GM to Add Corporate Logo to North American Cars, Trucks and SUVs

Photos

Soon, most vehicles under the GM umbrella, will get the GM insignia in a prominent exterior position. (Photo: General Motors)

Pontiac will be the first brand to get the official corporate stamp, beginning this week as new 2006 G6 coupes and convertibles leave the factory. (Photo: General Motors)

Ironically, the Saab 9-7X, criticized for appearing too much like GMs domestic sport utilities, wont feature the GM badge when it rolls off the line later this year. (Photo: General Motors)

By simply adding the GM logo to future models front fender panels, it will soon be recognized by everyone. (Photo: General Motors)

The risk GM takes is that the more brand names a potential customer has to remember dilutes the message and leaves a less potent image. (Photo: General Motors)

The GM badge has only been used for concept cars in recent years, and once for a production model, the electric EV1. (Photo: General Motors)

GM Wants Customers to Know Its Eight Nameplates are Tied Together

Microsoft, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Nike, FedEx, and Shell Oil, each have easily recognizable logos the world over, but ask the average consumer on the street what branding the worlds largest automaker uses and youll probably get a blank stare, even if they drive a GM vehicle.

Thats because General Motors doesnt sell any cars with the block-letter “GM” logo anywhere on the sheetmetal. According to the Detroit-based automaker, this is about to change. Soon, most vehicles under the GM umbrella, whether sold through its Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Hummer, GMC, Saturn, Saab, or Pontiac nameplates in North America, will get the GM insignia in a prominent exterior position.

Pontiac will be the first brand to get the official corporate stamp, beginning this week as new 2006 G6 coupes and convertibles sleave the factory. Other vehicles will get the logo when they get redesigned or when tooling changes are possible.

Ironically, the Saab 9-7X, a vehicle that has come under some criticism for appearing too much like GMs domestic sport utilities that share much of its general architecture wont feature the GM badge when it rolls off the line later this year.

GM isnt saying the order in which its various brands and models will get the badge, but in time every car the General sells in North America will wear it.

Why? According to Mark LaNeve, GM North America Vice President, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing, “The GM badge is a promise of trust to our customers.”

A press release states that the move will link General Motors and its vehicle brands more closely, which may be a positive association for Chevy owners but not necessarily something Saab buyers will relish.

Over the last few years the automaker has brought its brands together for advertising purposes and at its main website, www.gm.com, in an attempt to show the consumer one cohesive whole, a one-stop-shop for everything from economy cars to luxury limousines.

Why all the fuss over the addition of a simple logo? Theres something to be said for branding, or at least thats what marketers want us to think. In reality branding a product or line of products is an extremely expensive form of marketing, and normally only works for extremely large multinationals, with GM being one of the worlds largest.

But compared to developing a household name for a food product, such as Hersheys, GM has an advantage. Rather than paying big bucks to spread the logo across a range of mediums, from TV to glossy magazines, something the automaker already does to promote its various products, its cars are already rolling billboards. By simply adding the GM logo to each models front fender panel, the GM logo will soon be recognized by everyone.

Nike does the same thing with its sports apparel, but unlike the auto giant it doesnt confuse the message with another brand name affixed to the same product. In total, a new vehicle produced by General Motors will have three nameplates for consumers to remember; the name of the model, such as G6, one of eight GM brands, such as Pontiac, and GM. Confusing the message further, most new cars, trucks and SUVs feature an additional badge designating a trim level. The risk GM takes is that the more brand names a potential customer has to remember dilutes the message and leaves a less potent image. A customer then goes home to tell their significant other that they really liked a new car named the GTP, or the GM. After all, not everyone who buys new cars reads the automotive section of their favorite news site.

GMs LaNeve is not worried about potential confusion, however, stating the addition of GMs badging will only work in the companys favor.

“The name General Motors speaks to people,” he said. “It is a name people trust. Weve been in business nearly 100 years and were the global sales leader. Research tells us that many of our most outstanding segment-leading vehicles are not associated by the customer to be part of the GM portfolio. Seeing that GM badge on vehicles evokes our heritage of leadership and makes an easy connection between our great lineup of vehicle brands and the company behind them.”

The silver badge, embossed with bold GM letters, will be approximately one-inch square and appear on both sides of each car between the front and rear wheels, above the rocker and below the glass beltline, so that it doesnt interrupt the flow of the design. The truck and SUV logo will be slightly larger, at about 1.2 inches square.

For a bit of history, the GM badge has only been used for concept cars in recent years, such as the fuel cell equipped Hy-Wire and Sequel, and once for a production model, the electric EV1. Leases of the EV1 were handled by GMs Saturn division during its 1996 through 2001 tenure, however, as there were no GM-only stores to facilitate sales and service.

Going back further, the GM logo was covertly positioned on cars of the 60s and 70s, occasionally affixed to a cars scuff plates, or during its “Mark of Excellence” advertising campaign where it appeared on the inside rear of the drivers door or on the door jamb, but never prominently displayed as the domestic automaker is in the process of initiating now.

According to GM, it remains undecided as to whether it will integrate the logo within its vehicles cabins, and is also not sure if it will apply the new strategy on a global scale. The automaker sells Opels and Chevrolets in Europe, Vauxhalls in the U.K., and Holdens in Australia.

But the GM logo announcement comes at an awkward time in the automakers history, just after Standard & Poors downgraded the its ratings outlook from stable to negative, and only a week after its top executive team went through a major shakeup. The entire process seems akin to taping a bandaid to a hemorrhaging artery.

While much can be said for the power of branding, it is speculative at best to believe that the addition of a discreet GM badge to a lineup of new vehicles will increase trust and therefore swell sales.

From an outsiders point of view, the scheme first appears to merely add to the cost of each vehicle and therefore reduce
profits, however nominally. Those running GM have an insiders perspective, of course, and obviously believe that the additional cost has long-term merit.

According to LaNeve, “Our own studies show that consumers place a tangible value on the General Motors name. They like knowing that the car or truck theyre driving benefits from GMs global expertise in powertrain, design, engineering, and advanced electronics. Our recent announcement that StabiliTrak (ESC) and OnStar will gradually become standard features on all GM cars and trucks is a tangible illustration of what GM adds to the individual and unique character of our product brands. We believe the time is right to capitalize on those impressions, starting in North America.”