GM’s Australian subsidiary Holden plans to increase its marketing budget 40 percent this year as it launches six new products, with Holden executives expecting 2013 to be a milestone year for the brand.
“We are going to spend 40 per cent more money telling people our story,” said Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux to GoAuto. “We are going to connect with iconic brands like the NRL (National Rugby League) and Collingwood footy club.”
One of the goals of the product offensive is to address Holden’s 9.1 percent sales decline in 2012.
“We are going to show people we are back, bigger and better than before”, Devereux said — partially corroborating the up-beat and bullish inclination of a recent GM Authority source.
Holden’s bigger marketing budget will allocate funds to launch the new VF Commodore, as well as the Trax subcompact crossover, Malibu midsize sedan, and Colorado 7 midsize SUV. Of those four, the Trax will provide Holden with its first entry in the growing small crossover segment, while Malibu will return Holden into the medium car segment where the Toyota Camry has come to reign supreme.
“For Trax and Colorado 7, which we really haven’t started selling yet, it is all about broadening our product portfolio, really upping our game in SUVs,” Devereux said. “Trax is going to be a fantastic vehicle. Small SUVs grew 55 per cent last year, and we didn’t sell any.”
Indeed, Holden’s ability to expand its portfolio beyond its current stable of vehicles will allow the brand to reach a new set of potential customers who may not have considered the Roaring Lion’s products in the past due to a lack of offerings in the aforementioned segments. And while Holden’s product offensive will allow it to broaden its market appeal, it will be its new sponsorship deals that will communicate the product story. The recently-announced three-year multi-million dollar deal with the National Rugby League (NRL) is just one example.
Holden saw its sales decline 9.1 percent in 2012, while its market share slid from 12.5 percent to 10.3 percent. In January of 2013, Mazda overtook Holden to become the second most-popular automotive brand in the region behind Toyota, pushing Holden to third place in Australia.
The GM Authority Take
Like much of GM globally, Holden seems to be in the final stages of putting the finishing touches on unleashing its new and revitalized product portfolio, with some serious marketing firepower to boot. Let’s see how loud the Roaring Lion roars in 2013.
Comments
Holden don’t need to increase their marketing (not saying it’s a bad idea). Ford Australia’s TV commercials are the laughing stock of the industry. Holden have always had good ads (remember the Ute ‘Evolution’ ad? Awesome!). Mazda is a concern but their ads aren’t brilliant. Toyota advertise and sponsor so much people forget about them.
What a joke, Holden asking for workers to take a pay cut, and have indicated increasing advertising budget this year by 40 %, they poor an enormous amount of money into motorsport, now millions of dollars being spent with Collingwood and the NRL. Holden are playing the Government for fools, just as they did from the start when Holden & Dodd were in trouble building coaches, and the government should not get sucked in. Ford have gone and Holden are crying poor through bad management.
Cheers
Oh and the Camry is called a Medium size car yet it is the same size as a Commodore. Yet the Toyota Aurion (Camry with sports body kit) is called a large car…
the aurion has nothing to do with the camry, it is a completely different car (aussie made), its not simply a ‘camry with a body kit’ !!
@ADZ not so sure that accurate. Aurion is and has always been a hotted-up Camry, built on Toyota’s global midsize architecture shared with Camry and Avalon… it has the same wheelbase and track, and shares nearly all other components save for the slight differences in front/rear styling.
Not saying that this is the case here, but it’s entirely conceivable that a car with the same wheelbase and track as another could be classified in a different size class. If the interior volume (or some other non-related dimension) is used to determine the class (as is the case with the EPA) then this is entirely possible. A different shaped trunk or dashboard could alter interior volume, thus affecting the size class. We would first have to see what dimensions the Aussies are using before we cast final judgement.
Interior is 90% the same, trunk is the same, car is the same. Only difference is slight exterior styling and luxury features.
Umm yes it pretty much is. Headlights and Tail lights are slightly different but the Camry and Aurion are 99% the same. The interiors are EXACTLY the same in size and layout and design…. the only difference is the Aurion has a touch screen interface in the centre stack. The centre stack however is the exact same as the Camry. Outside of Australia and NZ, the Aurion is sold as luxury trim levels of the CAMRY. The Camry and Aurion are more a like than a Pontiac G8 and Holden VE Commodore.
Spending more on marketing is not necessarily a good thing. If you are pumping more money into a marketing company that simply does not have the skill or talent to produce eye-catching material (as is often the case with GM) then the money will be poorly placed. GM needs to terminate their association with ALL their marketing companies. They should perhaps be looking at smaller companies that are hungrier with fresher ideas. I dunno…maybe they should be talking to VW’s ad agency…maybe they can “turn di GM frown di oddah way ‘roun”…
Holden’s TVC’s have always been brilliants and with the scavenger hunt for the VF Commodore, I think Holden knows what they’re doing.