In a massive shift of marketing policy, General Motors is allowing hourly or salaried employees of its Renaissance Center to take vehicles home with them either for a weekend or several weekdays. Formerly, only management level employees were allowed to walk out with any product more costly than a key chain. Thus far, approximately 500 such employees have taken advantage of the initiative.
Awkwardly donned, “The Company Vehicle Ambassador Program,” there is nothing awkward about the underlying strategy. CVAP [our acronym] builds on employee test drive events GM began holding at various Michigan locations last summer. Focusing on newly introduced vehicles like the Equinox/Terrain, Traverse/Acadia/Enclave, LaCrosse, SRX and CTS SportWagon, the program represents a grassroots marketing opportunity for The General to improve its reputation. Employees can become more familiar with GM offerings have access to the vehicle itself, and associated marketing and sales materials. In a press release, GM expressed hope that the program could “provide a personal connection to GM.”
The General’s marketing division probably envisions a scenario wherein an employee leaves a Camaro sitting in his/her driveway overnight and then answers questions about the car posed by the curious neighbor the next morning while fetching the paper. The strategy holds particular promise in exposing those friends and neighbors who otherwise may never find their way into a GM showroom.
Wendy Stachowicz, assistant manager for Internal Product Promotions, marked the departure from old policy noting,
Before this program, employees were often caught off-guard when asked by friends and family about GM’s new launch vehicles. Now they are able to share their personal testimony about our vehicles, and most importantly, take an active role in engaging conversations with potential consumers.
The program is still in the testing phase at the Rennaisance Center, but could expand to employees at other facilities including the Warren Technical Center and the Mildford proving grounds. GM outlines ‘education’ and ’empowerment’ as goals, but getting employees excited about the products they are involved in producing is probably the biggest benefit. Take-home vehicles come from the corporate test fleet so the program does not trade off with supplies headed for showrooms.
Sources: Detroit Free Press , GM
Comments
Your ambassador program stinks. We reserved a vehicle four months ahead of time to be told it was given to someone else when we went to pick it up. I guess you have to be an executive to test drive the vehicle you are interested in buying. Gm just lost a sale in my book. The vehicle we have is a piece of crap.
Me and my fiance use this program all the time. We LOVE it. Ive never had an issue with picking up or dropping off. We have since bought a corvette and will be bying a volt next year. Please work with gm to fix your issue. You wont regret it!!
That is all up to the computer system. I have had a Buick regal turbo, Cadillac CTS sedan AND wagon, a 2013 Silverado, a 2014 impala and tomorrow I pick up a 2014 Sierra for the weekend. I have never had any issue like yours. Maybe you signed up wrong, or the computer system messed up. I think its entirely unfair to judge the program on one mess up. I have totally taken advantage of the program and I LOVE it. Also, I work at GM Oshawa.
I know this is an old post by you guys, but I just had an idea. Why not setup a Facebook page where people who have used the Ambassador Program can post what they thought of their vehicle, and any pictures taken of them! Photography is a big hobby of mine so every vehicle I have taken out has been a part of a photoshoot. I would LOVE to be able to share those with fellow GM employees!
Jamie, are you in Canada? I am interested in reserving a vehicle but I need to contact them. Do you have an email for the girls at the Vehicle pick-up center?
Tom