Marketing Case - Buick Motors
Situation
In early 2007, when this article was written, the average age of a Buick buyer was about 72 years of age. While Buick models like the Lucerne, the Regal and the Lacrosse were considered to be in the luxury sedan market, sales lagged significantly behind the leaders in the category like imports such as Lexus and Acura. Essentially, Buick’s aging demographic in the U.S. was not likely to capture new market share. Growing the Buick brand and capturing market share was critical to General Motors (GM) especially as GM had sunk to a new low in market share in the U.S. and was soon to face a Chapter 11 and federal government bailout. Based on Buick’s strong sales in the Chinese market and its profit contribution to GM, Buick was one of four brands of GM’s eight that survived the bankruptcy and re-emergence in 2009. But how were executives positioning Buick to capture not only market share, but market share from a younger demographic? Buick executives determined that the way to a younger audience in mainstream America was through the “urban” market figuring that the urban market set trends for the mainstream market.
Problem Definitions
The most critical problem for Buick is simple. How do you shed the image and public perception that Buicks are “cars made for your grandfather”, attempt to attract a younger buyer for your automobiles and sustain sales to this younger demographic over time?
There are other key problems facing Buick in relation to the above and include:
• How do you position the Buick brand as a luxury car in a market dominated by imports?
• By what means do you advertise and deliver the message to your target audience?
• How do you target a new demographic without alienating your core customer and driving them away?
As mentioned above, the average age of a Buick buyer in the early to mid 2000’s was in their early seventies. This was compared to the average age of 52 for a new car buyer in general. In 2008, Buick
In early 2007, when this article was written, the average age of a Buick buyer was about 72 years of age. While Buick models like the Lucerne, the Regal and the Lacrosse were considered to be in the luxury sedan market, sales lagged significantly behind the leaders in the category like imports such as Lexus and Acura. Essentially, Buick’s aging demographic in the U.S. was not likely to capture new market share. Growing the Buick brand and capturing market share was critical to General Motors (GM) especially as GM had sunk to a new low in market share in the U.S. and was soon to face a Chapter 11 and federal government bailout. Based on Buick’s strong sales in the Chinese market and its profit contribution to GM, Buick was one of four brands of GM’s eight that survived the bankruptcy and re-emergence in 2009. But how were executives positioning Buick to capture not only market share, but market share from a younger demographic? Buick executives determined that the way to a younger audience in mainstream America was through the “urban” market figuring that the urban market set trends for the mainstream market.
Problem Definitions
The most critical problem for Buick is simple. How do you shed the image and public perception that Buicks are “cars made for your grandfather”, attempt to attract a younger buyer for your automobiles and sustain sales to this younger demographic over time?
There are other key problems facing Buick in relation to the above and include:
• How do you position the Buick brand as a luxury car in a market dominated by imports?
• By what means do you advertise and deliver the message to your target audience?
• How do you target a new demographic without alienating your core customer and driving them away?
As mentioned above, the average age of a Buick buyer in the early to mid 2000’s was in their early seventies. This was compared to the average age of 52 for a new car buyer in general. In 2008, Buick