GM Will Hold Ad Budget Steady
Plan Calls for Spending of Up to $50 Million a Month While in Chapter 11
[EXCERPT]As General Motors prepares to drive out of bankruptcy court, Madison Avenue is breathing easier.
Late last week, the fallen auto maker said it will maintain an ad budget between $40 million and $50 million a month while in bankruptcy proceedings -- much less than in years past, but about the same as in the months leading up to its June 1 bankruptcy filing.
Advertising and marketing firms, which are facing an abysmal ad market, had been anxious about how much GM would spend to peddle its products as it struggled through bankruptcy. It isn't clear when GM will emerge from Chapter 11 protection, though some GM executives and advisers expect it could be a matter of weeks, say people familiar with the matter....
BrandIndex, a firm that tracks consumer's perceptions of more than 1,100 brands, says it has seen a "modest jump" in positive buzz for GM. "The campaign has been far more convincing to women then men" and it is also generating a slightly more positive response with 18- to 34-year-olds than the 35 to 49 crowd, says Drew Kerr, a spokesman for BrandIndex, which is owned by YouGov.
