General Motors Expects Film to Boost Sale

The movie Transformers features several General Motors vehicles and the Detroit automaker hopes that the film will boost the sale of the vehicles starring on the movie. Four General Motors autos have been featured in the full-length film - the new Chevy Camaro, the Pontiac Solstice, the GMC Topkick and the Hummer H2.

Although movie posters for the film list actors as the stars, General Motors thinks that the four vehicles are the true stars of the movie. “You're going to see these cars as the heroes. You're not going to see the other actors," says Dino Bernacchi, GM's associate director of branded entertainment. "These cars are the stars, literally, in the movie,” he added.

In the past, General Motors, like other car manufacturers has tried to attract the attention of young car buyers. The film gave the company its best result so far in terms of introducing their vehicles to the younger generation. And with the promotion of the four vehicles, General Motors is looking to see younger car buyers in their showrooms.

The shrinking market share of General Motors in the United States auto market has the company hoping that the exposure of the vehicles may lead to interest in the cars themselves. The company has been promoting the movie and has been pointing out their tie-ins with the film.

“This is hopefully a discovery point for maybe some of those who didn't know the great design, the great-looking vehicles that we have out today,” said Bernacchi. “I find it really difficult to believe that a global blockbuster movie like this that has so many merchandising components to it that we're not going to get incremental exposure.”

The exposure that General Motors is looking for is evident in the movie. The word “Camaro” is mentioned numerous times in the movie. Aside from that, the film also showed close up shots of the Camaro, the Pontiac Solstice which may have been equipped with a Pontiac cold air intake, the Hummer H2 and the GMC Topkick.

Analysts are also aware of the exposure that General Motors vehicles received in the film. David Koehler, a clinical marketing professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, has this to say: “Product placement has never been so blatant, and the potential for a global platform to build brand awareness could not have come at a better time for GM. The younger demographic most likely to flock to the theaters is exactly what GM needs.”

An issue raised though is that many young car buyers will not be able to afford the vehicles featured in the film. Erich Merkle, the vice president of IRN Inc., an auto consulting company has this to say: “Keep in mind that some of the vehicles they're showing are vehicles the youth market won't be able to afford. But they do have a tremendous influence over what people who can afford those vehicles go to buy. You shouldn't underestimate the influence of the youth. I don't know a Baby Boomer out there who doesn't want to be cool.”

Whether the film will transform sale for General Motors from dismal to dazzling is yet to be determined. But no doubt, the exposure of the four General Motors vehicles in the film will make them more popular. And if young car buyers today may not be able to afford these vehicles, in five or six years time, they may be able to and any of the four vehicles maybe their vehicle of choice.