Industry Observer: 10/23/06
The Detroit Tigers aren't the only ones grabbing the national spotlight during the World Series. Detroit's automakers have found a national stage with the World Series as well.
Years ago, General Motors signed a contract with Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, to erect a bold “General Motors” sign at the base of the fountain located past the center field fence. The deal included displays of its vehicles and car giveaways by its dealers during the games...
Not only did GM ink the deal during one of the Tigers' many losing seasons, but also it was at a time when other advertisers were turning away from Major League Baseball.
GM's payoff for its investment has been a long time coming, but the automaker now is cashing in. It started in summer 2005 when GM took full advantage of its ballpark assets, adding to them with signs and vehicles on buildings surrounding the park as Detroit hosted the All-Star Game. Now, during the World Series and with the earlier payoffs, GM is in the spotlight. Every time the television cameras scan toward center field, there's the GM sign. It's advertising GM couldn't buy.
James Sanfilippo, executive vice president and senior industry analyst at Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc., in Warren, Mich., told a local Michigan newspaper that World Series was “a wonderful windfall” for GM.
“In advertising, just like in sports, sometimes its better to be lucky than to be good,” Sanfilippo told The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Mich. “This is a wonderful windfall for General Motors, and it comes at the right time, in the right place with the right message.”
Right message, indeed. In addition to the cars displayed and the signage at the ballpark, GM is heavily using the World Series, as it did the playoffs, for the launch advertising for its critically important Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
The emotional ads blend perfectly with all-American baseball and the World Series. With John Mellencamp's new song, “Our Country,” in the background (he also performed it during the World Series game in Detroit), the ads show scenes of America, often in troubled times, like the World Trade Center disaster and Hurricane Katrina, places where Chevy trucks were there to help.
GM isn't the only Detroit automaker using the World Series as its national platform. DaimlerChrysler used the event to debut its spots for the new 2007 Dodge Nitro.
Go Detroit!
—Michelle Krebs
GM's payoff for its investment has been a long time coming, but the automaker now is cashing in. It started in summer 2005 when GM took full advantage of its ballpark assets, adding to them with signs and vehicles on buildings surrounding the park as Detroit hosted the All-Star Game. Now, during the World Series and with the earlier payoffs, GM is in the spotlight. Every time the television cameras scan toward center field, there's the GM sign. It's advertising GM couldn't buy.
James Sanfilippo, executive vice president and senior industry analyst at Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc., in Warren, Mich., told a local Michigan newspaper that World Series was “a wonderful windfall” for GM.
“In advertising, just like in sports, sometimes its better to be lucky than to be good,” Sanfilippo told The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Mich. “This is a wonderful windfall for General Motors, and it comes at the right time, in the right place with the right message.”
Right message, indeed. In addition to the cars displayed and the signage at the ballpark, GM is heavily using the World Series, as it did the playoffs, for the launch advertising for its critically important Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
The emotional ads blend perfectly with all-American baseball and the World Series. With John Mellencamp's new song, “Our Country,” in the background (he also performed it during the World Series game in Detroit), the ads show scenes of America, often in troubled times, like the World Trade Center disaster and Hurricane Katrina, places where Chevy trucks were there to help.
GM isn't the only Detroit automaker using the World Series as its national platform. DaimlerChrysler used the event to debut its spots for the new 2007 Dodge Nitro.
Go Detroit!
—Michelle Krebs
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