By: Keelyn Crowe
Cadillac plans to have a somewhat new marketing campaign for 2015. They made this decision on purpose at the same time their new luxury car, a large sedan CT6 came out. Cadillac’s decision to rebrand comes from the fact that their sales have been suffering and have been down 5% in the last year. Cadillac has heavy competition from other luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes and other trusted luxury brands that are better known.
Their first move is to build a new ad campaign around the new 2015 ATS coupe, which has launched in 2015. They’re going to show it on billboards, but instead of the typical black color which Cadillac always uses to feature their cars, a red bold color will be used. This will, hopefully, allow the brand to stand out. Ellinghaus, who works for the brand, wants to give Cadillac an emotional message, hopefully catching the eye of consumers. Cadillac wants to focus on what makes it different, because it does have such a different design than an Audi, Mercedes or BMW.
In June 2013, Cadillac decided to drop its advertising agency, Fallon Worldwide, for Rogue, which includes Hill holiday, Lowe and Campbell Ewald. Kelly Barnes, the director of corporate communications for Lowe Campbell Ewald, said that the New York office would house about 50 people, all working with Cadillac.
The ads for Cadillac’s new campaign aired during the Oscars. Cadillac featured four ads, all with the campaign saying “Dare Greatly.” All four ads featured the same theme of inspiration and following your dreams. All the ads also featured the new CT6 luxury Sedan. Three of the ads feature 3 individuals who are all well known. They tell inspiring stories of how they made it and succeeded in their careers. These three people include fashion designer Jason Wu, director Richard Linklater and Apple co founder Steve Wozniak. All three ads end with the sedan on a downtown Manhattan Street with the message “Only those who dare drive the world forward”. The fourth ad doesn’t feature the Cadillac; it shows the audience a car eye’s view as it drives through Manhattan, while a female narrator recites a passage from President Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech. These changes that Cadillac is undergoing will probably take a couple of years to attract people to the brand and to change perceptions of it. Cadillac’s sales ended up going up 3 % in January, which is a turn-around from their sales falling 6.5% in 2014. Using a more emotional and inspiring approach, especially during a big event like the Oscars where is everyone is watching, is a good marketing approach to change their image.
Sources:
New Cadillac ad campaign coming in 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/general-motors/2014/09/30/new-cadillac-ad-campaign-coming/16515413/
Cadillac Launches ‘Dare Greatly’ Campaign with Four Oscar Spots. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2015/02/22/cadillac-launches-dare-greatly-campaign-with-four-oscar-spots/
Marketing Discussions 
I believe that Cadillac is making the right turn around. There new marketing strategy based off the use of famous stars within their luxury vehicles inspires the every day person to dream bigger and relate to those stars by buying a Cadillac. Airing these commercials during the Oscars is a great idea. Not only are the Oscars an event that is widely watched but it is also an event filled with famous inspirations that resemble luxury and high class. This notion makes those watchers want to relate to these people and by advertising a luxury vehicle such as Cadillac at this time gives those every day people a chance to connect with those famous inspirations.
LikeLike
I agree with pat that the new marketing strategy that is based off of famous stars inspires people to want the nicest things possible, such as the Cadillac. The air times of the commercials is extremely important and Cadillac did it perfectly. Having the commercial air during the Oscars is extremely smart as there is a national audience and it is bound to pay off. The commercial wouldn’t just attract young people but the elderly who just retired and are looking for their first nice retirement car. All in all Cadillac made a great marketing decision and it is bound for success.
LikeLike
Cadillac has been declining in recent years to other high end companies such as BMW and Mercedes and has sort of developed a reputation of being an old persons car. Now a days it’s all about being new and modern, and it’s important that Cadillac is smart about taking their next approach with their new marketing campaign. It was smart to air their commercial during the Oscars because of the amount of views it gets, and also starring well-known people to show that Cadillac is still a well-known and trusted brand.
LikeLike
I believe that it is a good idea first for Cadillac to catch peoples attention by using the bolder, brighter red car. I think that people will find the flashy car into mind and perhaps think of buying a Cadillac. Also, airing the commercials during the Oscars are a good idea since people will be watching the commercials so they do not miss the awards. Airing it to the nation is a great way to capture peoples attention.
LikeLike
This is a great plan for Cadillac to pursue. People like things that stick out and like bigger cars. Cadillac is smart doing what they are doing, and I believe they will be very successful.
LikeLike
I think it is a great idea, like that feeling of having a unique luxurious car. I actually saw the ad and thought it was a clever idea. I mean not everyone likes black, and I feel like many males buy their cars. Like my dad drives a Cadillac, and so does my neighbor and his father. I think having this different color will also bring in more female buyers to compete against Mercedes and BMW.
LikeLike
I believe that this is a good start for Cadillac because I feel as if I really only know Cadillac for their model called the Escalade which is basically a Luxurious Suburban truck. By having a new ad that doesn’t just feature the car in black I think it expands the market for future consumers. It may also brighten up the screen its being displayed on ultimately making the consumer more likely to see the ad. Cadillac was originally known for being big luxurious car that wealthy people drove. I believe by them advertising a car that isn’t as big is much more appealing and it shows the change that they are trying to make. Hopefully this change is for the better.
LikeLike
I feel like Cadillac is one of the more luxurious brands where BMW, and Audi are known to be more sporty. I really like the look of the new Cadillac and think its more futuristic and really focuses on more of a luxury brand name. I think featuring the cars in red instead of black will be more catchy and will catch people’s eye. Personally, i prefer only white or black cars, so either way i would probably get it in white, but the red on billboards and commercials with the new design will really make it stand out more. I know Nissan had a commercial that featured only red cars, so it think it could be a trend since red cars are stereotyped to go faster.
LikeLike
Great idea for Cadillac. To promote their brand as a luxury vehicle it is an awesome idea to do it during the Oscar’s. Most of the reason why people watch the Oscar’s is to see what famous celebrities are wearing. Also all the luxurious decorations at an astonishing venue. Then when they see the Cadillac commercial they will associate the luxury they see at the Oscar’s with the Cadillac vehicle.
LikeLike
Cadillac being one of the top luxury brand cars has a strong new message. Hitting the audience emotionally instead of try to impress them can help cadillac because they will attract a new audience. Recently in the years commercials have been focusing on the emotional aspect, this is because a lot of females are watching these channels, so cadillac taking a new approach will begin to no just attract the male audience but the female as well. Having the co founder of apple put their trusted name in Cadillac also is reassuring because they are the most innovated in technology, making the audience have more faith in the brand.
LikeLike
Cadillac has always been known as a higher end luxury car up there with Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes. The fact that Cadillac is trying to change there ad campaign to keep up with the other higher end retailers shows they are trying to reach a different customer base, especially by changing the colors they usually show in ads. Cadillac and Mercedes are more a luxury vehicle than BMW, which is more sporty so they both have a different customer base to reach.
LikeLike
When one thinks of Cadillac, they do not think of it performance, they think first about its quality. While the company in held in high regard by those who are older, many do not think of Cadillac as on the same playing field as BMW or Mercedes Benz. The most well know car from Cadillac from many perspectives is the Escalade, a large luxury SUV driven by many celebrities. To fight this, I think this new marketing initiative is a great idea to redefine what Cadillac will be this generation.
LikeLike
I highly question if a campaign like this is going to be worth it in the long run. Cadillac is releasing the ATS coupe and sedan as an answer to BMW, Mercedes and Audi. All three of those automakers released new entry level luxury models which have all been out for well over a year. Cadillac is a bit late in the game. Also, Cadillac seems like they are now only catering to Americans. Cadillac used to be known as the “standard of the world”, yet, they are now almost non-existent in Europe. They pulled out of over 25 European countries. In England, they still have Cadillacs, but even sales there are slim. In Europe, American cars are a bit of a laughingstock and so I think it would be unrealistic for Cadillac to think about competing with Audi, Mercedes and BMW when they are essentially only in America.
Perhaps this campaign would be a response to Lincoln who has done surprisingly well recently, with the Matthew McConaughey commercials where he talks about God knows what. In my opinion, Cadillac should not compete with the German automakers, but rather compete to be the number one American brand, which means competing with someone like a Lincoln or say a Buick.
LikeLike
Cadillac’s marketing plan, I believe, will do them some good. The quality of Cadillac is widely known and the idea to air their ad during a huge event such as the Oscar’s is a genius idea as it will be seen by a lot of people. Dropping the previous advertising agency seems also beneficial to Cadillacs marketing sector.
LikeLike
Cadillac always has nice cars to offer to consumers. However their competition is fierce and have more popularity among the car industry. Most of their competitors have international influence and thus have been able to gain their status in that regard. This marketing campaign will most likely increase their sales as they gain exposure and more curiosity towards the brand. Potential international market will be targeted as same with the domestic market. A well played move by the company.
LikeLike
The new campaign for 2015 that Cadillac promotes is a brilliant marketing strategy. On one hand, the bold change of the color is innovative and creative, which may attract more loyal customers who want to change their flavor, and as well as new customers who want to enjoy the unique product. On the other hand, the Oscars attract more attention for Cadillac than traditional campaigns. Cadillac’s slogan matches the Oscars atmosphere, and in turn let more consumers accept this campaign as well as the new product.
LikeLike
I think you chose a great article as it’s very interesting and I can see how their new marketing campaign might be inspirational to some people. However, I have never heard of Jason Wu and when I initially saw the commercial, I found it rather bizarre. Honestly, I was expecting it to be a Hyundai commerical. Mr. Wu just doesn’t come off as the driver of a Cadillac, in my opinion. I’m not sure who Richard Linklater is either, which is concerning to me that Cadillac choose these people to be the face of their new image. When I think about Cadillac, the words that come to mind are big, american, relatively luxurious, and Ludacris (the rapper/actor). I think they could have leveraged their history of an american made automobile and made some minor changes to the look of their smaller sedans. Price point could be something to leverage as well seeing as though we have seen “affordable” models being released by BMW, Mercedes and Audi. I definitely agree the Oscars (and any other event that has multiple viewers of different economic backgrounds) is a fantastic time/place to promote the newly branded company. At the end of the day, I think they could have chosen better faces to represent their apparent re-imaging. Comparing their commercials to those of the recently re-imaged Buick, I think I would rather buy a Buick. Both are “old people’s” cars and (in my opinion) Buick has a much more compelling story as to how they have reinvented themselves. “that’s what I told em!”- old lady from the Buick commercial. Great write up though Keelyn!
LikeLike
I like their approach to advertise at a big event where a lot of eyes will be watching. It makes things slightly easier when they try to rebrand their image and send the same message to a lot of consumers. Had they tried advertising on a smaller scale there could be confusion with the brand from those who have seen the ad vs. those who haven’t. I also like the emotional stance they are trying to push for, I can’t remember what company it was, but they aired a few commercials during the Super Bowl with an emotional message about “God made a farmer.” This was a similar strategy as they tried to appeal on an emotional dimension to consumers and of course had a lot of viewers because its the Super Bowl. As far as I can remember I always saw black cars in Cadillac commercials and even though black is sleek, it doesn’t create much contrast and I think of it as another car commercial, the red switches things up and helps bring in a fresh change of message.
LikeLike
I like the direction Cadillac’s marketing team is going they are not only appealing to there life long loyal fans but by changing the way they market to appeal to the in generation.
LikeLike