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Surely the Cadillac thing is not just clever marketing, though -- there have also been vast improvements in Cadillac's actual products. They combined a marketin

Surely the Cadillac thing is not just clever marketing, though -- there have also been vast improvements in Cadillac's actual products. They combined a marketing push for younger drivers with an actual product (the CTS) with genuine appeal to younger drivers. Marketing alone couldn't make me want a Mercury Grand Marquis.

jrwoodruff 17y ago
Well, it kind of depends on your definition of marketing. Certainly the CTS is a new product at the center of Cadillac's new image, but what are new car models other than genius marketing-in-disguise with incremental updates to technology? That's not to poo-poo the CTS, but when you strip off the pretty sheetmetal, it's still 'just' four wheels meant to get you where you're going. From a product stand point it's not so different from a BMW, Acura, Lincoln or Chevy. The difference is the feeling evoked by the sharp lines, aggressive stance, and the seductive model they've got driving it. In other words, marketing. Maybe that's too broad of a definition for this particular thread, but I think it's a good example of how marketing and sales are truly interwoven in everything we touch. Every product on the shelf is designed in this manner, to make consumers want it, or to convince them they need it.
- kdw 17y ago
  Marketing: Meeting the needs and desires of the customer at a profit. It's a pet peeve of mine when people conflate advertising (hiring a seductive model), and some very narrow areas of marketing (identifying that successful, young customers like sport-luxury vehicles) with marketing as a whole. I'd agree that from a product stand point it's not so different from a BMW, Lincoln or Acura... but it's not remotely similar to a Chevy. If you're interested in a sport/luxury sedan, Chevy has nothing to offer you. They can do sport, or sedan, but not sport, luxury and sedan simultaneously.

jrwoodruff 17y ago

Well, it kind of depends on your definition of marketing. Certainly the CTS is a new product at the center of Cadillac's new image, but what are new car models other than genius marketing-in-disguise with incremental updates to technology? That's not to poo-poo the CTS, but when you strip off the pretty sheetmetal, it's still 'just' four wheels meant to get you where you're going. From a product stand point it's not so different from a BMW, Acura, Lincoln or Chevy. The difference is the feeling evoked by the sharp lines, aggressive stance, and the seductive model they've got driving it. In other words, marketing. Maybe that's too broad of a definition for this particular thread, but I think it's a good example of how marketing and sales are truly interwoven in everything we touch. Every product on the shelf is designed in this manner, to make consumers want it, or to convince them they need it.

kdw 17y ago
Marketing: Meeting the needs and desires of the customer at a profit. It's a pet peeve of mine when people conflate advertising (hiring a seductive model), and some very narrow areas of marketing (identifying that successful, young customers like sport-luxury vehicles) with marketing as a whole. I'd agree that from a product stand point it's not so different from a BMW, Lincoln or Acura... but it's not remotely similar to a Chevy. If you're interested in a sport/luxury sedan, Chevy has nothing to offer you. They can do sport, or sedan, but not sport, luxury and sedan simultaneously.