Automotive News - March 17, 2008 - (Page 8)

8 • MARCH 17, 2008 advertising OUR DEALERS ARE GROWING GM, top marketers to share research GM’s media planner gets a new boss Mary Connelly mconnelly@crain.com AND SO CAN YOU! “With Zimmerman as a partner we have grown to be the # 1 GM Dealer in Albany, NY.“ Kara DePaula DePaula Chevrolet DETROIT — General Motors will share research on consumer behavior and media effectiveness with the largest U.S. marketer, Procter & Gamble, GM advertising executive Betsy Lazar says. The strategy is driven by changes at GM Planworks, the agency that handles the automaker’s media planning and buying. GM and Procter & Gamble are clients of Starcom MediaVest Group, or SMG, the parent company of Planworks. Last week, SMG said Planworks no longer will be a self-contained business unit. Instead, Planworks is “sharing resources and research within the larger organization,” said Lazar, GM’s executive director of advertising and media operations. The changes coincide with the Ken Taylor: New chief wants to build bridges Betsy Lazar: Quantifying ad spending is key pending departure of Planworks President Dennis Donlin. SMG spokeswoman Lena Petersen says Donlin took part in the Planworks reorganization. “It was Dennis’ decision” to leave, Petersen says. GM is No. 3 A key issue for GM, Lazar said, is finding ways to quantify the automaker’s return on its media spending. GM, the No. 3 national advertiser, spends about $3 billion a year to advertise in U.S. media. P&G’s ad budget is nearly $5 billion. GM also will share research with such SMG clients as Coca-Cola, WalMart and Kellogg, says a source familiar with the plan. How consumers use video on demand might be a typical research topic, the source says. Lazar said she welcomes the opportunity to share information with Procter & Gamble, the consumer products giant. “GM and P&G — we are always neck-and-neck,” Lazar told Automotive News. “We can move faster, learn more and become more efficient by joining a larger organization.” SMG will not share with other clients any proprietary research funded solely by one marketer, the source says. Lazar declined to say whether the Planworks changes will save GM money. She noted that GM already can share research with other SMG clients on digital media and out-ofhome media, such as billboards. That strategy will expand to include print media, branded entertainment and multicultural marketing, SMG says. TV planning and buying for GM are exempt from the changes. They will remain a stand-alone unit within SMG, Lazar said. Donlin’s departure Outgoing Planworks president Donlin, 50, said he will step down April 1. In a statement, Donlin said he is leaving “to take stock and consider my next career move.” Ken Taylor, 42, succeeds Donlin. Taylor was part of the team that created Planworks in 2000. Most recently, he was executive vice president of Starcom USA. Taylor says the Planworks changes are “about building bridges and making more connections” in such emerging areas as social media. “In the old structure, GM’s digital agenda was done completely by a GM-dedicated unit,” Taylor says. “Now they can reach out to Starcom resources, not just in the United States but globally.” c RESULTS! • KEYES AUTO GROUP • IRA MOTOR GROUP • TOM WOOD AUTOMOTIVE • CHECKERED FLAG • AUTONATION • DIEHL MOTOR COMPANY • CORAL SPRINGS AUTOMALL • RUSTY ECK FORD • AUTOLAND • HENDRICK CARY AUTOMALL • PATRICK AUTO GROUP • HUBLER AUTOMOTIVE • PLEASANTON AUTOMALL • DEPAULA CHEVROLET • WALLACE NISSAN OF KINGSPORT • SUPERIOR CHEVROLET Dealers Prove Our Advertising Gets UAW seeks job guarantees to end American Axle strike David Barkholz and Robert Sherefkin dbarkholz@crain.com GET A COMPLETE MARKETING PROGRAM! Guerrilla TV Marketing Radio Print Hispanic Direct Mail Web Design DETROIT — The UAW is demanding job guarantees from American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. to end a 3-week-old strike. General Motors has contracted hundreds of millions of dollars of new business annually with American Axle. The union wants those axles and other parts built in UAW-represented U.S. plants, not in Mexico, said a source close to the situation. The union demanded similar new-work commitments to end strikes at GM and Ford Motor Co. last autumn during master contract negotiations. The job guarantees are needed to salve the pain of concessions the UAW must make at American Axle to bring wages and benefits more in line with the axle maker’s competitors, said Dave Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research think tank in Ann Arbor, Mich. “Plant investment is the quid pro quo,” he said. American Axle CEO Richard E. Dauch is demanding that the 3,600 striking workers agree to cuts that would halve wages to about $14 an hour. That is The strike at American Axle has halted production of the Chevy Silverado and other light trucks. the average wage paid by rival Dana Holding Corp. The union is rightfully nervous that American Axle will move future GM work to its Mexican operations if progress isn’t made, Cole said. Union sources say that is happening with axles that American Axle will supply for the redesigned 2009 Chevrolet Camaro. American Axle plans to ship Camaro axles almost 2,000 miles from its Guanajuato, Mexico, plant to GM’s assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, they say. “We’re not saying we are moving to Mexico,” American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said. But without a U.S. cost-competitive wage structure, she warned, new programs could go to American Axle plants with a lower wage and benefit structure than the five company factories now on strike. In addition to its Mexican plant, American Axle has four U.S. plants with a different, lower-compensation UAW contract that are not on strike. Last year, American Axle idled a Buffalo, N.Y., plant that had expected to get the Camaro work. That plant is about 130 miles from Oshawa. American Axle supplies axles for all GM pickups and SUVs built in North America. The strike has idled seven GM assembly plants and hampered production at 22 other GM parts plants. c Revolving door continues to spin at Nissan Lindsay Chappell lchappell@crain.com See the list of who has left ➤ 34 In addition to meeting Nissan and Infiniti brand sales and profit targets, McNabb, 46, traveled heavily to launch the Infiniti brand in markets around the world. It’s not clear, though, whether the turnover has damaged Nissan. Combined U.S. sales for the Nissan and Infiniti brands rose 4.8 percent last year, in an overall market that dropped 2.5 percent. McNabb’s replacement, Brian Carolin, 51, who has been senior vice president for European sales and marketing since 2005, will move to the United States from Rolle, Switzer- Internet Website Optimization In-Store CALL OR E-MAIL THE AGENCY THAT WILL WORK FOR YOU 24/7 (SERIOUSLY) 1-888-878-ZADV zauto@zadv.com or visit www.zadv.com NASHVILLE — Management continues to churn at Nissan. CEO Carlos Ghosn is moving a 24year Nissan Motor Co. veteran from Switzerland to Nashville to take control of the automaker’s North American sales and marketing operations on April 1. He replaces Mark McNabb, a 21year Nissan veteran who last week joined a long list of company executives to leave Nissan North America Inc. over the past two years. Management churn has been a fact of life at Nissan, as Ghosn pushes executives to achieve tough objectives. Mark McNabb: 21-year veteran left last week Brian Carolin: 24-year veteran starts next month land. Carolin will be the fourth North American senior vice president for sales and marketing in 24 months. In the past six months, for various reasons, the company has also replaced its Nissan Division vice presi- dent, its vice president of marketing and its North American head of quality. And 60 percent of the 1,300 employees at Nissan’s U.S. headquarters left the company instead of relocating in 2006 from Los Angeles to Nashville. One dealer says he and his colleagues find all the change unsettling. “The dealers are worried,” comments Pat Hoban, who owns three Nissan stores in suburban Atlanta. “All this instability — we just don’t get it. We can’t seem to get traction.” Nissan temporarily is housed in a see NISSAN, Page 34 http://www.zadv.com http://www.zadv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - March 17, 2008

Leases grow as alternative to long loans Toyota dealers balk at upgrades Up for grabs: China importer Testing Chevy's Camaro Escalade first vehicle to get full LED headlamps Hoops fans take a shot at China Toyota will cut Tundra, Sequoia production F-150's risk-reward strategy: Ramp up before the revamp As UAW, American Axle talk, CEO Dauch in Fla. Ex-GM purchasing executive indicted Court allows higher Plastech credit line Saab sticker prices rise as sales fall; will U.S.-built 9-7X offset losses? VW plant capacity in U.S.: 250,000 units Bad cruise control switch haunts Ford Continental plans to bring r&d in-house Rieter expects to increase its global footprint Stadler: Audi considers U.S. plant Another General charges into electric cars Toyota sees its first checkered flag as sign NASCAR's paying off A pickup may figure in Kia's future Analysts: Lampert no threat to AutoNation More likely to be spent to keep suppliers alive in '08 2 suppliers plan Alabama plants UAW seeks job guarantees to end American Axle strike Revolving door continues to spin at Nissan GM, top marketers to share research Electric power steering is grabbing the wheel Delphi completes sale of interiors unit to Renco Mercedes again is true-luxury king How electric power steering works It's time for dealer-factory collaboration Ford must close stores but remain open to diversity The small print Here's a question for Obama, Clinton Didn't you ever hear of a halo? Hurray for affordable performance cars Politics can age a car overnight Good for planet, good for GM What 'scientific consensus'? Lutz may be right but said it wrong Lutz had the courage to tell the truth Big Apple isn't very green 23 finalists in running for PACE honors Canada sales up 14.5% in Feb. RV shipments drop 7.1% in Jan. Wagoner: No sure thing on state air rules Conquest sales, Asia growth boost ADP Brockman: Reynolds focuses on service OEConnection links to ADP Geneva goings-on Judge: Dealer suit over transfer of GM franchise can proceed Honda will build Ridgeline in Alabama So who's running the show at Chamco? GM seeks Plastech tooling Federal-Mogul reports gains Chrysler sells plant to Fiat BMW's new sales boss Odell is named COO at Ford of Europe Strike dents GM truck output Tony Stewart blows a gasket Illingworth leaving — and staying with — Toyota A note to eager auto execs: Invaders sometimes get icy reception in Russia Hush, hush: Baby Nason on board For rent: Ford's PAG palace on the West Coast Chrysler cuts Calif. studio

Automotive News - March 17, 2008

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