Steve Tihanyi is one of those rare executives that are very easy to interview on the phone, despite boasting a long, almost intimidating title at General Motors: A 14-year GM veteran, Tihanyi is currently GM’s general director, marketing alliances, services and branded entertainment, and is charged mainly with finding out-of-the-box marketing solutions that go beyond the traditional :30 spot. As several Chevrolet brands currently star in Univision’s primetime novela El Talismán, Portada spoke to Tihanyi about the automaker’s efforts in the Hispanic space, and why brand consideration and brand opinion is higher among U.S. Hispanics than in the so-called general market. An edited transcript follows.
Portada: Several GM vehicles are prominently showcased in Univision’s El Talismán. How did this integration come about?
Steve Tihanyi, General Director, Marketing Alliances, Services and Branded Entertainment at General Motors: “Three years ago we started actively to look for ways to get a little bit closer to the Hispanic audience. We were looking for ways to have [Hispanics] accept our messaging with open arms; and we found this was possible through integrations on relevant programming, including mun2’ RPM Miami; Univision’s Eva Luna and currently El Talismán.”
P: Are these integrations good to boost brand awareness or actual purchases of vehicles?
ST: “Chevrolet already has great brand equity among Hispanics. I have data that supports that when you do [product] integrations really well, you end up building brand consideration and opinion overall; and ultimately it becomes a great way to improve the effectiveness of your traditional advertising.”
P: What exactly is brand consideration?
ST: “If you are a buyer, and you are in the market to buy a car, you start doing your shopping list and listing your preferences for one brand up to 6 months before you are ready to buy a vehicle. And that is a particular important moment for us. We want to be there when consumers are considering buying a car. And these integrations really work. Data shows us that opinion for the brand increases 37%, while consideration for the brand increases 34% among Hispanics (which is six to 10 points higher than in the general market.) None of this is to say that if you see a Chevy on El Talismán, you are going to go buy a car the next day. It is a process that involves a series of steps.”
P: Is General Motors shifting budgets from traditional advertising to branded integration and other efforts?
ST: “As big as GM is, we do have finite budgets. We are making shifts as necessary to appeal to the right audiences. I cannot disclose specific budget figures, but I can tell you we are recalibrating and refocusing our [marketing] budget to be more effective. However, one doesn’t replace the other: An actual :30 traditional TV spot becomes more effective when it goes hand in hand with integration.”
P: I read somewhere that you ask to read the script of the shows where GM integrates a particular brand in. Do you read Spanish? Or how do you deal with a telenovela script?
“I speak a little Hungarian, and a little French… but no Spanish. I have people here who are tuned into Spanish, so they help out.”
P: Besides television, GM does a lot of content creation for the web. Are you doing much in the online space targeting Hispanics?
ST: “Media consumption habits are changing very fast, and I see a great opportunity to step into this arena. But to be honest, we are not quite as active there yet. Yes, we have experimented with some things; but no, we do not have a full-scale digital strategy for Hispanics -yet.”
P: GM recently consolidated its $3 billion global media-buying and planning account with Aegis' Carat unit. How does this affect GM’s [Hispanic] integrations –like that of El Talismán– that were done in tandem with Starcom MediaVest?
ST: “We keep moving forward. Nothing changes, really. We have an in-house dedicated group working on branded entertainment; so irrespective of what happens at the agency level, we will continue to be involved with the producers and other executives working on the shows. The media component is only one part of the conversation.”
P: Do you watch telenovelas?
ST: “[LAUGHS] I peruse through the channels, but I am not the right demographic. I do get copies of most everything we do and then I watch them in my private time.”
