GM’s Mark LeNeve explains re-structuring, review of black ad agencies

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LeNeve: In essence, that means that if you develop a launch creative, it has to appeal across all lines. You can go ahead and do very specific things, which we do. Like you said, it doesn’t have to be an ethnicity segmentation, it could be suburban soccer moms. But we do do specific targeted things against an African American target, an Asian target, a youth target, etc. And to some extent those are done by specific agencies, and to some extent they’re done by the general market agency. Most of the time they’re done in collaboration between the two. Make sense?

I understand what you’re saying. Let me let you clarify something you said in the statement that was sent out and that was attributed to you. The only agency that has been selected to work on anything related to African American work is Vigilante [which has already been assigned Buick-Pontiac-GMC work in the re-structuring]…

LeNeve: Although Carol H. is continuing to…

Well, she is the incumbent agency in the review for Chevy, but there are no guarantees she’ll be re-assigned the account.

LeNeve: But it will be an African American agency that will get the Chevy business, and that will get the Cadillac-Saab-Hummer business.

Well, define for me what is an African American agency as it pertains to the criteria for the agency review process.

LeNeve: It would be an agency that has a track record of being able to provide client services, creative, strategic counsel on appealing to and improving your business in the African American community. And I think it would just be common sense that the management and the talent base of that agency would be largely African American or would have certainly have that expertise on roster. That’s how I would define it. I guess I haven’t thought of it but that’s how I would define it.

Unless I’m wrong, Campbell-Ewald has acted as the African American agency for Chevy, correct?

LeNeve: No, it’s Carol H… Well, Carol H. did retail [focused advertising] for Chevy…

And everything else African American focused for Chevy came from Campbell-Ewald…

Ryndee Carney [GM spokesperson]: There were two African American agencies that had been doing African American advertising for Chevrolet; Carol H. Williams, Translation Marketing, and also some work has been done by Campbell-Ewald, the general market agency for Chevrolet. That’s the prior state.

LeNeve: And we want to get to one [agency]. And it will be an African American agency in my definition as I just gave you.

Traditionally, for most Fortune 500 companies involved in ethnic marketing, one of the criterions has been that the African American ad agency be at least 51% owned by African Americans. Is that not a criterion for GM’s review process?

LeNeve: When the bid specs went out, I didn’t ask for that or know if it’s in there. I’m assuming not.

That doesn’t factor into the relationship that you want to have with an African American agency?

LeNeve: I don’t think that it’s my place to worry about the ownership structure. These are independent businesses. This year, for example outside the agency side, we appointed 40 new diversity dealers, which is a big number in a tough year. We had 30-something that sold their businesses. Cashed out. It’s not my place to say don’t cash out. That’s the way America works.

The ownership structure of these agencies is changing all the time, in terms of what percent is owned by a parent holding company. There are very few that I know of that are completely independent. I believe that Chrysler’s [African American agency, GlobalHue] used to be part of their holding company. And I think recently they became independent. So I don’t have criteria either way. If they’re independent and the best, great. If they’re part of or structured some way with a holding company and they’re the best, great. I just want the best talent.

I’m just trying to get at what GM’s commitment is to working with minority-owned businesses. Where does that fall in the criteria…?

LeNeve: We’re very committed across all parts of our company, whether it’s material we’re buying for the vehicles, or independent media companies, to doing business with minority-owned, or minority-dominated, or minority-influenced. But I can’t regulate who owns what piece. If we assign business to an independent agency and then they got bought by a holding company, and they have a proven track record, should we fire them? I don’t think so.

I can’t manage that. I’ve got enough stuff to manage with 7,000 dealers, eight brands and a weak housing market. I just want the best talent. I want to continue to grow our business, both with the agencies and with the public.

Read Part Two of this interview on Monday, Dec. 3rd

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