Brand Positioning – Cadillac
by Marc on Oct.26, 2009, under Branding
Every time I see Cadillac’s commercial for their 2010 SRX crossover, I wince. They come so close with this one, but they still can’t seem to clearly stake out their brand position.
2010 Cadillac SRX Ad
Re-envisioned, reorganized, reactivated, all designed to reignite the soul. The all new 2010 SRX. The Cadillac of crossovers.
First, the commercial starts with a picture of the SRX – a nice car, but it’s a crossover. If Cadillac is trying to reclaim the luxury automobile market top brand position, it’s hard to do so with a car segment that evokes imagery of sport, utility, and fun. These are areas that fit more with Chevy’s brand position (or GMC’s) than Cadillac’s. (That’s not to say that a luxury brand can’t have a crossover – Lexus has one – but it’s easier when you’re at the top.)
Next, the music, imagery, and wording (re-envisioned, reorganized, reactivated, reignite) are all more evocative of upbeat fun and styling. This would seem to be a brand position that Buick should occupy.
Finally, the ad ends with the line, “The Cadillac of crossovers.” So, at the end of the ad, GM finally tries to position the car at the top of the luxury market. But by this point, it has spread its message across three brand positions.
GM has a great opportunity to turn itself around. It finally has an excellent line-up of cars. It just needs to solidify its brands in their correct positions in consumers’ minds.
Domus is a full-service marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more, please visit our web site at http://www.domusinc.com.
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December 1st, 2009 on 1:40 am
I disagree. This is the most effective comercial and marketing campaign that Cadillac has had in a recent history. Cadillac commercials are usually so dated and stale that I actually thought that this was done by a new firm.
This commercial does not evoke sport, utility, and fun to me. The music and the message perfectly timed with the beat evokes a moment when you experience an unexpected career boost – when you feel like there is no ceiling and that you can picture yourself anywhere in the world next year-next month even -running things. The flashing image of the car evokes feeling of quiet luxury of ample space, comfort and technology.
December 3rd, 2009 on 9:17 am
I agree that the ad is better than in the past. But I still felt mixed signals coming from the commercial – especially when taken in context of the ads from Buick and Chevy. It doesn’t seem like any of the brands are definitively staking out a single, prominent brand position. They’re each bleeding into each other.