Cadillac will pitch ELR digitally
 | Cadillac's Don Butler: ELR advertising will be aimed at people who “don't really consume mass media.” |
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To sell the ELR plug-in hybrid, Cadillac plans to reach affluent and tech-savvy consumers on the Web, where they spend most of their media-consuming time.
Don Butler, Cadillac's vice president of marketing, said he will target potential ELR buyers with digital advertisements. Smartphones and tablets will get special emphasis.
The target buyers are wealthy entrepreneurs or executives with a penchant for design, who "don't really consume mass media," he said.
"They're much more in the digital space, so the way to reach them is through tablets, through experiences on Web sites and through direct engagement with experiential" events, Butler said in a recent interview.
The ELR, which uses the same hybrid powertrain as the Chevrolet Volt, will arrive in showrooms in the first quarter of 2014. The sticker has not been announced, but guesses from outsiders range from the low $50,000s to north of $70,000. The 2013 Volt's sticker is $39,995, including the destination charge.
The ELR travels about 35 miles on battery power -- shy of the Volt's 38 miles -- before a 1.4-liter gasoline-powered generator kicks on to power the electric motor, giving the car overall range of more than 300 miles.
The front-wheel-drive, four-seat coupe will qualify for California's coveted carpool-lane sticker, seen as crucial for its prospects in the nation's largest green-car market.
TV commercials will feature the ELR as a halo vehicle for Cadillac after the vehicle goes on sale next year.
"We're going to have people that haven't been interested in GM and haven't been interested in Cadillac pay attention to us because of the ELR," Butler said. "We just haven't been on their radar."
You can reach Ryan Beene at rbeene@crain.com. -- Follow Ryan on 
