• by Tanya Gazdik , July 24, 2023

As General Motors transitions to an all-electric future, OnStar is playing a key role in helping its parent brand go from automaker to tech company. 

On July 24, OnStar is reintroducing the 25-year-old brand with the launch of a new ad campaign and brand platform: “Better Never Stops” from Campbell-Ewald.

Today, OnStar offers an expanded portfolio of digital products and connected services in four main customer-benefit categories: safety, entertainment, control and drives.  

The service enables users to reach an advisor in their vehicle, on their phone or at home. Movies, music, podcasts and in-vehicle Apps are available from any seat.

Users can connect to their vehicle from anywhere with the vehicle mobile app and can get real-time maps, hands-free driving and off-road upgrades. 

The campaign aims to showcase each GM vehicle brand and the breadth of the technologies and features that OnStar provides.

This reinforces the idea that GM vehicles from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac can get better over time with the added ingredient of OnStar, through the expanded portfolio of digital products and connected services it offers.

OnStar partnered with Campbell Ewald and Impossible Objects production on the creative. The ad was shot with the same technology used in Hollywood on shows like "The Mandalorian," allowing efficiency while still having dynamic scenes to execute the creative, according to the agency.

Many of OnStar’s tech features are exclusive to GM vehicles, which aim to make them even more compelling to customers,  says Laura Thornton, marketing director, GM Digital Business and OnStar.

“While OnStar is not currently available on non-GM vehicles, the OnStar Guardian app is available to any customer in the U.S. and Canada, giving them access to OnStar and its advisors, and can be used inside and outside any vehicle,” she says.

The company is targeting a younger customers with the effort.

“While we believe most demographics can find value in OnStar’s features, this new campaign is targeted towards technologically minded Gen Z and millennial drivers,” Thornton tells Marketing Daily. “This audience is seeking technology that restores balance in their busy days – offering convenience, entertainment, and more, in their daily grind.”

This open-ended multichannel campaign will run across strategic media partners including video streaming services like Roku, Hulu, YouTube and more, as well as social media, digital advertising, Digital Out of Home and audio streaming (Pandora and Spotify).

As an industry leader, OnStar has been synonymous with safety for more than 25 years, she says.

“This campaign is laying the foundation for OnStar’s evolution,” Thornton says. “Following extensive research, OnStar is evolving its brand with the tag of ‘Better Never Stops,’ where OnStar now stands for safety as well as the full-suite of in-vehicle experiences.”