GM & U Campaign
Stephen Burke
Jennifer Hays
Metta Chaphiv
Timothy Ipsaro
November 17th, 2009
Integrated Marketing Communications
Introduction
Objectives
• Increase General Motors (GM) reach to college student
demographic
• Reverse consumer perceptions of GM through various
marketing efforts
• Enhance GM’s online presence and connection with its
desired target market
Target Market
Initially Defined
• 2-year, 4-year students of colleges, college graduates (19
million total1)
• Female & Male students; ages of 20-25 years, single
• Commuters, live on campus
• Average annual income of $30,000 - $60,000
• Modeled after PRIZM’s “Young Influentials” segment
• Moderate to heavy Internet users, can access the Web via
their mobile phones
1 Provided by Government Census Bureau.
Primary Research
• Target Market
– 12.5% own a GM vehicle
– Top 3 factors in buying a car
1. Reliability
2. Price
3. Fuel Efficiency
– 50% received assistance in purchasing last car
Primary Research
– 9 Attributes for perception offered
• 55.5% of participants were indifferent towards the GM
brand
– 90% of participants have an income under
$20,000
Target Market
Redefined
• Ages of 18-25 years, single
• Actively follow publications like BusinessWeek and WIRED
• Participation in one or more outdoor-oriented activities or
sports for leisure
• Follow at least one primetime TV program
• Reliability and price were two greatest factors in car
purchases
Media – Traditional Advertising
BusinessWeek
• Half-page, color print advertisement inserts
• Special Automotive Advertising section
• Special student-personalized inserts in BusinessWeek student
subscriptions
Readership are entry-level professionals, business students
Survey revealed 10% of our participants read BusinessWeek;
publication with the highest number of readers
Readers are known to be web-savvy (68%)2
2 Provided by BusinessWeek’s Media Kit.
Media – Traditional Advertising
WIRED
• Half-page, color print advertisement inserts
• Targeted age range of 18-34 years of age at 55%3
• 44% of readers have graduated from college
Valuable outlet to those who may be skeptical or have
unfavorable attitudes towards GM products
Favor high-tech vehicles; feature GM’s emphasized efforts in fuel
efficient technology would provide GM with more credibility
Create hype about the Chevy Volt (2010)
predicted to be the true mass electric option
3 Provided by WIRED’s Media Kit (Conde Nast Publications).
Media – Traditional Advertising
Television
• 30-second ad costs dropped 16%; Fox’s average ad cost of
$121,000, the highest of all networks4
• Nielsen Ratings: week of October 19th, Family Guy: viewer
audience of nearly 4,600,0006
Top programs: Burn Notice, House, Entourage, Family Guy
Current vehicle owners, 75% of them participate in outdoororiented activities
Ad: 30 seconds, montage of active, young individuals
participating in outdoor-oriented activities, b&w with color
GM vehicles narratives relay phrases like, “strength,”
“endurance,” etc.
4 “Analysis: Prime Network TV Ad Cost Dives in Q3” by Steve McClellan; 6 “TV Ratings – Syndication.” Nielsen.
Social Networking
As a result of young and internet savvy target market, social networking is a
powerful form communication. According to a survey done by
internetnews.com “75 percent of adults aged 18 to 24 were social
networking users, compared to just 7 percent of adults 65 years and
older.”
• Facebook
– Creation of a Facebook fan page can communicate information about
sweepstakes, giveaways, new features, and vehicle information.
–
The cost of utilizing Facebook’s fan pages, advertising, and other
services is insubstantial compared to other forms of promotion.
7 “More Adults Jump Into Social Networking” by Judy Mottl
Social Networking
• MySpace
– Pictures, campus locations, message boards, and artist’s music will all
be displayed through the GM & U MySpace page.
– Artists from the Campus Takeover Tour: Owl City, The Conditions, NAS,
and Darius Rucker will all have available music to listen to and
download, along with tour dates and locations.
– Message boards will help the GM & U program gain understanding of
the effectiveness of the campaign.
Social Networking
• Twitter
– Concert details, celebrity endorsements, and real time updates, can all
increase the brand awareness for GM and its products.
– Similar to MySpace, the four chosen concert artists can also share
their thoughts for GM and the program to create buzz around at the
GM twitter site.
– Regular updates of the Twitter site will also be important for
communicating sweepstakes and contest information that can help
the program draw in many more site viewers.
Social Networking
• GM & U Website
– By creating a specific website for the program we felt GM & U could
gather feedback from on-campus activities and share them with
people from around the world.
– Message boards, videos, and testimonials will all help create buzz
about the program.
– By creating updates of on campus interaction and concert reviews, GM
& U can inform users about the program and benefits of buying a GM
vehicle.
Public Relations
• To raise awareness prior to the implementation of the GM & U Discount
program, press releases will be communicated a month in advance.
• By carefully monitoring and managing each campus chosen in the
program, GM will have to be ready to respond when unpredictable or
unfortunate events occur. Avoiding safety and legal issues will require
dedicated staff at each campus.
• While focusing primarily on the countless aspect of the GM & U program,
GM keep its investors in mind.
• To help calm the nerves of GM supporters on Wall Street, GM must
continue to work hard to gain consumer confidence and keep sales steady
as the GM & U program takes place.
Concert
Advertisement
Digital Media
• Creative – think outside of the traditional vehicle
advertising box
• 40% of the target market uses the Internet more
than 20 hours per week
• Internet Advertising
• Viral Video
Digital Media
• Viral Video
– Widespread reach in short period of time
– Controlled-image video created by GM & U partners
– Video challenge for college students and recent grads
• Challenge and specifications offered on GM & U website and through social
networking sites
• Cash prizes and/or vehicle purchase incentives at the core of prize offerings
• Help to better understand target market’s perception of GM
– Utilize social networking sites as well as YouTube to
promote videos
– Highly inexpensive
Digital Media
• Viral Video – The Ad
– Capture and reverse generally held ideas students have
about purchasing a new car
Digital Media
• Internet Advertising
– Gawker Media
Events and Promotions
• GM Sweepstakes using Facebook and Twitter
– The idea would be to give away a free GM vehicle.
– Would create a lasting impression upon the target market.
– Students will consider GM a brand that likes to associate with
younger people and wants to do business with them.
Events and Promotions
• GM College Campus Car Show
– Have car shows at large college campuses around the
country.
– Allow students to sit in the cars and have representatives go
through all the features with them.
– Would lessen the negative connotation associated with sales
representatives at dealerships being rude and
unaccommodating to young people.
Events and Promotions
• Concert Tour Car Show
– The idea would be to have a car show just inside the
gates of a large concert.
– This would allow people to check out the cars and what
GM has to offer in their free time before the concert
starts.
– The performing artists could also act as endorsers of the
GM car show by mentioning it on their Twitter or
Facebook a few days ahead of time.
Direct Mail
• The use of large college campuses would be key
for this part of the plan.
• Send out a flyer that offers a day where college
age students and recent graduates can come and
test drive the GM line up of vehicles
• This would reduce intimidation with test drives
and get the target market to become familiar
with GM branded vehicles.
Questions?
Thank you for your time and attention.
Stephen Burke
Metta Chaphiv
Jennifer Hays
Timothy Ipsaro
Works Cited
• "Business Week Media Kit PDFs." BusinessWeek. 2008. 7 November 2009.
<http://mediakit.businessweek.com/PDF/>.
• "Circulation / Demographics - WIRED." Conde Nast Media Kit. Conde Nast
Publications. March 2009. 7 November 2009.
<http://www.condenastmediakit.com/wir/circulation.cfm>.
• GM & U Marketing Challenge. General Motors. [no date specified]. 1
September 2009. <www.edventurepartners.com/GMcase>.
• McClellan, Steve. "Analysis: Prime Network TV Ad Cost Dives in Q3."
Mediaweek. 27 October 2009. 7 November 2009.
<http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/mediaagencies-research/e3icf13d4806aba58deaf770b64f4c9058b>.
• "TV Ratings - Syndication." Nielsen. 19 October 2009. 7 November 2009.
<http://en-us.nielsen.com/rankings/insights/rankings/television>.