GM expected to keep Cobalt name in new model

Chevrolet's next national commercial will feature the song 'American Pie.'
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
BOARDMAN -- Chevrolet's next small car -- wherever it's built -- "more than likely" will retain the Cobalt name, a senior official said.
General Motors Corp. is being judicious about changing model names because of the cost, said Mike Jackson, GM's vice president of vehicle marketing and advertising.
GM saw the impact of such costs when it dropped the Cavalier name on its Chevrolet compact, he said. Car companies increase marketing when they create a name, as GM did with the Cobalt in 2004.
"The name is fine," said Jackson, who met with media Friday morning at the Holiday Inn in Boardman.
Jackson, a Youngstown native who was in town because of a visit at Youngstown State University, wouldn't talk about where the next Chevrolet compact will be built.
GM has scheduled Cobalt production at the Lordstown complex through June 2009. It hasn't provided information on what will happen to the car or the plant after that date.
Union leaders and plant management are negotiating a new labor contract that they hope will persuade GM to keep the plant open.
Marketing
As for marketing, Jackson said GM is developing a new nationwide campaign for the full line of Chevrolet vehicles. During the Super Bowl, it introduced a television commercial that featured celebrities singing "Ain't We Got Love" in front of Chevrolet vehicles, including the Cobalt.
Jackson said the next Chevrolet commercial will be similar with race car drivers, rappers and others singing "American Pie." One of the performers will be singer Mary Jane Blige, but Jackson said not all of those appearing on the commercial will be singing on key.
"We have to connect emotionally with the consumer," he said.
Songs are effective on Chevrolet commercials because the brand has long been associated with music, Jackson said. About 700 published songs mention the brand or a Chevrolet model, he said.
Consumers today see vehicles almost like a fashion accessory, he said.
The marketing challenge is to weave together the emotional message with GM's belief that it is offering quality vehicles with an outstanding warranty, he said.
Jackson said such marketing can chip away at the negative impression about GM vehicles that some older consumers nationwide may have. The biggest difference comes, however, with younger consumers, who have grown up with reliable cars, he said.
GM can win these consumers over with its new styling, attention to interiors and features such as OnStar, the in-vehicle safety and security system, he said.Turnaround
While the marketing is all about the products, Jackson said he's confident the public will be impressed by GM's corporate turnaround.
GM posted losses of 12 billion in 2005 and 2006, but its fourth-quarter earnings last year were the biggest quarterly profit in three years.
Jackson noted that GM has reduced its work force with buyouts, achieved health-care savings with its union and reduced benefits for salaried workers.
"We believe this will be the most dramatic turnaround in corporate American history," Jackson said.