General Motors Co., benefiting from cost cutting in bankruptcy, plans to spend as much to advertise the new LaCrosse sedan in six months as it previously devoted to all Buick marketing in a year.
The boost may help draw attention as the car goes on sale in August, said Susan Docherty, vice president of the GMC, Buick and Pontiac brands, who wouldn't give figures beyond the annual comparison. Researcher TNS Media Intelligence estimates Buick's advertising averaged $105 million over the last three years.
Having a bigger budget to promote Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC was among GM's goals in shedding Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer and Saab in its 40-day restructuring. The $27,085 LaCrosse was one of about a half-dozen models featured last week when GM left Chapter 11 as a new company.
"They can spend that much now because they have half the brands to cover," said Aaron Bragman, an analyst at IHS Global Insight Inc. in Troy, Michigan. "That's the beauty of it."
The car is also a significant improvement from past Buick sedans, said Bragman, who was test driving the car at a GM event in the Detroit suburbs.
Buick buyers are older than those of other brands, which means those consumers are less likely to see Internet promotions and must be reached with costlier, traditional television ads, Baum said. The average Buick customer is in his or her mid to late 60s, according to GM data.
In 2007, GM said it would spend at least $100 million promoting the new Malibu to compete with Toyota Motor Corp.'s Camry sedan. That figure was in line with other significant vehicle debuts, such as the Silverado pickup, GM said then.
New Models
"We expect launch products like LaCrosse to get competitive launch budgets," said Dayna Hart, a GM spokeswoman, declining to comment on the TNS estimates.
