Life & Style | Motoring
GM's Chevrolet cuts back on sports sponsorships
General Motors Corp's Chevrolet brand is "significantly" reducing spending on sports sponsorships because of falling sales and the economic slowdown.
- Bloomberg
- Published: 20:26 October 26, 2008
Philadelphia: General Motors Corp's Chevrolet brand is "significantly" reducing spending on sports sponsorships because of falling sales and the economic slowdown.
Chevrolet will stop promotions tied to college sports and only advertise during games, said Philip Caruso, national promotions manager. The brand will also eliminate partnerships with some of the smaller sports such as skiing, he said.
"The economy is making us re-look at everything we do," Caruso said in an interview after awarding Major League Baseball's Roberto Clemente Award at the World Series in Philadelphia. "It's cutting back mainly spending in the sports area and promotions as a whole, and then reallocating in some of those areas that help grow our business."
General Motors, the largest US automaker, and Ford Motor Co, the No. 2, have reduced sports marketing as a way to cut costs amid falling sales and plummeting stock prices.
Plunging shares
US auto sales slid 27 per cent in September and deteriorating consumer confidence and a slowing economy may erode them further.
GM is closing plants, curbing production and downsizing its lineup of cars after US sales dropped 18 per cent in September. The company is in talks with Chrysler about a possible merger, according to five people with knowledge about the discussions.
Shares of GM have fallen 76 per cent this year, the biggest decline among the 30 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
General Motors said last month it won't air a commercial during the Super Bowl because of its restructuring. The automaker's Buick brand has had talks with Tiger Woods about whether to continue its sponsorship of the golfer beyond 2009.
Caruso declined to say how much Chevrolet is cutting back, saying only "we are reducing significantly."
Merger: In search of meaning
Chrysler LLC owner Cerberus Capital Management LP isn't seeking to remove General Motors Corp leaders including chief executive officer Rick Wagoner in a merger of the automakers, a person familiar with the talks said.
Cerberus also wants a "meaningful" stake, not a majority, in a combined company, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private.
Wagoner, 55, is the longest-serving CEO at a US automaker, after taking the top spot at Detroit-based GM in 2000.
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