YEAR-LONG MARKETING PROGRAM GENERATE AWARENESS, ENTHUSIASM FOR SATURN VUE

The 2002 Saturn VUE plays a key role in Saturn's long-term strategy to expand its product portfolio and grow into a larger company. To get the VUE off to a successful start in one of the automotive market's fastest-growing segments, Saturn conducted a year-long communications plan to generate awareness and excitement for its innovative new compact sport-utility.

The integrated marketing program used direct mail, auto shows and the Internet to tell customers about the unique features that VUE brings to market. Saturn also took its promotional message to the air with the Saturn Lightship, a blimp that travels across the United States supporting a variety of events.

"We want customers to know that the Saturn VUE is a new product that reflects Saturn's risk-taking, innovative spirit," said Jill Lajdziak, vice president for Saturn sales, service and marketing. "We have more than 115,000 people who have signed up to receive information on the VUE. Over half of those prospects have never owned a Saturn."

The VUE represents an important expansion of Saturn's product line. Saturn introduced the S-Series small cars as 1991 models, and has delivered more than two million vehicles since then. The lineup was expanded with the addition of the midsize L-Series sedan and wagon in the 2000 model year.

The Saturn VUE is the first of four new products that Saturn will introduce over the next four years. It will be followed by a new small sedan, a new small coupe and a fourth product that will be disclosed at a later date.

Like Saturn's other products, the VUE was designed to appeal to customers who would have otherwise bought a non-GM product. More than 75 percent of Saturn buyers list a competitive make as their second-choice vehicle, with over half saying they would have bought an import brand.

Growing segment
While most automotive segments are struggling to stay even, compact sport-utility vehicles are expanding at a fast pace in the United States. Sales in the segment are projected to grow 33 percent, from about 730,000 units in 2001 to about 970,000 vehicles in 2005. Industry analysts say customers are attracted to the segment by good value, car-like handling and a host of new entries.

The Saturn VUE was designed to have a wide appeal that crosses age and gender. Its target audience is professional, values education and takes an active role in the community. Saturn VUE target customers are passionate about their families and friends, and engage in sports they can enjoy with others, such as biking, hiking, golfing and camping.

Prospective customers are likely to own a home and spend time and money making it look great, through decorating and gardening. When they shop, they prefer stores that offer contemporary and elegant products, but at a good value.

In demographic terms, the VUE's target audience has a median age of 40-45 and a median household income of $70,000. Buyers are expected to be 60-to-65 percent college graduates, about equally split between males and females, and 30-to-35 percent singles.

Customer communications
Saturn unveiled its new sport-utility vehicle at the Miami Auto Show on Oct. 6, 2000, giving potential customers their first look at the all-new product. The debut was Web cast on www.saturn.com.

About seven weeks later, Saturn launched a "dialogue marketing" initiative by mailing an informative foldout that revealed the vehicle's name via 3-D glasses. The name - Saturn VUE - floats out of a nature scene when viewed with the special red and blue lenses.

The name announcement kicked off a regular series of communications to prospective customers, detailing the Saturn VUE's advantages "On the Outside," "On the Inside," "On the Safe Side" and "On the Fun Side." Consumers signed up to participate in the program through response cards at auto shows, Saturn's 800 number or at the Saturn Web site.

As the auto show season concluded, Saturn launched three "mobile event teams" to maintain the momentum created by the VUE's appearances at auto shows across the country. These mobile event teams were designed to support select corporate and regional events in a fun, interactive way. The teams were composed of a transportable display containing a Saturn VUE, supporting audio/visual properties, and an interactive remote control VUE race track supported by a Saturn representative. The tours were created in partnership with GM Powertrain, which supplied several display elements to provide consumers more information on the VTi variable transmission.

Saturn Lightship
One of the unique pre-launch marketing tools is the Saturn Lightship, which debuted in the summer of 2001. The Saturn Lightship, a 165-foot, 6,335-pound A150 blimp, has traveled across the country to a variety of events to generate awareness of the Saturn VUE.

The Saturn Lightship supplies television networks with live aerial footage to complement their broadcast of specific events, such as NCAA and professional sports. It uses an aerial platform and gyrostabilized television camera to give the television audience a variety of viewing angles.

The Saturn Lightship has also been used to provide a dramatic visual enhancement to some of the events staged by Saturn VUE mobile event teams. These teams travel across the country, utilizing static vehicle displays as well as interactive display elements to provide an opportunity for hundreds of thousands of consumers to see Saturn's newest entry. Events include Saturn retailer activities, owner enthusiasm events and cycling races, as well as non-Saturn events such as college football games.

The Saturn Lightship is elevated by 150,000 cubic feet of helium and features a special internal illumination system that allows the Lightship to glow during nighttime operations. It is powered by Twin Lycoming 10 360-P1G6 motors with constant speed variable pitch reversible propellers. Cruising speed is 40 knots (47 mph) with a maximum speed of 52 knots (62 mph). The Lightship's range is 531 miles with an average daily distance of 400 miles.

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