General Motors has filed a trademark application to register the term Road to Table with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), GM Authority has discovered.
Filed on September 27th, 2017 and assigned serial number 87624324, the filing states that the standard character mark will be used for “Entertainment services, namely, arranging and conducting social entertainment events in the nature of motor vehicle test drives paired with culinary experiences.”
The GM Authority Take
From (roughly) 2008-2014, GM’s Cadillac hosted programs called “Road to Table” that enabled attendees to test drive Cadillacs and enjoy exquisite cuisine. The events were run in partnership with Saveur magazine and were billed as combining a culinary excellence with a unique opportunity to test drive next-generation Cadillacs. The automaker also made available for test drives several competing models from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Lexus. The brand ceased the efforts years ago, but this filing appears to indicate that the program will be making a comeback.
The 2014 Cadillac ATS sport sedan outside of the “Urban Light” sculpture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art during the “Road to Table” program in 2013.
We at GM Authority would welcome the return of Cadillac test drive and culinary experiential events, since the marketing initiative has the potential to expose those not familiar with Cadillac to the brand’s product portfolio, which in recent years has made significant strides in terms of overall product substance, something that will only get better with the upcoming wave of future Cadillac vehicles.
As such, it will be vital for Cadillac to expose potential customers to its vehicles in a product-focused, pressure-free environment (as opposed to a sales-focused environment in a dealership) in order to conquest new buyers. Luckily, experiential marketing efforts like Road to Table have the potential to do just that, so long as they are executed correctly.
In fact, Lexus provided what can perhaps be described as textbook examples of automotive experiential marketing events in the early 2000s that combined culinary euphoria with driving Lexus vehicles (as well as with those of the competition). The efforts assisted the brand in boosting sales volume and market share.
Stay tuned to GM Authority as we follow this one, as well as all other General Motors news.
Comments
This seems like a much better idea than free helicopter rides or a coffee house.
I’m pretty sure no other auto brands would want to copy this idea. And frankly “Road to Table” does not sound very appetizing, when you think about it. Cadillac could use a new marketing director and new brand manager. Goodbye Uwe and Melody.
Maybe this is Uwe’s new gig … ?
Melody moved off to run Book Cadillac, effective 1 October …
Captain Carl, we can only hope that Uwe and Melody are being moved to positions where they can do no more harm to the Cadillac brand. I could see Uwe as the head chef of the “Road to Table” roadkill restaurant. Perhaps Cadillac is hiring a couple of replacements who actually admire and appreciate Cadillac’s place in history.
I guess ‘Road to Nowhere’ must’ve been tm’d by David Byrne.
Sorry – couldn’t resist …
What’s for Dinner?
Would better serve a lot of the general public showing trucks hauling food from the farms to the table, then some people might actually learn where food comes from.
First stop Roadkill Steakhouse. GM will leave you with the tab.
Even though GM is picking up the tab do you really want “Chunk O’ Skunk”, “Slab of Lab”,”Possum Puree”, or “Siamese Squishy Surprise” ? Exactly what does one order when one drives a Cadillac? What wine do you serve? Ha, ha! Don’t like the idea of this “Road to Table” moniker at all !
Ah yes a Cadillac Burger and a Cup of Cadillac House Coffee at the Club La Cadillac. What’s next. How about a real Cadillac.
Wow, the level of intelligence & maturity in this group of bloggers is at a new low….. definitly Lexus owners.