Marketing

GM uses social media to respond to customer gripes

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 8, 2014

General Motors has a strategy to deal with backlash from consumers on social media: search for complaints, respond quickly and assist customers.... Read More »

SEAN GAGNIER

The race to sell a truck to Jimmy Fallon

5:06 pm U.S. ET | March 6, 2014

Jimmy Fallon, new host of “The Tonight Show,” knows what he wants to spend one of his first paychecks on -- a truck. And automakers are tripping over themselves to get him behind the wheel of one of their pickups.... Read More »

GM assures analysts of pricing 'discipline' amid rising truck discounts

7:24 am U.S. ET | March 6, 2014

General Motors has been ratcheting up discounts on its full-size pickups over the last month, but it is telling Wall Street analysts that it intends to maintain premium pricing and margins on the trucks despite a drop in volume and market share.... Read More »

MIKE COLIAS

Why Cadillac's marketing boss has mixed feelings about 'Poolside' ad

10:22 am U.S. ET | March 6, 2014

Cadillac's “Poolside” commercial, featuring a middle-aged rich guy bragging about America's work-hard ethos, has generated mixed sentiments -- for Cadillac's own marketing chief.... Read More »

BMW considers expanding car-sharing program to 10 U.S. locations

6:50 am U.S. ET | March 5, 2014

BMW plans to expand its DriveNow car-sharing program to as many as 25 new cities to lure younger customers in the United States and Europe.... Read More »

GM's big SUVs reward fans for their patience

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 3, 2014

The 2015 big SUVs from General Motors feature clean, contemporary designs, a more powerful yet more fuel efficient powertrain and a hushed interior that has been improved to vanquish some key complaints about the outgoing generation.... Read More »

Freescale seeks Japan toehold with motorsports marketing

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 3, 2014

How does an underdog American supplier break into a Japanese market dominated by a homegrown rival? Freescale Semiconductor Inc. is going racing with the most Japanese of Japanese automakers in one of the most Japanese of Japanese cars.... Read More »

Lexus' interactive channel lures buyers

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 3, 2014

Lexus is offering a new interactive channel through Comcast -- a first in any industry -- that it hopes will entice luxury buyers while providing a new look at the brand.... Read More »

Cadillac clears the air on 'Poolside'

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 2, 2014

Cadillac's "Poolside" ad for the ELR plug-in hybrid has provoked a lot of debate about American values since its airing during the Winter Olympics telecast. Is it a salute to American capitalism or a xenophobic ode to materialism?... Read More »

In Minnesota, buy a Ford truck, get a voucher … toward a gun

2:54 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 28, 2014

Buy a new or used Ford pickup and get a voucher toward the purchase of a shotgun at Muscatell Burns Ford in Minnesota.... Read More »

Klum joins Maserati's high-profile push

Feb. 28, 2014 06:01 CET

Maserati continued its high-profile marketing push with a seven-page spread in Sports Illustrated's 50th annual swimsuit issue featuring German supermodel Heidi Klum.... Read More »

Japanese stay atop Consumer Reports rankings as Detroit struggles

12:45 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 25, 2014

Detroit has come clawing back from the brink with award-winning products, but Japanese and luxury brands still have the best lineups of cars and light trucks in the industry, the editors of the influential shopping guide Consumer Reports say.... Read More »

Klum joins Maserati's high-profile push with a 7-page spread in SI

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 24, 2014

The low-volume luxury brand continued its high-profile marketing push with a seven-page spread in Sports Illustrated's 50th annual swimsuit issue.... Read More »

Ford splits with longtime TV pitchman Mike Rowe

7:33 am U.S. ET | Feb. 20, 2014

Ford and longtime pitchman Mike Rowe, host of "Dirty Jobs," have made a clean break. Ford spokesman Chris Preuss said the Detroit automaker has parted ways with the TV personality and host of the Discovery Channel's now cancelled show.... Read More »

Super Bowl spot was a pricey pitch for Maserati

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 17, 2014

Maserati's 90-second Super Bowl commercial may have moved the needle in terms of awareness of the boutique luxury brand, but the real sales job took place weeks before the big game.... Read More »

Frigid Ford force skates to victory in Wisconsin

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 17, 2014

The wind chill factor plunged to 27 below zero when Bill Ford and the rest of Team Ford took to the ice in Eagle River, Wis., for the 2014 Labatt Blue/USA Pond Hockey Championship.... Read More »

Toyota shakes up marketing unit

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 17, 2014

In an effort to focus more on individual vehicle lines, Toyota Division is restructuring its marketing department into product teams. The realignment means that each nameplate will have representatives for branding, product training, social media, digital marketing, product marketing and marketing communications.... Read More »

Jeep weathers the storm from nature -- and critics

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 15, 2014

Forget that little bomb that Consumer Reports dropped on the Cherokee this week. These are heady days for Jeep. Chrysler's off-road brand has plowed through winter with ease, achieving an all-time record 4.1 percent U.S. market share in January -- and not just on the strength of the redesigned Cherokee.... Read More »

Toyota revamps U.S. marketing operations to become more 'flexible'

8:53 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 13, 2014

Toyota Division is overhauling its marketing operations in the United States and will require 80 employees to reapply for newly created positions or take a voluntary separation from the automaker. As part of the changes, employee roles and responsibilities are being redefined to be more "integrated, flexible and efficient," Toyota, whose operations have 6,100 employees in the United States, said in a statement late Thursday.... Read More »

Twitter, eyeing $15 billion auto ad market, says users buy more cars

12:34 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 13, 2014

Twitter, seeking a bigger slice of the more than $15 billion auto-advertising market, said households with users of its service were twice as likely to buy a new car as the average U.S. household.... Read More »

DIANA T. KURYLKO

Jaguar, aided by 3 villains, ready to challenge

4:37 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 12, 2014

Americans like puppies, Bob Dylan and even angel wings, as shown by the response to this year's Super Bowl commercials. But they also like villains -- so much that Jaguar has decided to post a two-minute director's cut of the 60-second “Rendezvous” commercial it aired during the Super Bowl.... Read More »