• by Karl Greenberg , March 1, 2012

Buick is about to launch a raft of TV ads and marketing activity aimed at getting eyes on its latest car and smallest vehicle to date, the Verano. The car launched in December, but is now heading into dealerships in volume. And spring is when people head to dealerships.

The effort begins with a pair of humorous ads that talk about the audio qualities of the vehicle. Actually, one of the spots is about the audio-blocking qualities of the Buick, a brand with a rep for being among the quietest rides in the business. The other spot is about the on-board IntelliLink infotainment system. The latter ad suggests that having a Verano with IntelliLink is like having a caravan of buses behind you with different bands. 

Craig Bierley, director of advertising and promotions for Buick/GMC, says the media placement for the campaign will be big on sports, as Buick hones in on NCAA sports as a core affinity marketing tactic to align Buick with achievement. Buick had a big presence at the College Football Bowl Championship Series this year. "The Verano is good for us to expand reach of the brand to conquest buyers," says Bierley. "We are growing the brand and finding new owners."

He says Verano's buyer profile will align with Buick's 40% conquest, half from import brands. "Verano will be at least that high because it competes in a segment in which there really is no entry vehicle." The 60-second Verano launch ad, which sets the tone for the vehicle as a car that is all about the unexpected, first aired during broadcast of the BCS. That ad was then cut down to two 30-second spots, says Bierley.

One “Unexpected” vignette has a woman at a bar realizing that the guy who is sitting in with the band because the regular axe-man is sick is none other than Peter Frampton. "The idea is that unexpected pleasures are greatest part of life," says Bierley. The Verano does indeed have such surprises: on a cool morning, one will discover that it has a feature usually found at the higher realms of the luxury market: a heated steering wheel.

The media buy for the five "Unexpected" ads as well as the two new ones, will pick up with "Celebrity Apprentice" and "NCAA Mens Basketball," says Bierley. He says the GM division needs a big stage for the smaller car. "We needed a place to be big where I could launch a vehicle to a wide audience. I need that big stage because we have lots of launches coming over several years. With football and basketball, fewer people TiVo the broadcast -- and frankly, the audience composition is great for us: they are college graduates, after all; an educated, affluent audience -- an alumnae audience."

As part of the NCAA participation Buick will extend the Human Achievement cross-promotional campaign, a documentary series focused on former NCAA stars who go on to do good for their communities. "We will be continuing that with 20 new stories this year, and will have a 30-minute program on Human Achievement produced by Turner and running on CBS."

And later this year there will be another roster of Verano ads as the company rolls out a turbo version of the car. "Right now, such technology as IntelliLink -- that's what we are leading with. Then we’ll talk about turbo," says Bierley.