General Motors (GM) recently announced it will be ending another one of its popular American brands and icons. This time it will be the Mr. Goodwrench and Goodwrench Service Centers. As of February 1, 2011, there will no longer be any Goodwrench Service Centers in the United States. However, the Goodwrench Service brand will continue to be used in Canada.
The icon, Mr. Goodwrench, will be terminated from the job he’s held for close to forty years. Mr. Goodwrench now symbolizes the thousands of Americans who have been terminated after working for the auto industry for decades instead of representing GM. Just like its actual employees, GM’s long-time icon is being axed due to the corporation’s attempt to regain its financial viability. GM has recently closed down several of its brands, trying to “rightsize” the corporation so it can focus on its four top selling brands.
Emphasis on brands rather than corporate images
The only brands GM plans to retain are Cadillac, GMC, Buick, and Chevrolet. To help counteract the negative images recently acquired by its corporate office, GM is emphasizing that each of its products are a separate brand. To help create the distancing, GM is doing away with its corporate umbrella label of Goodwrench Services. In September, in lieu of Goodwrench Services, each brand will start marketing its own specific brand service and parts department. Goodwrench Services will become Cadillac Certified Services, GMC Certified Services, Buick Certified Services, and Chevrolet Certified Services.
GM has also been distancing itself from its specific brands by removing the small GM badges from outside the cars. The GM badges have also been removed from inside the cars. The safety-belts and keys also no longer carry the GM badges. GM is content to let the consumers continue associating customer service and ownership experience with the specific brand rather than with the corporate brand. According to GM’s research, most consumers haven’t associated the specific brands with GM’s bankruptcy and government bailout.
Mr. Goodwrench is outdated “corporate clutter”
According to GM spokeswoman Pamela Flores, Mr. Goodwrench became too disconnected from the GM brand over the years. GM wants the customers to associate the repair services with the specific brand customer services being offered. GM is hoping this will encourage customers to use only the dealers’ repairs services. GM says this will improve the consumer’s ownership experience. However, it will also have the benefit of continuously exposing the owner to the dealership’s other marketing promotions. Thus, a consumer who goes in for a car repair may be talked into buying a nice, newer car instead of fixing up the old one.
More reasons to axe Mr. Goodwrench
Mr. Goodwrench also doesn’t fit the modern technology image GM wants to project for its four remaining brands. GM wants people to think of the vehicles as being high-tech modern vehicles. Modern cars don’t require much greasy mechanical work. It’s usually a computer problem nowadays. Steve Hill, GM’s vice-president of customer care and after-sales services, says this is a declaration of GM’s commitment to customers. The company plans to increase service adviser and technician training, as well as improve customer satisfaction.
Joel Ewanick, GM’s head of marketing, referred to Mr. Goodwrench as being corporate clutter. Mr. Ewanick said the company now wants to make their vehicles the stars of the show. Numerous advertising and company marketing divisions have commonly used fictional characters to portray companies and their products’ attributes. Now they are starting to give way to more modern technological campaigns.
We have seen many other iconic “stars of the show” that were a part of this particular marketing trend disappear as well. We have already said goodbye to Mr. Planter, Mr. Clean, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Mrs. Butterworth. Now we bid a fond farewell to Mr. Goodwrench, as well. One does have to wonder though what America will become like if all the American icons keep on fading away. Will it still seem like we’re living in the United States if all the American icons disappear?
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