"Several times a week, someone tells me, 'You can't understand how much TiVo has changed my life' in total earnestness."
--Tom Rogers, TiVo Inc.
"How do we get people who don't have us on their list at all to think about us?"
--Liz Vanzura, Cadillac
Sullivan, 56, joined Liz Claiborne Inc. in 2001 to help turn a single label selling wholesale to department stores into a multi-label company that includes Lucky Brand Jeans and Juicy Couture. It will open 130 to 150 stores per year over the next four years.
"To be one brand in one chain is an outdated strategy. I shop in multiple ways, don't you? Department store chains have consolidated, so you have to structure your business differently. You have to be where your customers are. Not so long ago, it was taboo to open your own stores, because department stores would see that as direct competition. But in the next four years, we plan to open our own stores around our 'power brands'--Juicy Couture, Lucky, Sigrid Olsen, and Mexx.
We made it a point to be very forthcoming with our department-store partners, to help them understand that we could be powerful allies even as we pursued our multichannel strategy. As we build our stores, we share data that shows what their business did prior to the opening and after. We show department stores that when we open a store next to theirs, invariably, sales rise for both of us. Having the right blend of brands, from the high-end Juicy to the international Mexx, has proven a real advantage for us. It's why we can remain a strong partner for someone like Federated, the broadest customer of our brands. Department stores have to figure out how to bring back consumers. With the retail expertise we've acquired, we've been able to advise them on what styles are popular, or in certain cases--Lucky being a terrific example--help them merchandise their floors similar to our boutiques. We can't ignore that they have a lot of doors in places where we'd never put a store. We'd like to see department stores grow because that means growth for us as well."
After successful stints running marketing for Volks-wagen and Hummer, Vanzura, 41, joined Cadillac this past January with the directive to make the very traditional Caddy resonate with a younger generation.
"Cadillac is a symbol of having made it in your life. No one really needs one; you reward yourself with one or work toward getting one. The job at Cadillac was so attractive to me because it was a chance to refresh the marketing around all of the great products that it has recently released, the Escalade being our biggest hit. Now we need to invite younger people in who haven't experienced Cadillac. And also women. Cadillac has been a very male-oriented brand. A lot of our problem is that the 30-year-olds don't know we have cars they can afford. The CTS [an entry-level midsize sedan], for example, starts at $30,000. How do we get people who don't have us on their list at all to think about us? We're really competing against people's time, especially for dual-income-with-kids-type families. To engage those people--to take time out of their day to learn about us--you have to find ways to interrupt their busy lives in the right way, in the right place, at the right time, and make Cadillac something they want to be a part of.
Marketing is tricky nowadays. The name of the game is experimentation and trial. We have a partnership with Microsoft and its video game Project Gotham Racing. When you hit a certain level in the game, you can drive cars from our V-series [Cadillac's performance line, which boasts 0 to 60 mph in five seconds]. You'll see a dramatic change for us on our Web site. We're going to make content out of our presence at the Super Bowl, the Oscars, the Tonys. To be part of Cadillac, you'll get invited to experience those events. I give GM a lot of credit. It's doing a lot more than ever, letting us experiment and then move on."
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Recent Comments | 2 Total
November 21, 2009 at 3:52pm by jennifer park
Whenever i see the post like your's i feel that there are still helpful
people who share information for the help of others, it must be helpful
for other's. thanx and good job.
Masters Dissertation
Writing
November 21, 2009 at 3:53pm by jennifer park
Whenever i see the post like your's i feel that there are still helpful people who share information for the help of others, it must be helpful for other's. thanx and good job.
Masters Dissertation Writing