Oct 22, 2008

GM Using New Playbook on Green

According to some, image is everything. Certainly in the auto business, an image as an eco-friendly company can have substantial benefits, and General Motors Corp. has moved the needle in that direction for several years in a row. Now a media consulting firm called The Playmaker’s Standard has released an illustrated analysis of the media strategies employed by GM recently on the environmental front. The independent study reveals how GM is using communications and media to build competitive advantage in the coveted hybrid electric vehicle market and generate interest in its much anticipated Chevrolet Volt.

Based on the company’s Playmaker’s Table, a classification framework of 25 “irreducibly unique stratagems or plays,” the analysis demonstrates how GM has recently portrayed new products and programs to both recast its embattled brand and counter detractors – notably, skeptical environmental groups, financial analysts and industry watchers. The study found that GM employs a diversity of influence stratagems (12 of 25 plays), reflecting considerable mastery by the automaker of influence and public opinion. It also noted that GM executives, most notably North American President Bob Lutz, freely admit failure and fault, atypical of most large-company play-it-safe media practices.

One of the most striking findings was that GM uses counter-intuitive strategies, defined in the playmaker system as the “Disco,” “Bear Hug” and “Lantern.” These high-risk plays have helped the car giant buy time in the hybrid electric market and re-earn the public’s trust and interest in its new-generation initiatives, according to the analysis.