BLACK ENTERPRISE spoke with Butler at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit to talk about the future of GM and how marketing will play a role in the company’s efforts to re-attain dominance.

With all that GM has gone through over the last few years, how would you encapsulate the marketing strategy for returning the company to where it used to be in terms of dominance?

Don Butler: The public face of GM to our consumers will be through our brands—Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac. That is how we’re going to communicate. There is no longer going to be any GM advertising. Because, number one, let’s be fair: there’s a stigma associated with General Motors. There still is.  There’s not so much that same stigma associated with each of the brands.  That’s how people engage and interact with us. They engage and interact with us through Chevy, through GMC, through Buick, and through Cadillac. They don’t interact with GM.  They interact with the [individual] brands.

The second thing is knowing that that’s how we’re going to go to market. This had existed in the past.  But we’ve refined it even further. Each of our divisional brands now has a swim lane. What do I mean by that? Cadillac means certain things. We will stay true to that. It’s different than what Buick is. It’s different than what Chevy is. It’s different than what GMC is. In a sense, we need to be our own company. We need to be our own idea and our own aesthetic. So, Cadillac is all about what we describe as red-blooded luxury. Passionate, assertive, confident, charismatic, maybe even a little bit swagger, shall we say.  Contrast that with Buick. Very warm, luxurious, and a sense of being understated. Cadillac is not understated. Chevrolet, for the people.  GMC, professional grade.  Professional level of engineering and excellence.

So, that’s how we separate the brands and that’s how we go to market.

How are you using social media to get to that younger audience?

Butler: We leverage Facebook extensively.  That is our primary social space platform.  We find it to be quite useful in terms of presenting the brand and being able to have branding that is not obtrusive. So, on our Facebook page we have gone from 200,000 fans to over 700,000 fans [over the  last year]. We do that through engaging content that causes people to stop and take a look.

For instance, with ATS, we’ve been featuring a video series that we call The Journey, which has documented some of the development of ATS, including the engineers at the Nurburgring in Germany. Filming them actually doing the testing. We put that content on the web. That’s content that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. It’s engaging, it’s relevant, it’s also social. So, that’s how we engage and connect with our consumers there. We also have a presence, obviously, on Twitter. We make extensive use of YouTube as well in terms of our own video channel and then things that hopefully people can engage with and that we can promote virally as well.

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I understand you also do a lot of focus groups with regards to design and coming up with design, getting feedback from consumers. Are you intentionally looking at younger people to be part of those focus groups?

Butler: We do extensive research. Not so much to the point that we are kind of antiseptic and clinical about it. Because at a certain point, you’ve got to let intuition and emotion kind of weigh in, particularly when you’re talking design. You want to lead. It’s the Wayne Gretzky analogy. You don’t want to go where the puck is. You want to go where the puck will be. So to some extent, you have to understand and interpret the feedback that you get from consumers. If they say, oh wow, that looks like a reach. Well, is that a reach that will become fresh at a certain point in time? Or is that a reach that you’re reaching and you aren’t going to get anywhere with that because it’s still going to be out on the fringes?

So, we have to be careful to interpret what we get back from the research. But we have two groups.  One group that we call young adult males, or YAMs, [are] under 30. We intentionally recruit on that basis. And we recruit also based on competitive ownership—so, those owning BMW 3 series, for instance. We bring them into our clinics.  We also have a group that we call YAFs, young affluent females. We do two different groups, male and female because—particularly when you’re in a focus group setting—you want to make sure that one group doesn’t dominate the conversation. You want to make sure you get all the views that are aired. Then there’s certain things that come out when you have like-minded people sitting around the table.

Some of these interviews are conducted in the subject’s homes. Why is that?

Within focus groups, you have to be careful of group thinking and the setting that you’re in, and then how that would influence the information that you receive.  So, we spend a fair amount of time literally at people’s homes—two, three hours. They talk about their lives. They talk about what they do. They talk about how their home fits into their life.  They talk about how their car fits into their life. They talk about style and their clothing and their furniture. We really go in-depth. You have to be careful the people that you pick because you want them to be representative of a broader population. But the depth that you’re able to get to and how relaxed people are in that environment, you get really, really keen insights that you wouldn’t get otherwise.

The Cadillac ATS was introduced to the media a few days ago. Who are you trying to reach with that vehicle?

Butler: In some ways, you could say the ATS is our most important launch in decades. ATS represents for us our first truly credibly entry in the largest luxury segment, both in the US and in the world.  Compact luxury is the largest luxury segment.  Within the US, over 370,000 units are sold.  So for us not to have a presence there, it’s a huge handicap.  It’s a huge handicap from a volume and image standpoint. With ATS, [it's] an all-new, fresh, bold step for Cadillac into a territory that quite frankly we haven’t been in before.  These are also the youngest buyers within the luxury segment. These are, for the most part, people just entering luxury, just deciding to use that form of expression for themselves.

The other thing with ATS is it is our most direct, head to head competitor with some of the key luxury makes. BMW and Mercedes, for instance. The 3 Series, C Class. This vehicle will go head to head right on with those vehicles. CTS has been more of a bridge between a three and a five or between an C and an E. So, now with ATS, we are directly targeting our main competition. We’re doing it, we believe, with a bold statement for Cadillac. So, it represents a volume opportunity and it also represents and image opportunity for Cadillac.

(Image: Getty)

In September Huffington Post announced a new web series called The Tanning Effect featuring music exec turned marketing/ad exec Steve Stoute. Promoting his book, The Tanning of America, and the idea that diversity should be embraced by the corporate world, Stoute interviewed a line-up of celebrity guests that included Lady Gaga, Pharrell Williams, and music mogul Jimmy Iovine.

Click here to read more at BlackEnterprise.com/BENext

(Image: Getty)

Queen Latifah Gets Another Talk Show

You may remember Queen Latifah’s self-titled talk show, The Queen Latifah Show, which ran in syndication for two seasons (1999-2001). Well, the rapper-turned-actress is giving it another try.

Sony Television Pictures said Monday that it will produce the untitled show alongside Flavor Unit Entertainment, the production company of Queen Latifah and Shakim Compere, and Overbrook Entertainment, the company of James Lassiter and Will Smith, according to the New York Times. In 1991, Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment gave the Cover Girl spokesmodel one of her earliest screen appearances on his popular sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Her new series is set to debut in the fall of 2013.

Read more at the New York Times…

Yale Study Shows Beverage Industry Targets Black and Hispanic Youth

A new study from Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity exposes beverage companies marketing sugary drinks to children, especially to black and Hispanic youth.

Black children and teens saw 80-to 90 % more ads compared with white youth, including more than twice as many for Sprite, 5-hour Energy, and Vitamin Water, according to the research. The targeting is very similar for the Hispanic demographic. Between 2008 and 2010, Hispanic children saw 49 % more ads for sugary drinks and energy drinks on Spanish-language TV. Hispanic teens saw 99 % more ads.

“The beverage industry needs to clean up their youth-directed products: reduce the added sugar, take out the artificial sweeteners, and stop marketing products high in caffeine and sugar to young people,” said Marlene Schwartz, co-author and deputy director of the Rudd Center. “We also need the nutrition facts, including caffeine content, for all beverages, especially energy drinks.”

The report’s authors studied marketing by 14 beverage companies and examined the nutritional quality of nearly 600 products including full-calorie soda, energy drinks, fruit drinks, flavored water, sports drinks, and iced teas, as well as diet energy drinks and diet children’s fruit drinks. The study is the most comprehensive and science-based assessment of sugary drink nutrition and marketing ever conducted.

To read the complete report, visit sugarydrinkfacts.org.

Brigitte Daniel of Wilco, Inc. Appointed to the FCC Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age

Executive Vice President of Wilco, Inc. Brigitte Daniel was appointed on Tuesday to the Federal Communications Commission’s re-charted Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age.

As one of a few African-Americans appointed, Daniel will be charged with providing recommendations to the FCC regarding policies and practices that will further enhance diversity in the industries the agency regulates.

“I am very honored and excited about my appointment to serve on the FCC’s Diversity Committee,” said Daniel, a Philadelphia tech leader.  “The topic of inclusion and diversity within this sector is paramount to providing opportunity, access, and a voice for all citizens of the United States. I look forward to representing the low-income marketplace that I proudly serve, broadening the scope of broadband access for the City of Philadelphia, and bettering the public interest of the American people and the missions of the FCC.”

Daniel currently serves as senior counselor to Wilco President Will F. Daniel. In addition, she handles corporate communications and oversees large-scale projects, including the launch and implementation of the new Wilco Philadelphia Housing Authority community and entertainment and web channel, WPHA-TV.

Age: 30

Job: Art Director, Italian Wine Merchants

Education: Studied visual arts and art history at Rice University

Location: New York

Responsibilities: Since February 2011, Miller has been the art director, responsible for print, logos, design, redesign, and general brand management of the company. Most recently Miller has been appointed the task of redesigning the website. Previous Position: Online Producer, Rockstar Games

Developing a foundation: “I was able to work with my adviser and professors to create an independent study, which meant taking random marketing and fine arts classes.” Building his own major was imperative; the majority of what he knows has come through mentorship and apprenticeship.

Working his network: Miller landed the art director position through his nurtured relationship with a past client from a former freelance post. “I was working for a local hybrid marketing firm/design shop/record label, and the wine shop was one of the clients. They [later] needed quick print turnaround work. I came in and met with them and it seemed like a good fit, so I freelanced for a month before they asked me to come on full time.”

Learning curve: Before this position, Miller knew nothing about wine distinctions. “Knowing the difference between wine from Piemonte, Toscana, and vineyard wines [was a challenge]. Before I worked here there was red, white, and sweet wine. Now I know the difference between a Barolo, a Brunello, and a Chianti.”

Balancing act: The company’s goal is to reach two very different types of customers. “A lot of people feel that wine is stuffy and inaccessible. So we’re trying to appeal to the people that don’t drink wine, while still maintaining that relationship with people that are wine connoisseurs—that’s something I’ve been able to help the company in navigating.”

Staying relevant and competitive: “I don’t stress myself to keep up with all the changes,” Miller says in response to the quick pace at which technology changes. “I just stick to the fundamentals and learn what I need to know as I go. Know good composition in a photograph when you see one. Know typography. Be organized.” And most importantly, “Stay in the pocket and push the boundaries to break someone out of their [comfort zone].”

The branding genius—famous for padding the bank accounts of megastars like business partner Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Lady Gaga, LeBron James and pretty much the rest of the entertainment world—says it’s high time advertisers peeped the tremendous buying power of the millions of people who consume the culture worldwide, and catered to them, accordingly.

“My ‘aha’ moment came a few years ago when I was traveling with Samsung [for Valentino],” says the former music industry executive, responsible for marrying Beyoncé and Tommy Hilfiger for her True Star fragrance; Justin Timberlake and McDonald’s as part of their ‘I’m Loving It’ campaign; and Chris Brown with Wrigley’s gum, among other supremely lucrative deals. “It didn’t matter where I was… Berlin, Seoul, Korea, Tokyo, wherever… hip-hop dominated the landscape. I was even in one of the oldest towns in France, known for its art galleries, artifacts and such; and what did I see in the middle of it? A jewelry store called ‘Bling.’ If that’s not telling I don’t know what is.”

Now, Stoute wants advertisers on the come-up (and those looking to reinvent their brand) to follow his blueprint for reaching this generation of Black, Hispanic, Asian and White consumers, many of whom, he argues, share the same “mental complexion” based on mutual experiences and values. He points to the collective bargaining power and subsequent election of President Barack Obama as proof.

“A lot of my clients and friends contribute stories about their business successes in this book, including [Interscope/Geffen Records CEO] Jimmy Iovine, Russell Simmons and Jay-Z,” says Stoute of the hundreds of pages of interviews and case studies he compiled. “Who better to listen to than the folks who have done it?”

The marketing director and CEO of Carol’s Daughter—a hair and body care line that boasts a board of investors that include Hollywood heavyweights Will and Jada Pinkett Smith—is also taking his message on the road: this month Stoute will teach a course on his book at NYU. He says college kids are his target audience. “This book is a reference guide for any young person in the fields of advertising, marketing and communication,” Stoute explains. “It tells them not only how to speak to the next generation of consumers but how to move the [hip-hop] agenda forward.”

(Image: Thinkstock)

Big companies don’t rely on guesses or generalities when it comes to sales and marketing.  The more precisely they can pinpoint buying behavior, the happier they are and the more they are willing to invest in the tools that will allow them to perfect their strategy.

That’s why more advertising dollars are flowing to the Internet; and banks are doing everything possible to get you to buy with a debit card. Every interaction you have online and every purchase you make with digital currency is completely traceable, so overtime when all that data is merged, who you are and your specific tastes and preferences become very clear.

With this information, marketers can create the right messages to sell their products and services—and they can develop their next offerings based on emerging trends, not whims.  (I’ll share more about this with specific examples in my next column.)

It’s not just big, savvy, profit-seeking companies using marketing analysis to deliver the right message in the right place to their target customer. Even President Obama’s campaign is planning to use data mining and analysis to win another victory in 2012.

Big brother factor aside, the nugget that entrepreneurs and small businesses can take from this behavior is: Build predictability into your business by paying attention to customer patterns. Then use those insights to drive your marketing, sales and customer service strategy.

We often operate from our gut; and I understand that.  Yes, our subconscious and spirit are smart, well-informed tools, too.  But the world is a crowded, noisy and distracting place — and as emotional beings we are fickle, so every day in your business when people buy or don’t buy and respond or don’t respond to a marketing message, you should be keeping track of what’s happening and why. Over time, patterns will emerge. Those repeat questions or requests, standard comments or complaints that irk you? You should actually rejoice about them.  The huge responses or lack of response from your customers is directional signage that points you toward a predictable paycheck for your business because your customers are telling you exactly what they want to buy.

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(Image: Thinkstock)

Though walking into a store and buying or being moved by a political commercial may all appear seamless, perfect and natural, the truth is big companies—and as it turns out, big politicians—don’t generate great profits and great wins without knowing exactly what you and I respond to. They analyze what we like and what we don’t like and just how much we’re willing to pay for it and they serve up our heart’s desire on a silver platter at the precise moment that we’re ready to buy.

I see evidence of this in my very own business all the time.  For example, to market a recent event that we produced we spent $99 to advertise via an e-mail campaign and we spent a few thousand dollars to advertise on a popular Atlanta radio station.  Emotionally, it seems like radio would bring the best response, right?  Wrong.  In terms of total number of responses, the radio spots came out on top; but in terms of the number of people the message reached versus the number that actually responded the e-mail was the clear and absolute winner.

This matters because when we as entrepreneurs are making decisions about where to market and how much to spend, the better we know our customers, and the better we know how well a particular marketing vehicle converts an audience to respondents, and respondents to buyers, then the better we can invest our money in growing our businesses.

In this economy, where competition is stiff and consumer behavior is flighty, you can’t afford to wing it. You might start out that way in the beginning, but to create a “predictable paycheck” for your business you’ve got to learn exactly who your target customer is, how much they’re willing to spend and when they’re willing to spend it. A clear and measurable sales and marketing strategy is how your business is going to survive and thrive.

Felicia Joy is a nationally recognized entrepreneur who created $50 million in value for the various organizations in corporate America before launching her business enterprise.  She is the author of Hybrid Entrepreneurship: How the Middle Class Can Beat the Slow Economy, Earn Extra Income and Reclaim the American Dream and operates Ms. CEO Inc., a media, merchandise and events company that inspires women entrepreneurs to be savvy, profitable and bold in business.

(Image: Shutterstock)

A group of scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem did a recent experiment that ended with a remarkable result: owning a designer handbag or bracelet may make a person feel like more than just a million bucks—it may actually boost human performance.

Dan Ariely, a behavioral researcher on the team and professor at Duke University, found that brand name products can act like placebos on people, much like the effect of a harmless pill given to a patient to see if it produces a psychological “feel-better” effect.

In the study, Ariely’s participants, who were given products tagged as luxury brands, read better, listened better and concentrated better in comparison to the participants who used the same products that were marked as cheaper brands.

However, branding expert Rob Frankel says that “there’s no way” that Louis Vuitton can make a person do better in life. Frankel, who is white, says when it comes to the black community, it’s all about what he calls “the golden rule of marketing.”

“If you want to go fishing, go where the fish are.”

Read more at The Atlanta Post …