Added "one gold and one silver, Gu Ailing and Su Yiming once again appeared on the "hot search". The strength and sportsmanship they showed on the field made people excited and became the pride of China.
Overnight, the popularity of these two rookies skyrocketed. Along with Gu Ailing and Su Yiming, there was also SAIC-GM. As early as September 2021, on the occasion of Gu Ailing's 18th birthday, the Cadillac brand announced that Gu Ailing would serve as the brand spokesperson. In October 2021, SAIC-GM Buick officially announced Su Yiming as the brand's "Ice and Snow Ambassador".
"Too good at choosing people", "This wave of operations 666"... In the automotive circle, many people praised SAIC-GM. Others say it's like a gamble. "Betting" on sports stars seems to have become a routine operation of major brands before the start of international competitions. But in fact, behind this, it is more about how to find the market positioning and go with the trend.
This is not gambling.
Be a companion on the road to success
In fact, as early as 2020, the Buick team paid attention to the ice and snow market. "Through observation, we have found that more and more young people are falling in love with ice and snow sports. When you open the social network, you will pay attention to the fact that many young people are posting about ice and snow sports, coupled with the fact that Beijing will host the Winter Olympics this year, we think, with the younger users, Buick also has the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to cheer for ice and snow sports? The relevant person in charge of the Buick brand said.
At the time, Buick was doing well in both golf and running when it came to sports marketing. But out of market sensitivity, Buick brand marketers decided to expand into new areas. Soon, the entire marketing team immediately took action.
Due to the limited "ammunition", to accurately do a good job in sports marketing, the team has done a lot of preliminary research work. "For example, ice sports, there is ice, there is snow, which one to choose? If you choose snow sports, is it a single board or a double board? Again, this is a problem. The relevant person in charge gave an example. After many rounds of discussion, they decided to choose snowboarding. "Judging from the development of the entire market, snowboarding is closely related to surfing and skateboarding, and is deeply loved by young people."
Behind the choice is the support of a large number of research and data. "Our 'little ming' is very strong." Before signing Su Yiming, Buick's marketing team watched all of Su Yiming's matches and training videos over and over again. "He would train for the same action for six hours a day and once skid four snowboards in a week." From being unknown to being a blockbuster, in the eyes of the team, Su Yiming's success seems to be an inevitability.
When He signed Su Yiming, the rookie was already well-known in the ski circle, but few people outside the circle knew about it. "When it comes to choosing, we never rush to make a quick profit. We prefer to be a companion on the road to success, and it is more in line with Buick's brand culture. The relevant person in charge of the Buick brand said.
That's true. Since 2005, the Buick brand has begun to try sports marketing, and has cooperated with "China's first golfer" Zhang Lianwei, "China's women's golf first person" Feng Shanshan, "golf emperor" Tiger Woods, and these spokespeople have also entered the heyday after the signing of the contract.
Obviously, this is not by luck.
Finding the right positioning is more important than traffic
Whether it is Buick or Cadillac, in this wave of operations, the success of SAIC-GM is not only the improvement of brand voice, but also the transmission of brand concept.
Cadillac's selection criteria for brand spokespersons are to see whether the other party has something in common with the brand concept. Does it fit into the core of the brand spirit? Can it fully reflect the tone of the Cadillac brand? In other words, finding the right brand positioning is more important than traffic.
And the facts have proved that Cadillac's logic is correct.
Gu Ailing, who "went home to the competition", has won "1 gold and 1 silver" and performed very well. On the field, it is clear that you can choose more stable actions to keep the top three, but Gu Ailing's third jump resolutely chose the difficult action of "left body rotation 1620 degree safety grab board" that has never been challenged, and won the gold medal in one fell swoop, which is a spirit of courage to break through itself and pursue the ultimate, which is highly consistent with Cadillac's brand concept of "brave start".
Outside the arena, Gu Ailing is also a Stanford scholar, fashionista and other multiple identities, and the energy brought to her by different life experiences makes her more courageous, personal and intelligent, and also brings her the ability to explore and create unknown areas, which is in line with Cadillac's brand core god of "courage, style and innovation".
What is more attractive is Gu Ailing's wisdom and temperament. When she won the gold medal, she did not indulge in the joy of success, but would comfort the French athlete Tes Ludd, who played abnormally. She has also mentioned many times in interviews that she wants to be a strong role model for young girls, telling them to have the courage to set big dreams, everything is possible! With practical actions, she broke the stereotype of women engaged in skiing, so that more women can devote themselves to this sport and realize their dreams.
As a distinct representative of Generation Z, Gu Ailing has become the best example of cadillac brand spirit in the new era of young people.
The same goes for the Buick brand. Behind the choice of spokesperson, it is an in-depth analysis of brand culture. According to the relevant person in charge, before signing Su Yiming, in addition to understanding his strength, the image, personality, and every information must be carefully considered by the marketing team. "Rooted in the century-old Buick brand is an enterprising spirit, the user group is getting younger and younger, in addition to strength and potential, we are more concerned about whether athletes can become a role model for young consumers with an enterprising spirit."
Similarly, Su Yiming did not disappoint everyone. When everyone was indignant about his missing gold medal, he stood up and called on the audience to stop criticizing the referee. After that, he won the men's snowboard jumping competition with strength. "With an enterprising attitude, run to every snowstorm." Buick's brand culture is also perfectly presented in Su Yiming.
After stepping on the "burst point"
Choosing the right spokesperson is only one of the steps, and more importantly, how to harvest the greatest communication effect after choosing the right one. Standing at a new starting point, SAIC-GM's marketing team is facing new challenges.
In fact, at last year's Guangzhou Auto Show, Cadillac exhibited the "XT4 Snow Country Chariot" created with Gu Ailing. This "chariot" is equipped with skis in front of the wheel and achieves cross-border linkage with ice and snow sports. In January this year, when Gu Ailing returned to China to prepare for the competition, Cadillac launched the video "Homecoming" on major platforms, using consumer interests to tell brand stories, create hot events, and then expand through the interaction and sharing of social networks.
Cadillac constantly tries new marketing forms, combined with hot events in sports, music, art and other fields, carries out cross-border linkage, through continuous brand diversification and extension communication, constantly deepens the brand proposition in different cross-border circles, deeply interprets the brand's "new American luxury", and allows consumers to truly feel the style and style of this century-old luxury brand in the new era.
Before Su Yiming impacted the final, on Valentine's Day on February 14, Buick cheered him up with the theme of "If you love, what storm and snow are afraid". It is revealed that on the day of Su Yiming's 18th birthday, the Buick brand will send him a surprise of coming-of-age ceremony, and there are a series of follow-up marketing plans worth looking forward to.
Not only that, Buick and Cadillac also did a dream linkage, officially called "this gram, triumph", which can be described as a full degree of attention.
Who attracts attention? Who is the biggest winner? On the field, the athletes fought hard. Off the field, to some extent, it is also a battle of brand marketing, which tests the responsiveness, creativity, planning ability and so on of the brand.
"In addition to sports marketing, we will also try more innovative marketing models to deepen in different cross-border circles to support the brand upwards and improve the brand reputation." The relevant person in charge of SAIC-GM said. The race is coming to an end, and for SAIC-GM, new explorations will never stop.