General Motors E-Commerce Division Selects Weber Public Relations
5 October 1999
General Motors E-Commerce Division Selects Weber Public Relations Worldwide as Agency of Record
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Oct. 5, 1999--Weber's Expertise in E-Commerce and Top Brand Management Cited as Keys
to Winning the Account
Weber Public Relations Worldwide announced today that it has been tapped to deliver ongoing public relations counsel for General Motors' new electronic commerce initiative e-GM. This unit will serve as the umbrella resource for all of General Motors' e-business initiatives.
Weber kicked off the relationship in August by working with the automotive leader on an initial project to formally launch the e-GM division. The effort involved a global Web cast and live press conference that featured senior GM executives, as well as guest commentary on e-business from Forrester Research President George Colony and Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy. (Visit http://www.gm.com/about/info/news/events/detroit/gmnet_flash3.html to view the archived Web cast.) Weber also organized a satellite media tour resulting in GM spokesperson interviews on CNBC, PBS' "Nightly Business Report," FOX News and Bloomberg TV.
According to a recent third-party study, the effort was a success. A new study of corporate online image and reputation released in September by Hass Associates says that General Motors enjoys the auto industry's most positive presence on the Internet, "spurred in large part by the well-publicized launch of an Internet-oriented business unit, leading to positive attention during August on more than 80 web sites and newsgroups..."
"We selected Weber because of their expertise in helping major brands build a meaningful presence on the Internet and their proven ability to successfully leverage technology to communicate key messages to the exploding e-commerce community," said Tony Cervone, general director of corporate PR for GM. "As GM begins a new era in e-business, we will be looking to Weber to provide us with key insights and winning approaches to reach our target audiences."
Commenting on the news, Larry Weber, chairman and CEO of Weber Public Relations Worldwide said, "This relationship gives us a wonderful opportunity to work with one of the world's top brands as it embraces a new frontier, shaping the future of the automotive industry. We are thrilled to be working with GM as it becomes the trailblazer not only for the automotive industry, but for the e-commerce industry as a whole by leveraging new online publicity and promotion campaigns as well as traditional media programs to successfully extend their corporate reputation and brand leadership."
Weber Public Relations Worldwide is a full-service, global public relations agency offering marketing public relations, investor relations, corporate communications, public affairs and interactive communications services to a broad range of industries, including healthcare, consumer, entertainment, financial services and technology. As the premier public relations agency for the Information Economy, Weber Public Relations Worldwide delivers high value to clients through programs that are interactive, individualized, immediate and information-rich, based on an approach that blends new technology-based communications with traditional methodologies. Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Weber Public Relations Worldwide has offices in major markets globally and is a member of McCann-Erickson WorldGroup and The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. .