There are a few automotive brands in the midst of changing their identities for the consumer. One of those is Buick.
Currently, the brand’s advertising message is resonating very well, something Tony DiSalle, Buick Vice President of Marketing, says it will continue to work at.
Automotive News sat down with DiSalle to understand why the brand’s current message has been received so well, and where the marketing will head in the future.
DiSalle touches on what the Buick brand means in the U.S. today, where he mentions its “white space” theme once again, something the brand loves to play with. He feels the brand has a great spot between the higher-end of the mainstream, and the lower-spectrum of luxury.
When asked why the current “That’s A Buick” campaign has been so successful, DiSalle had this to say:
It’s so down-to-earth. It’s extraordinarily honest. It’s driven off of a singular consumer insight and the reality that there is false familiarity out in the marketplace. A lot of people misperceive Buicks to be outdated in terms of their designs and not necessarily relevant to [them]. “It’s for older people, it’s not for me.” We saw that with crystal clarity. When you have a consumer insight that is that precise, it makes it a little bit easier to focus on.
He also states the campaign, along with the fun, catchy Matt & Kim song, was designed to make the brand feel more much more approachable for all ages and demographics, and reports Buick has the highest conquest of women consumers for any U.S. brand. He’s also very pleased with the buzz surrounding mobile traffic, a clear indicator of which generation is busy shopping for Buicks.
DiSalle has much more to say, so check out the entire interview at the link here.
Comments
I want to start off by saying I do not think that the Buicks look bad (obviously the looks are an opinion) and they are holding their own in China.
But it seems like Buick’s style and perception has not really changed much from prior to the Bankruptcy (and it shouldn’t since Buick has not earned it)…yeah I know the the Lucerne is the Lacrosse and blah blah blah.
And now the Encore (chevy Trax) is their hot seller- which is comical for a “brand has a great spot between the higher-end of the mainstream, and the lower-spectrum of luxury”.
I do want to see Buick succeed but c’mon really in the US market it hasn’t much changed? its been 5 years.
If it was not for the Chinese market most likely Buick would be joining Oldsmobile, Saturn & Hummer.
When Pontiac and Saturn ceased to exist after the bankruptcy I was looking forward to seeing what Buick’s line up would eventually be.
Well we see it now- and it is still pretty lame.
Oh wait!!! The Cascada is arriving in Spring 2016 haha
The cool, catchy Matt & Kim song- is this guy DiSalle for real??
They just need to align more with Opel and Holden so that there isn’t wasted R&D and other expenses. GM understands that they need to keep these 3 brands for name recognition, but they don’t all 3 need to be making different cars.
Has it really been that successful?
Encore has. Enclave is up 2% year on year.
The rest – LaCrosse, Regal and Verano are down double-digits, year on year.
As a result, Buick brand is in negative territory, from Aug 2014 to Aug 2015.
Not sure if that qualifies as ‘so successful’ in most people’s books.
I hear ya. What’s DiSalle’s definition of successful?
It’s not coincidental that the only two models that are successful are crossovers and the sedans are lagging far behind. That is the nature of the market right now.
At Cadillac also only the SRX and Escalade show any positive sales while all sedan models are down.
Crossovers are the hottest segment these days and until Buick and Cadillac get more of them on the market they are going to have year over year volume declines.
Buick really isn’t filling very much white space; Encore and Verano, for a minute, and Cascada is a typical niche vehicle.
GM was smart to retain two luxury brands but each is still damaged, however, the new Buick line up should put the brands on level with Acura and Lincoln while requiring little R&D and extracting high margins.
Buick/GMC its a valuable distribution channel and has a real shot of success provided their vehicles look like more than tarted up Chevy’s.
Joe,
LaCrosse was never Lucerne, which was the old Park Avenue Moniker. Why Buick thought Lucerne was a more contemporary name than Park Avenue I’ll never understand.
Buick should be filling the stylish, premium niche between Chevy and Cadillac. They were known in the seventies and eighties as understated and less expensive alternatives to Cadillac with attractive styling (and often powerful engine choices) with models like the Riviera, Regal (T Type and Grand National as the upmarket Pontiac alternative) and the Electra/Park Avenue. All of GM became too staid and homogeneous in the 1980s, but it takes at least a decade to turn around brand perception.
Hyundai is the best modern example of a brand turnaround from the first models that arrive here in 1986 and how much better everything was for them in the new Millenium.
We want to see Buick succeed, but they have to clearly define themselves and ensure they are desirable products for today’s fickle and dynamic market.
Buick is really racking up those sales in the US Market. they are failing.
The current (and recent past) advertising for Buick is banal at best and does the brand and it’s cars no favors. They look like Buicks. Unfortunately no one seems to think that there is a need to reveal to the public any good reasons to buy or visit the showrooms. When is GM going to stop letting folks with a manufacturing background and mentality stop going for the dumb solution and start getting marketing and advertising professionals in there to call the shots? All of the shots!
Seems like Mr. DiSalle know his stuff…too bad he doesn’t work for Cadillac
Does he?
Still waiting for a production Avenir with an optional LT1. I fear I shall be waiting forever.
Make a Regal that can grab some of the old Pontiac customers along with some BMW ones.
Buick’s marketing still blows.