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Saturn is Best Auto Brand Manager, Automotive News Survey Discovers

6 April 1998

Saturn is Best Auto Brand Manager, Automotive News Survey Discovers

    DETROIT, April 6 -- Saturn Corp. has done the best job of
brand management in the auto industry, according to an exclusive survey of
auto marketing professionals.
    Results of the survey will be released in a special joint report on auto
marketing in Monday, April 6, editions of Automotive News and Advertising Age.
    Saturn topped luxury automakers Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and BMW in brand
management, the craft of building a brand's image and value in the public eye.
    Surveyed were 100 brand managers and marketing executives at auto
manufacturers and their advertising agencies.
    Brand management gained a high profile in Detroit in 1995 when GM hired
brand managers for all of its vehicle nameplates.  Ford later followed suit.
    "Brand management is now a state of mind for the industry," said Jay
Houghton, marketing manager in the Southfield, Mich., office of A.T. Kearney
Inc., a consulting firm.  Kearney conducted the survey.
    The auto-industry pros also said:
    -- General Motors should reduce its brand lineup.
    -- The dealership experience is the most important factor in a buyer's
opinion of a brand.
    -- Brand management will cause the auto industry to boost Internet and TV
ad spending but cut radio ad spending.
    In addition to the survey, the joint report explores how brand management
is changing auto marketing and advertising.
    Automotive News and Advertising Age are published each Monday by Crain
Communications Inc., a privately held company that publishes 29 consumer,
business and trade publications.

SOURCE  Automotive News