GM to move Cadillac brand to New York City

[detmsp]

Just to weigh in without reading every line of the above drama...

1) This is all really dumb. Having an NYC HQ doesn't change your image unless you are in high fashion or the arts. At this point, having a Detroit HQ is honestly better marketing optics. This seems to be about some Caddy execs and their advertising friends wanting to move out east and pretend they're Don Draper.

I really don't understand why people think this is a marketing move; it isn't. They don't think that people will think Cadillac is cooler because they've changed their address, they say they are doing it to immerse their people in the world of luxury and to create separation from the rest of GM.

3) What level of control does GM have over this? They fully control Cadillac do they not? Aren't they alter egos? How and why did GM allow this?

Well the idea is to remove GM's control. They want Cadillac to operate as a separate entity because they think that the principles that work well for managing a mass market brand [[like Chevrolet) don't work for a luxury brand [[like Cadillac). That's why in a few years time, Cadillac will even report its financials separately from the rest of GM.

[MAcc]

I really don't understand why people think this is a marketing move; it isn't. They don't think that people will think Cadillac is cooler because they've changed their address, they say they are doing it to immerse their people in the world of luxury and to create separation from the rest of GM.

3-5 year NYC luxury vacation for execs, many of which are likely nearing retirement, before the plug is pulled on this shareholder SCHEME. This move does nothing for Cadillac. It is a luxury brand that was systematically destroyed by old GM over the course of 40 years, which coincided with the rise of BMW, MB, Audi and Lexus. It will never, ever be what it once was. It will continue to circle the drain as the last people that want to be seen in them – unsophisticated boomer Midwest retirees – continue to pass away.

[detmsp]

3-5 year NYC luxury vacation for execs, many of which are likely nearing retirement, before the plug is pulled on this shareholder SCHEME. This move does nothing for Cadillac. It is a luxury brand that was systematically destroyed by old GM over the course of 40 years, which coincided with the rise of BMW, MB, Audi and Lexus. It will never, ever be what it once was. It will continue to circle the drain as the last people that want to be seen in them – unsophisticated boomer Midwest retirees – continue to pass away.

So if there's nothing they can do to fix Cadillac, might as well just shut it down. Either way, Cadillac won't be based in Detroit. So what are you so worked up about?

[MAcc]

So if there's nothing they can do to fix Cadillac, might as well just shut it down. Either way, Cadillac won't be based in Detroit. So what are you so worked up about?

I have disdain for the c-suite partying on the shareholders' dime.

[Thruster315]

Well the idea is to remove GM's control. They want Cadillac to operate as a separate entity because they think that the principles that work well for managing a mass market brand [[like Chevrolet) don't work for a luxury brand [[like Cadillac). That's why in a few years time, Cadillac will even report its financials separately from the rest of GM.

I recall they tried this with the Saturn concept where they moved down to Spring Hill, Tennessee. The advertising even went to the west coast. They wanted autonomy and a step away from the old method of doing things. And look what happened. It was an experiment, while cute on the surface, failed and had to be folded back into the GM brand when things got lean.

What's going to happen to the account when Cadillacs don't sell? Or of there's a dip in the economy? Are they suddenly going to blame the ad agency and put the account back up for review again? If not this NYC ad agency, who next? It wouldn't surprise me at all to see the Cadillac account come back to Detroit at some time in the future; not any time soon because the honeymoon's on full bore right now, but eventually.