Modeling Tools Stretch Ad Dollars†

Chrysler Uses Digital-Response Data to Adjust Commercials, Drive Web Visits

Wall Street Journal, May 18, 2009 — With a reduced advertising budget and a desperate need to increase sales, Chrysler is relying more heavily on new technologies to predict how ad purchases will translate into sales.

A team of statisticians, economists, software engineers and media planners at Chrysler's digital marketing agency, Organic, has designed a "media modeling" system that helps the company calculate the best ways to allocate its marketing dollars. The system calculates how much ad spending is needed to meet certain sales targets and then analyzes how both online and offline ads affect Web activity and, ultimately, sales.

Chrysler to Market Brands Under One Umbrella†

Will Sell Them Together at Dealerships, Create More Ads Showing All Three

Advertising Age, February 3, 2009 — DETROIT (AdAge.com) — At a reporters' roundtable in Detroit today, Chrysler Vice Chairman-President Jim Press said the auto industry has too many brands — before saying Chrysler, rated by auto experts as the weakest of Detroit's carmakers, won't trim any of its three. Instead, he said, the automaker's solution to the problem of too many car brands is to bring Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler under one umbrella for sale at its dealerships.

Big Three May Need to Trim Number of Brands

New York Times, December 2, 2008 — For the Big Three automakers to win over Washington lawmakers in their bid for federal aid, they will have to address a critical question in the business plans they give to Congress on Tuesday. Just how serious are they about shrinking their vast lineups of different brands and models to match the current harsh reality of the market?

As the Economy Worsens, Is There Money for Play?

New York Times, November 16, 2008 — From the “Buick” emblazoned on Tiger Woods’s golf bag to the Chevrolet Camaro that Cole Hamels drove home last month for being named the most valuable player of the World Series, it is hard to be a sports fan without stumbling across some type of advertisement for General Motors. The company consistently ranks first among advertisers of televised sporting events, outspending other automakers by more than two to one.

But as G.M. faces a financial crisis that has executives pleading with Congress for a federal bailout, many are wondering how far the company’s troubles will extend into the sports industry, which is already struggling to attract advertisers and sponsors in a weakened economy.

Can the Chevy Volt Save GM?

Take a closer look at the plug-in electric vehicle GM hopes will kick-start a much-needed turnaround

BusinessWeek, October 29, 2008 — Far away from the complex merger negotiations and dicey political maneuvering (BusinessWeek.com, 10/28/08) that promise to reshape America's largest automaker, General Motors (GM), design director Bob Boniface is coolly contemplating the company's future.

The Volt is probably GM's last, best hope for the future and certainly its most significant upcoming vehicle. A plug-in electric car with an onboard gas-burning engine that can recharge the vehicle's batteries, the Volt has to affirm the company's ability to innovate and, eventually, create a financial foothold from which the battered automaker can begin to turn itself around.

Chrysler's Woes Are Partly The Result of Poor Quality†

Auto Makers Showing in Consumer Reports Survey Is Evidence of Miscues

Wall Street Journal, October 27, 2008 — Detroit's Big Three look like they will soon be a Smaller Two. Industry leaders and investors are still absorbing the idea that Chrysler LLC could disappear. A lot of consumers have already moved on.

Chrysler's woes arise from many mistakes, compounded by bad turns of luck. But the company's failure to keep up with rivals on quality is a significant, and underrated, factor in its current crisis.

Buying from a 'dying' car brand

When car brands go away, the service continues but your value can dry up

CNNMoney.com, October 22, 2008 — With all the problems in the auto industry, you may wonder if the car brand you're thinking about buying today will be around tomorrow.

The bottom line is this: "You should stick with the strongest brand," advises Robyn Eckard, a spokeswoman for Kelley Blue Book, which tracks automotive values.

It's not what could go wrong with your car while you own it, she said. It's what happens when you want to unload it.