Quote From New GM Marketing Chief Bob Lutz Will Make Ad Agencies Quake!

If you don't know it by now, Bob Lutz has been anointed appointed as Government General Motors' new marketing chief. As one of the owners of the company (taxpayer) and as a grizzled veteran of the ad industry (lucky to still be alive), I'm watching and reading with interest.

For one thing, while Mr. Lutz has done some good things to point GM down the road of innovation (Chevy Volt), is he really qualified for the new job? Obviously, he thinks he is. But an article in AdAge today proves he may be a tad clueless. In the article, he states that GM's agencies are safe for now. But he also says this (pass out the red flags):

"If, after strong senior-management direction, the agency, for some reason, repeatedly fails to come up with a product where the customer says, 'Yes! That's exactly what I want' and fails to move the needle, then obviously you start reviewing the agency," Mr. Lutz said.

Oh boy.

If I'm running one of GM's agencies (especially the creative department), I'm quaking in my Birkenstock's. Go ahead, go back and read that quote again.

It clearly states that the advertising agencies are responsible for coming up with something (a product) that consumers want (ah yes, I can hear the manic laughter turn to sobbing in the halls of GM's roster shops even as I type this).

Much has been written about the fact that what got GM into this position in the first place is that they haven't really given customers what they want; too many brands (without clear brand stories or differentiation), no real story or brand for the Mothership (GM itself), spotty or just plain bad quality and on and on and on.

Google the subject, there's tons of backup on this. Forget the economy, that was just the nail in the coffin. They lost customer trust a long time ago with clutter and confusion. 

Advertising will not fix the problems of the past or catapult the new GM into the future. Before Lutz criticizes his advertising or his ad agencies, he needs to work on his brand. He should turn a critical eye to the GM brand itself, internal and external. And then do an even more critical analysis of all the brands in the GM portfolio. The Volt alone will not save this company... not everyone is going to want one.

Before they advertise anything, they need to actually define the new GM's story and then actually build great products customers want.

Do that, and the ad agencies' jobs will be easy. No agency in the world, no matter how smart or creative can sell something that doesn't exist. And I'm not talking about individual products. The Corvette is a phenomenal machine. The Camaro is gorgeous (at least on the outside). But like the Volt, they won't save the company because they are niche products.

I'll say it again (my very humble opinion of course), GM needs to redefine and sell the GM brand first, then build products under that umbrella that will make customers say (to quote Lutz again), "Yes! That's exactly what I want."

Only then will they begin to restore lost trust. If Mr. Lutz can't figure that out, he should go back to marketing school. Failing that, he'll be going back to bankruptcy court.

You can quote me on that.

Comments

[Russ]

Steve, Gene & Greg, thanks for the comments. Old School is putting it mildly Gene. Steve, only you would be able to pull Morris Hite out of your hat! Can't wait to see how "Maximum Bob? does in his new role.

[Gene Brady]

Good post, Russ. I was wondering the same thing, about putting Maximum Bob in charge of all of GM's advertising.

Bob's great for sound bites, loves cars, big promoter of putting car design front and center. But heading up advertising in today's market?

The Ad Age article said "the GM executive has a sort of old-school approach to advertising..."

Sort of? Might be from the fact that the guy turns 80-years old in less than three years. 80.

Maybe 80 is the new 60.

The "my way or the highway" attitude went out of fashion even before the denial of global warming.

When Bob said last year that "global warming is a crock of sh*t" and "hybrids don’t make sense" (http://tinyurl.com/2prpok) he had quite a few youngsters (60 year-olds and under) scratching their heads and thinking someone should slip a rocking chair under the well-tanned, senior citizen man.

But... Bob's back. Commence with more head scratching.

Pass around the Selsun Blue Dandruff Shampoo to GM's agencies. They will need gallons.

[Steve]

That advertising icon was Morris Hite, 1910-83, head of Tracey-Locke. The full quote: "Contrary to what self-appointed protectors of the consumer so loudly proclaim, advertising does not cause people to buy bad products. Nothing will put a bad product out of business faster than a good advertising campaign. Advertising causes people to try a product once, but poor quality eliminates any possibility of a repeat purpose."
Hite said a lot pertinent things in his lifetime.

[Greg]

To paraphrase an advertising icon, good advertising can only help a bad company go out of business faster.