Cadillac Appointed Publicis Worldwide for Consistent Global Message

   By Colum Murphy 
 

SHANGHAI--General Motor Co.'s Cadillac decision to appoint Publicis Worldwide as the brand's global advertising agency was driven by the need to build a consistent global message, Cadillac's president said Friday.

"The Cadillac that you will meet in the streets of New York will be the same that you meet in the streets of Shanghai," said Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen.

The decision was based on the "consideration of how we can best utilize the global abilities of an agency like Publicis to help us with getting a consistent global messaging out for Cadillac," he told reporters at a Cadillac media event in Shanghai.

Cadillac spent roughly $280 million on advertising in 2013, according to advertising tracking research firm Kantar Media.

The selection is the auto brand's sixth major agency shift since 2007.

Mr. de Nysschen said Cadillac was going through a "fairly major course correction" and reexamining all areas of its business.

"We are challenging everything-the product philosophy, our go to market strategy and the very essence of what the Cadillac brand stands for," he said. "Nothing is off the table."

Write to Colum Murphy at [e-mail]

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