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CARS
General Motors

Buick winning sales by poking a little fun in ads

Nathan Bomey
Detroit Free Press
A still image from a new Buick ad for the Encore small crossover.

Buick is proving that when brands poke a little fun at themselves, they can generate marketing buzz.

Once known as "the doctor's car" (to look prosperous, but not ostentatious) and then for its elderly customer base, Buick is enjoying a surprisingly solid year despite no new products. And the biggest reason is a fresh marketing campaign that acknowledges the elephant in the room: Buick had an image problem.

But empowered by fresh products in recent years — particularly the Buick Encore compact crossover — the brand launched an advertising campaign in the spring showing people surprised when they see one of the brand's vehicles because it "doesn't look like a Buick."

U.S. sales are up 8%, through August compared to just 2.8% for all of GM. To give the brand a further boost, Buick plans to introduce seven new or refreshed models in the U.S. over the next three years.

Last month Buick rolled out five new spots highlighting the current models of Encore, Regal, Enclave, Verano and LaCrosse -- with the tagline: "One of five expectations-shattering models from Buick."

"I thought you bought a Buick," a senior citizen tells her grandson who shows up with a new Regal.

"This is a Buick, Grandma," he responds. (Ad below, along with one for the little Encore).

But Duncan Aldred, a longtime GM sales and marketing executive in Europe who joined Buick and GMC as U.S. vice president earlier this year, said the commercials are helping shift that staid perception.

Aldred recently spoke with the Detroit Free Press about the marketing campaign.

Q: Buick has the highest growth this year of GM's four brands, despite no new products this year. How much do you credit the marketing?

A: I've got to give a lot of credit to it if I'm honest, but I think it's the summation of a lot of things and momentum. You get to a place where the stars align.

We're competing in major segments with very good, acclaimed products. The other foundation is the dealer network.

We've tested the campaign. There was a lot of concern: Are we running it too long, should we change it? We've actually researched this and it's actually getting more powerful.

Q: What do these commercials imply about the current state of Buick's image and how have these commercials helped redefine the brand?

A: What this phase of the campaign has done is say, "We've got the great products, we've got the great-looking dealerships, we've got award-level service," but our customers don't recognize it.

We're not just big sedans.

There's such a big job to do to just basically get (customers) to reappraise the brand. This is still very much getting people to challenge their expectations.

Q: The new round of commercials is launching this month. How does it evolve your message?

A: They're very much car-line specific. A lot of people smile when we've shown the audiences internally. We still know that this old, false familiarity exists so this is just adding a little more flesh on the bone.

Q: The Buick Encore was intended to draw a younger audience and help redefine the brand. Is it succeeding?

A: I would say it's succeeding. We've not launched new products this year, but what we have got is Encore in its first full year of sales.

Of all the vehicles, it really does change people's perception of the brand because it's not a sedan. It's smaller than people traditionally associate with Buick.

Q: Do you need new products or product lines to improve consideration of the brand?

A: I don't think we're missing anything. We compete in all key segments. Plus with Encore we're helping to define a segment there and I expect other manufacturers to follow next year.

That said, the lifeblood of every auto company is new products. We've got seven new or revised models coming out in the next three years.

Q: The Buick Envision crossover (sized between the small Encore and big Enclave) is coming to China. Is that something that could come to the U.S.?

A: We're not in a position to confirm that. We'll have to wait to see on that one.

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