Advertising Age highlights Buick’s success in positioning itself
as a luxury brand and attracting younger buyers
A recent article in Advertising Age notes the success that the Buick brand has experienced over the past year in the U.S. (and in China where Buick is already the No. 1 car brand).
- Sales of Buick cars are up 60 percent over the first seven months of this year.
- GM sold 137 percent more Buicks in July 2010 than in July 2009.
- GM is on track to sell more than 148,000 Buicks this year, up from 102,306 in 2009.
The article attributes GM’s success in improving Buick sales to the automaker’s change in positioning, including design changes and a marketing shift toward younger audiences.
Buick now considers itself a luxury brand, along the likes of Lexus and Acura, but with a more “average” price structure.
Part of the design changes include making sure that any re-badged vehicles stand out from their cross-brand counterparts. For example, GM specifically differentiated the Buick Enclave from the GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse.
One of the ways Buick is reaching out to younger buyers is through the Web and social media. GM launched momentoftruth.com in June. The site allows consumers to make comments – good, bad, or indifferent – about the 2011 Buick Regal.
2011 Buick Model Lineup – 2011 Regal, 2011 LaCrosse, and 2011 Enclave
What do you think of GM's change in positioning of the Buick brand? Are you more or less likely to purchase a Buick now?