Case Teaching Package
A case teaching package is available for this case. It includes strategies for case presentation, key concepts, solutions to the assignment questions in the case, and suggestions for the most effective ways to work this case into your course.

Length
This case is 10 pages in length and its case teaching package is 6 pages.

Abstract

General Motors' Pontiac division has had the greatest experience with the use of brand managers. Once a division sporting youthful, "fun" cars with interesting styling features, its products had become stodgy over the years until then-Planning Manager John Middlebrook created in 1981 the theme of building exciting cars. Captured in the advertising taglines "We Build Excitement" and "We Are Driving Excitement", the division wants to revive the sales of its Grand Prix by going back to the car's original "muscle car" roots of the early-1960s. How can Grand Prix brand manager Bill Heugh capitalize on the brand equity he believes the car possesses and what design features will capture the spirit and flair of the original Grand Prix? Various design compromises had to be made and GM's inevitable delays have delayed its July 1996 launch. After all the division's efforts, can this car be successful?

Linkages to Textbooks or Journal Articles/Fit Within a Course

For use by marketing majors in a marketing management course at either the undergraduate or graduate level. It can be used as a "stand-alone" case dealing with the use of the brand manager concept in a major division of a large corporation, or it can be used as part of a continuing or semester-long series of cases dealing with General Motors. If the latter teaching strategy is employed, this case should follow the use of the introductory case, GM Tries to Sharpen Its Car Images. After following that case with Pontiac Goes Back to the Future, students can move on to Right-Sizing GM's Dealership Network to understand GM's further problems with retailing its automobiles and light trucks.

Study Questions

1. During Ron Zarella's first meeting with Pontiac's brand managers in December, 1995, he emphasized (a) the importance of brand equity and (b) making the brand profitable. How much brand equity does the Grand Prix bring to the 1997 model year? How much brand equity can be found in the 1997 Grand Prix itself? If the new Grand Prix has brand equity, what do you believe GM should do with that equity?
2. The results of John Middlebrook's Imaging Conferences begun in January, 1981, resulted in the Pontiac Division's "Excitement Era" which has been a continuing theme (1984's "We Build Excitement" and 1993's "We Are Driving Excitement") even to today. What steps did Bill Heugh take to ensure the 1997 Grand Prix fulfilled the division's desire to produce exciting cars?
3. Is it possible for the Pontiac Division to produce a unique Grand Prix? If the 1997 Grand Prix "is really the new General Motors," how secure is GM's future?
4. Based on the clusters of brands found in the Grand Prix's general price class, what particular conclusions can be drawn about this car's competitiveness?
5. Given the industry's light vehicle trends, should the Grand Prix have even been continued in the Pontiac Division's automobile line-up?

The downloadable file for this case is in Microsoft® Word 97 for Windows®.

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