rest of The General’s products. Chevrolet General Manager Jim Campbell said:
At Chevrolet, we have significantly reduced customer warranty claims over the past few years, as we continually strive to make the most dependable cars and trucks on the road. A key part of that success is OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics, which helps Chevrolet and our customers keep vehicles in top running condition.
This further drives the point that OnStar’s vehicle diagnostics is useful to GM, allowing for the constant improvement in quality as well as keeping customers aware of the status of their vehicles. It is a largely successful program for both parties, and one that we hope will see even further improvement by The General now and in the future.
Last week, Lyle Dennis (from gm-volt.com) sat down with Jim Campbell, the freshly-appointed director of the Chevrolet brand and spoke about the Chevy Volt.
When asked about the bow tie brand’s plans to meet initial demand for the vehicle, Campbell didn’t give a direct answer, saying “there are ways to manage [high demand]” and that Chevy “will prepare for those [instances].” What’s more, Mr. Campbell thinks the Volt will be a gateway product to other Chevrolet vehicles:
Its always a challenging (scenario) but what I think is the positive side of it is that the fact there is that much interest keeps the enthusiasm high for Chevrolet overall. I think that provides benefits to the Chevrolet brand and all of the other vehicles that people start to notice and get introduced to that maybe they weren’t even thinking about when they started their level of interest in this case the Chevy Volt.
When asked about the time frame for a national rollout of the hotly-anticipated PHEV, Mr. Campbell didn’t give a specific time frame but did say that the vehicle will eventually be available in all US markets. The Volt is currently set to launch in three initial markets including California, Michigan, and Washington D.C.
Read through the full interview right here.
Chevrolet recently announced that the nation’s capital will join liberal California and struggling Michigan as a test-bed for the Volt, GM’s new plug-in hybrid EV.
As part of its cooperation with local utility companies, GM has partnered with DC area utilities Pepco and Dominion, which will facilitate the launch by helping to establish charging programs and ease the electric vehicle transition for consumers. Jim Campbell, Chevrolet General Manager, said the the initial launch is limited in scope in order to give early adopters the highest quality experience possible. The three initial launch markets were chosen for a combination of their strategic geographies, progressive local governments, and the presence of willing utility company partners. More than 100 Volts have been given to such companies in an extended pilot program to measure consumer feedback, The program is made possible by a $30 million grant funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The DOE will spend that money on 500 charging stations for personal, commercial, and public use. The $30 million comes on top of the $700 million The General has invested to develop and solidify its leadership in this technology.
We have GM’s full press release after the break.
Brian Small
General Motors has named 31-year company veteran Brian Small to the position of Executive Director of Fleet and Commercial Operations. Brian was most recently General Director for GMNA Order Fulfillment and Global Supply Chain Center Operations and will also be in charge of the International Product Center (IPC). In his new position, Brian will report to Susan Docherty, Vice President of Sales, Service, and Marketing, who had the following to say about the appointment:
“I’m confident Brian will bring his extensive experience and strong leadership to the critical fleet and commercial organization and make an immediate positive impact. His service at each of our brands on the ground level, working with various dealerships throughout the country, will bring invaluable perspective and customer focus.”
Brian is filling the opening left by Jim Campbell, who was promoted to head the Chevrolet brand in December. Based in Detroit, Brian is a 1978 Michigan Tech graduate and earned an MBA from the University of Maryland in 2006. GM will announce the replacement for Brian’s previous position at a later date. The change is effective immediately.
We have GM’s full press release after the break. (more…)
GM’s Chevrolet division is getting new leadership: Jim Campbell, who joined GM in 1988, has been named general manager of the bow-tie brand, effective immediately. In his previous assignment, Campbell was responsible for GM’s fleet and commercial business.
Susan Docherty, GM vice president of Sales, Service, and Marketing had the following to say about Campbell:
Jim has a strong track record of building relationships and partnerships with dealers and customers, and deep Chevrolet experience. His energy, drive for results and willingness to take risks are great assets for leading the growing global Chevrolet brand.
From that, what stands out most are “results” and “willingness to take on risks,” principles that Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre is trying to re-instill in The General. According to GM, Campbell “played important roles in many product launches, including the Chevrolet Impala, Monte Carlo, Colorado, and Corvette.” He also held “various positions in field sales, retail incentives, marketing and customer relationship management.”
Campbell replaces Brent Dewar, previously vice president of the global bow-tie brand, who has “elected to retire effective April 1, 2010 to dedicate more time to his family and to pursue personal interests.” Until April Fools’ Day hits, Dewar will “work closely with Campbell to ensure a smooth transition at Chevrolet.”
Dewar was put in charge of Chevrolet in July by former CEO Fritz Henderson. It’s not clear whether Dewar’s departure is in any way tied to the colossal management restructuring undertaken by Ed Whitacre last week; in other words, we don’t know if the relationship between Dewar and his newly-appointed colleagues had anything to do with him leaving. Rumor on the block, however, is that GM has been offering buyout packages to some executives and managers, so perhaps Dewar took advantage of the opportunity after his 31 years with the company. Susan Docherty said the following about Dewar’s departure:
During his 31 years with GM, Brent made a difference in multiple assignments, including key roles in Brazil and Europe, launching the award-winning American Revolution campaign and applying his environmental passion to drive the very successful gas-friendly to gas-free marketing strategy. We respect his decision to retire early next year to spend more time with his family, and want to thank him for all his contributions. He will be missed.
Look in any direction, and you’ll more than likely to see new management within GM. This means people who are new at their jobs, willing to learn, and – perhaps most importantly – yearning to succeed. I think this development is a good thing for the global Chevrolet brand and the rest of GM.
[Source: GM and Detroit Free Press]
Check out GM’s full press release after the break. (more…)
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I think In the GM universe both these cars can exist ...
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