Cadillac scorecard: Keys to Luxury Automotive Social Media Use in 2010

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Forum Strategies & Communications, a communications and outreach firm in New York has published a new study entitled “Luxury Auto Brands and Their Presence in Social Media”.

New Study by Forum Strategies & Communications and MH Group Communications Examines Social Media Presence of Global Luxury Automobile Brands
Luxury car makers are not maximizing the full potential of social media in their communications efforts, according to a new study announced today by independent New York-based consultancies MH Group Communications and Forum Strategies & Communications.
Read the press release >
Read the study>

The study considers Facebook friends, Twitter followers, YouTube channel subscribers & Flickr group members, with a growth-rate factor applied and ranks the various luxury automotive brands in this order:

1. BMW
2. Porsche
3. Audi
4. Mercedes
5. Cadillac
6. Lexus
7. Acura
8. Infiniti
9. Lincoln

The Study goes on to suggest Social Media goals for 2010.

Here is my scorecard for Cadillac against the “2010 Goals” in the report:

Twitter: I see General Motors and each division within GM participating on Twitter, so Cadillac‘s Twitter efforts should continue and accelerate.  As of this writing they have 747 followers for the “official” Cadillac twitter account, so plenty of room for improvement there.

Facebook:  Cadillac has a presence with 28K fans.  There are 4 Cadillac-related groups, but none of them appear to be actually run by Cadillac.   Cadillac probably needs a ‘friendly takeover’ for the main Cadillac group on Facebook.

Cadillac has a couple of channels on Youtube,  including Cadillac, and  My Cadillac Story , which suggests that more clarity is needed here.

Flickr : I see a lot of Groups that include Cadillacs, but I don’t know an “official” group for Cadillac on Flickr.  Lots of room for improvement here.

Overall:

Encourage and improve networking of fan and dealer sites to clearly tie back to the Official site and messaging to minimize “clutter” in the various social media.

Establish a Cadillac Flickr presence.

Solicit Dealer network involvement in driving traffic to Cadillac.com and Cadillac on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media.

Add Social media links on Cadillac.com so that fans can receive news and announcements.

Marketing a product to Buyers who think they don’t want your product?

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Classic marketing praise is “he could sell ice to Eskimos”.  In other words, a really good sales person can sell people things they don’t even need (it is assumed that Eskimos have access to near infinite amounts of free ice).

I was thinking more about the concept that Engineers are very good at solving problems with reality, but not as good at solving problems in perception.  Cadillac currently offers a wide line of very desirable vehicles at relatively affordable prices.

So how should Cadilllac sell good products to people who *think* they know that they don’t want their product?

Here is one concept for a new approach:

Buyer:  I don’t want a Cadillac.

Cadillac:  Okay, what are you looking for?

Buyer:  [Buyer changes with each phrase]: I want a luxury performance car // or I want a smaller or larger SUV // or I want a luxury sedan // or I want a super-performance sedan // or I want a luxury sports convertible.

Cadillac:  Okay, we have that.

Buyer:  [Buyer changes with each phrase]: But I don’t want a Cadillac.  I want it to be quick and nimble  // I want it to be a formal sedan // I want it to be a SUV and carry all my stuff // I  I want it in a station wagon so I can fit in my gear

Cadillac:  Okay, we have that.

Buyer:  [Buyer changes with each phrase]: But I don’t want a Cadillac.  I want a car that says Young, Successful, and Sexy. // or I want a car that says “I have arrived” // or I want a car that says “I care about the environment” // or I want a car that says “Wow!”

Cadillac:  Okay, we have that.

Buyer:  But I don’t want a Cadillac, do I?

Cadillac:  We have the Cadillac you want.  We have the Cadillac your friends want.  We have some Cadillacs that EVERYONE wants.  We actually are in the business of making Cadillacs that people want.

Buyer:  So I can have a Cadillac?  Cadillac is cool and I missed it?

Cadillac:  Welcome home to the new generation of innovation.  We’re glad you’re here.

Recycling Oil: Not just a good idea, but fun

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Changed the oil in the CTS this morning.  Out with the old, in with the new Mobil 1 5w30 Full Synthetic.  If you have not changed your own oil, it is easy to do, and it can eliminate any chance of carelessness with your prize vehicle.  New oil, new oil filter, back on the road.

I took my ‘used’ oil over to Walmart to be recycled.  Oil is a MUST to recycle — very bad for the environment to just dump it, and easy to recycle.  Yes, I know that oil cames OUT of the ground, but the places it was originally did not involve the local water table, pets, or growing things.

Most places that sell oil also have a provision to take back used oil.  It is a good practice to take the used oil back to the place you bought the new oil.    An oil recycling service, Safety Kleene, was there collecting the used oil from this Walmart; I captured this snap on my cellphone.   The driver seemed like a nice guy.  You can also see my CTS parked just to the right of the Recycling truck, out of the way of the traffic flow.

Safety Kleen motto:  Make Green Work.

Safety-Kleen enables companies to fulfill their green initiatives. We push beyond recycled thinking to break new ground and create an environment that’s good for business and the planet. In short, we make green work.

The used oil collection point at the local Walmart is beside the auto maintenance lanes.  The outer fence was locked, but the inside Cashier was nice enough to direct me back to the outside Attendant to bring the key to unlock the fence to get to the repository (a big metal container) to pour in my used oil.  Unfortunately, the top of the oil repository was also locked, so I had to bother the Attendant a second time to get that accessible.    Used oil waiting to be recycled have some value?  Sure.