When virtually everyone in America views Detroit as the country’s bad neighborhood, it doesn’t paint a good image for its business residences. In this case, Cadillac. And word on the block is that the Crest might pack up and move to more prestigious streets.
Cadillac chief Johan de Nysschen has been wasting no time in giving America’s luxury brand a better sense of direction. Suspected of being behind the recent pattern-breaking “Cadillac CT5” and “Cadillac CT6” trademarks, he may also now be pushing for his brand to distance itself from General Motors by setting up offices from Detroit to Manhattan, according to Reuters.
de Nysschen did both to Infiniti, oddly giving each model some sort of “Q–” alpha-numeration, and moving the brand’s headquarters to Hong Kong from Yokohama. A move from the parent company could also grant the perception of more autonomy for Cadillac.
“As Cadillac grows, it’s possible we could look to add to our team or expand,” Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell told Reuters. “But as of now, no changes.”
Comments
While I can certainly agree with and understand the core reasons behind such a move, it seems a bit heartless to me. Detroit has been Caddy’s home since the beginning, and to just pick up and leave it for a more prestigious address seems very cold.
But I guess you can’t always be sentimental and stuck in the past
Move to north Carolina!!!!!
Beijing
Bring it to Boston
NC been trying to get an auto manufacturer there’s a huge amount of land with nothing there in Randolph n Chatham counties!!!
United we stand , divided we fall , comes to mind . I would expect this rumor of some Cadillac operations moving to New York is from a competitor , for the alternative doesn’t smell right . What is the old saying , if it doesn’t smell right , I’m not going to eat it ? With the incredible amount of recalls , many lawsuits and lost profits , I hope that there aren’t major conflicts within the management about directions / policies and plans for the future . One faction pulling one way and the other faction pulling the opposite way , perhaps . Add to this the report by the Planning Perspectives , a Detroit based consultancy who found of the top six automakers , GM was ranked last in their relationship with SUPPLIERS .This was reported in this website , page 53 . Perhaps the huge amount of recalls may have been influenced by the possible lack of strong relationships ??? I would imagine that being on the front lines , in management , is very stressful , right now .
I am assuming that who ever called this shot believes the marketing would be better off in NYC where much of the global marketing firms are bases or have a home office. That or his wife likes the sales at Macy’s.
The truth is good marketing can be done nearly anywhere today but finding good marketing is difficult. To many people in marketing to day are just selling a product and have no real love or connection to it. They base a bunch of crap on marketing numbers and surveys and come away with often a distorted view of what is going on in the market.
GM needs to get back to their roots and find someone who not only is a good marketing guy but one that is an dye in the wool auto enthusiast that knows the product and believes in it. I feel too many of the guys they are hiring are selling Cadillac and driving Benz just to impress the guys at the club.
Years ago you did not have to have a marketing degree to sell a product. You only had to really know and believe in what you sold. Today because of the complexity of the system you need a degree but too many get the degree and sell things that they have no passion for or even a good working knowledge.
For the most part to be fail anyone can sell a Honda, Chevy or Toyota. But when it comes to specialty cars like Cadillac, BMW and Benz you really have to know the product and believe in it. The folks in this class are buying more than a rolling appliance and they often know the technical side well and they also want to be shown how this car will enhance their life and image. They all could live their life just fine in an Impala but they want more from a car than just getting there.
I’m ok with this move if they can put together a good collective functioning marketing program to build on Cadillac’s image for the next 5-10 years. But if this is just another wild goose chase where they will just change ships again this time next year under a different leader than leave it in Detroit and let them come to town.
Start ads on Cadillac telling me why it is better and why I should buy one. I get sales people in all the time bad mouthing their competition and my first question is why should I buy your product and sadly they can tell who not to buy but can not answer my questions on what I should buy.
A good marketing man is like an Artist. Some folks can paint pictures and some can only paint a house.
As for heartless it is not it is just business. If you run a company with your heart you will surly go bankrupt at some point. You must make the tough calls with your head but have a heart in detailing them. It takes both to run a company properly. If you are the boss you can be friendly but you can’t always be the fiend and a proper leader.
If this fails they will be back in MI again.
Thanks GM. Instead of staying in Detroit and perhaps building a new headquarters for Detroit, they are moving to a place where a lot of people don’t even own cars because they are not necessary. While all the young artists are moving to the “D”. Our old friend is deserting us. Obviously Mr. de has no loyalty to Detroit and is only looking for a prestigious life in NY. Does that mean I have to help pay the rent for NY when I buy a Cadillac? Mr. de you are not an artist and I expect the next design you come out with will never compare to what Cadillac has always represented. In fact, it will probably end up looking like other boring European cars. Please rethink your selfish idea.