GM eyes significant agency changes, including possibly in-sourcing more work

General Motors is taking a fresh look at its agencies under new marketing and media executives with potential big changes on the horizon as it seeks cost savings, according to people familiar with the matter. The automaker is said to be considering bringing portions of its agency operations in-house. GM may soon begin an agency review for its customer relationship business. It is also evaluating its media operations and creative agencies, although no formal RFP has been issued yet for that work. MediaLink has been hired for the potential CRM agency review and has been brought on to consult on GM’s media model, according to people familiar with the matter. SnapPoint, a marketing consultancy run by Tony Weisman, the former Dunkin’ chief marketing officer and Digitas CEO, has been brought on to examine creative agencies, according to people familiar with the matter. A GM spokesperson confirmed that the automaker is evaluating its agencies, but declined to share specifics. “The primary goal is modernizing GM’s marketing approach and how we connect with customers,” the spokesperson told Ad Age, confirming that its so-called Tier 2 and Tier 3 business—which refers to regional and local dealer-focused marketing—is not included. MediaLink did not immediately provide comment and SnapPoint did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here New media executive joins new CMO GM is expected to complete the agency evaluations by mid-summer. GM’s incumbent agencies include Interpublic’s Commonwealth/McCann for Chevrolet and Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett, which works on Cadillac. The automaker’s media agency is Dentsu’s Carat. Multiple shops handle customer relationship work, including Interpublic’s MRM. The potential changes come about six months into the tenure of Global Senior VP and CMO Norm de Greve, the former CVS marketer who at GM replaced Deborah Wahl, who parted ways with the automaker in March. He is playing a significant role in the move by the automaker to re-examine how it does its marketing, according to people familiar with the matter. Look back: GM hires Norm de Greve GM also has a new top media executive—Shenan Reed, formerly the senior VP and head of media for L’Oréal, who will start at GM as global chief media officer on Jan. 22, she announced on LinkedIn. The global media role is a new one for GM, the spokesperson confirmed. GM is the nation’s 11th-largest ad spender, shelling out $3.24 billion in 2022, up 20% from 2021, according to the latest figures from the Ad Age Datacenter. Globally, GM is the 24th-largest advertiser, spending $4 billion in 2022, up 21%. But the company’s board of directors has put a premium on finding cost efficiencies—one factor that could be leading to the agency evaluation, according to people familiar with the matter. GM already confirmed it would not run a Super Bowl ad this year, ending a four-year streak that came under Wahl, who was a fan of advertising in the game. Much of that pricey Big Game advertising plugged GM’s rising investment in electric vehicles. But the EV market, while growing in the U.S., remains a small portion of the total automotive business and there are signs that significant consumer hurdles remain in getting the big investments made by automakers to pay off, at least in the short term. A recent report from S&P Global Mobility revealed that about two-thirds of S&P’s respondents said they were open to purchasing an EV—a 19-percentage point drop from 2021. Deloitte’s 2024 Global Automotive Consumer study found that consumer intent to purchase an EV fell 1% from the previous year, while interest in cars with internal combustion engines increased, as reported by Automotive News. The current trend of falling gas prices could be playing a role. GM reported selling 619,848 vehicles in the October-to-December period in the U.S., up 0.2% from a year earlier, according to Automotive News, which noted that GM’s full-year sales reached 2,577,662 vehicles, up 14%. Super Bowl commercials Tracking the latest brand and agency plans Enter here

GM eyes significant agency changes, including possibly in-sourcing more work

Featured Stories