Should GM trim its advertising budget during bankruptcy?

Great article!!
Thanks for sharing.

I'm not sure what the controversy is here really although I suspect its public misinformation. GM for the most part HAS corrected their quality issues and now manufacture some of the finest cars on the market (despite what the "opinion on the street" will tell you). They have to now bring their cost structure in line with the foreign manufacturers by reducing the vast excess capacity they have and at the same time more importantly - SELL CARS. In order to do this they have to work on their image problem. Somewhere along the line it became "cool" to drive a Toyota or Honda and this is what they have to fight against. (At the same time changing public PERCEPTION that they make lousy, low quality cars). This can only be done by marketing. Everybody likes to claim that they aren't influenced by commercials and advertising but the fact of the matter is that large corporations spend BILLIONS on marketing and branding because IT DOES WORK. If GM can't sell cars and win back some market share then nothing else they do is going to matter at this point. (I've been following this issue closely because I work in the auto sector and my livelihood depends on it)

Government Motors Corporation is run by Obama et al. Let them do the math. As for me I'm doing a Ford , thank you. They have the cars and the brains to execute. It is as always with the government, spend and screw up, spend and well you know what we mean. Enjoy your government junk.

This (Ads) is a business decision based upon past success-resultant data. Obviously the business model or data interpretation was and is DEAD, DEAD, DEAD WRONG! No one cares about GM ads anymore. There are no real deals or even values (which is more important) out there at CDN dealerships....just more sinking heavy consumer debt to assume!

If GM is truly serious about getting back into the game then they should listen to what REAL CANADIANS think, say, and can afford. Period.

I've got an STS and an Aurora but I'd never ever buy another GM product again in my lifetime if I could avoid it due to dealership issues, high capital cost, poor driveability and reliability over 10 year period etc. So, even if GM paid $1000000000000000000000000000 in advertising in 2009-10 it would not influence me one single iota! Not to mention the fraud they perpetrated along with Obama and Haper on the North American citizens with the 'speed-me-up Chapter 11' and loans/grants/gifts not readily available to the common citizen to pay their taxes, ccards, LOC's etc....what makes GM so special? NOTHING AT ALL for a few thousand employees in Canada and soon to be even less. WHAT A SHAM! Hope GM (and Chrysler) soon fades into the past as a really bad dream regardless of their advertising infusions.

You all realize that Toyota lost more money first quarter than GM right? So I guess that means they too make crappy cars and have a poor business model? ACTUALLY the problem is a wordwide slump in auto sales the likes of which we've never seen before. Why is Ford doing fine you ask? They did all of this restructuring/cost cutting BEFORE the recession started. They have MASSIVE loans same as GM and Chrysler only they were able to do it before the worldwide credit market pretty much dried up.

I work for GM in Ontario, Canada and part of my job is to post company-issued bulletins, posters, etc. within the facility. At least one year ago if not more, I had to find room on standard size bulletin boards for a 2'x3' poster announcing GM's sponsorship of the next Olympics in British Columbia. It was a stupid concept and a waste of money in my opinion...very few if anyone I work with could afford the expense of tickets, travel, etc. to such an event. Yet someone allocated $$$ for this???

lol, for one OF COURSE THEY SHOULD CUT ADVERTISING COSTS that needs no explanation. Ok....Toyota comment by Shawn...lol...do your research man, the domestic companies have been losing BOATLOADS of cash long before the recession started (that's the problem!), the imports haven't, of course all companies were hit, it's what was happening before that was the problem. Ford, Chrysler, GM: Massively in debt, shit low shares for as long as anyone can remember. AND FORD IS NOT DOING FINE, LOL, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN DOING FINE FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG NOW. Those domestic companies pay so much money to their factory workers, they end up with shit plastic products, whereas with the import companies that additional cash is put into the car. Therefore nicer cars at the exact same price if you're going for an import. Isn't it kinda messed up that the factory workers are getting paid more than the average person trying to buy the car?!?!? And in turn that guy has to buy a shittier car because of those wages. It's not rocket science, put down your fanboy flags just cuz your from North America and you'll see the truth inside of the auto industry...domestics blow...and they rip you off, I've driven both, it's night and day, GOODBYE!

It would be nice if Canadians would be smart enough to realize GM makes great, quality cars (but no, they think something made in Japan is superior, even when tens of thousands of domestic jobs are in peril). Unfortunately until Canadian attitudes change, GM will be forced to commit a lot of cash to their advertising budget.

GM should not be allowed to use public money to spread misinformation. It is a corrupt company that will not change as the same management is in place. Bad habits do not die. It should be disolved. Our taxes are going to go up beacuse off all the bailout money that was given to GM.

Just look at the advertising Ford has been doing lately and how their sales have bounced back. This shows you the power of promoting your product.

We shouldn't have bailed them out. Anyone remember Brickland in Canada? How about Studebaker? Pierce Arrow? Hudson? They all are gone now. No bailouts for those north american auto makers. If a company messes up and fails, they should face the consequences. Out of the ashes new companies and markets are born. If you want to survive, you have to have the forsight and means to. If that means merging or being controleld by another company, then so be it.

Looks at the European brands. At one time they were in the auto union, of Audi, Porsche and VW. At one point VW controlled Porsche and saved them from bankruptcy. Now Porsche controlls VW and it's brands. But they did learn, and learned to grow with the market demands. Oh no! They made a SUV! Now it has diesel! They made a car with an engine in the front and water-cooled! Every company makes mistakes. It's how you learn to cope and change from that mistake that you prosper.

The real auto makers to watch out for is not the Japanese ones, but the Korean ones. The market is ripe for them. Their build quality and reliability has shot up considerably. Warranties are large, prices are fairly good. Fuel consumption is generally pretty darn good, too. They have models peole buy. I have no brand loyalty. I've owned, north american (domestic), though mostly older cars but a few new ones, European and Asian brands. In the end though, the new cars that weren't north american have proven to be better in the long run and less hassles at the dealership. I had a Kia Rio RS for 4 years. The dealership actually noticed a few problems and corrected them. I was a mechanic at a GM dealership, and on new vehicles we were told to not report any issues unless it was obvious the owner would spot them. Right there, is a fundamental difference. I guess any dealership can be good or bad, but I had problems with my new Mustang. So much, I had broke the lease and got rid of the car. The dealership I bought it from wouldn't stand behind the warranty, and it had some severe issues. Are they better now? Most likely. Do I want to take the chance again? No.

I hae old domestic vehicles that will outlast new ones and still drive like new. We're talking 30-40 years old, work trucks, built in Canada. Both trucks, even though carburated get fuel mileage similar to newer trucks. Sure they don't have the same HP or towing capacity or features, but why would I replace something that works, for something that's fancy and prone to problems? If GM or Chrysler dies, expect the Europeans, Asians and eventhe Koreans to fill the truck market. It might be shakey at first, but it will happen. You brand loyalists are going to get a wake up call soon.

Dave - there is almost nothing of any accuracy in your post. Believe the lies if you'd like but you're just wrong. You do realize that Ford sold more Cars in North America than ANY other manufacturer right? Even forgetting about them - GM and Chrysler consistently sell more cars than any of the foreign brands. Again - I work in the sector and see the volume charts evert quarter. It's a myth that the domestics make cars "that nobody wants to buy". The problem is they've had their market share compromised by foreign competitors yet are unable to sell in those same foreign markets themselves.

Alan - dead on.

In regards to foreign autos - I can tell you right now that my 2001 Mazda has aged no better than my previous car which was a 1991 Pontiac... and the Mazda costs WAY more to repair... WAY more. And to top it off the Pontiac initial purchase price was substantially cheaper.

Dave - have you ever heard of fordism? The belief that your workers should be able to afford the products they built? It helped create the middle class in North America. We all benefit when people make decent wages and use that to contribute towards the economy. Just ask the people of Windsor and Oshawa. (I'm white collared and NOT unionized by the way)

H E L L IDIOTS.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS

ADVERTISING IS A WASTE OF MONEY P.S. THEY CHARGE TOOOOOO MUCH

TOOOOOO MANY GIMICS. TOO MUCH FALSE ADVERTISING 0% FINANCING IS BULL IT IS BUILT IN.

PEOPLE ARE NOT STUPID. GET DOWN TO BASICS.

BE HONEST AND SHOW SOME CONSIDERATION OR AS SOME PEOPLE SAY GET REAL.

YOURS TRULY MINNOW

i don't know why i keep opening these pages and reading them...I should know better by now...other than a couple of open minded and knowledgeable types like shawn and alan, these forums are typically populated by garbage spewing idiots who have no basis in fact for their comments ( like dave , michael spencer and brian for example)

duh...my 2006 accord is way better than the 1992 pontiac it replaced duh...i'll never buy gm again duh.

...and by the way Donna, the posters weren't to try selling tickets to your co-workers ...they were likely an ongoing attempt to show emplyees what THEIR company is involved in within the community and within the world and where they are giving back...if you are so damned negative about the company you work for and its efforts than perhaps you should seek employment elsewhere - you are a part of the problem, not a part of the solution....do you drive a kia to the bank to cash your paycheque ?

the argument between domestic and foreign continues........................so hear is my thoughts. most people who bleed the domestic product have never owned anything else so naturally they will stick up for the product, fair enough, but there are some people who have had domestic, tried different cars and had better luck, just because someone has better luck with a product other than the "3" why are they bad people? I dont drive drive any of the "3", and actually the honda i own was built in ontario. all the car companies are going through tough times right now, gm maybe more so casue they have so many products that are the same with different name plates. but if gm is serious about turning things around they are gonna have to win the customer confidence back and thats the bottom line. going bankrupt is bad press for a company, i am sure if honda or toyota went bankrupt people would be shying away from those products as well. blaming the imports for gm s problems is not the way to go and gm made the right steps by getting rid of the man that ran the company into the ground in the first place. competiton is healthy, keeps every one on their game, all the best to the new gm