Wahl steers Cadillac back to its roots

DETROIT — Following a nearly 10-year break, Deborah Wahl is back in the auto industry, with the grandiose task of redefining Cadillac's reputation and repositioning it for the future.

Both objectives are challenging on their own, but Wahl, who was named chief marketing officer last March, believes Cadillac is ripe for a comeback, much like the city of Detroit, whose French founder is the brand's namesake.

"It's a key time for Cadillac. It's a key time for Detroit and the revitalization of Detroit," she told Automotive News this month on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show. "Cadillac wants to play a role in that and be part of that as well. It all fits together really well."

The same path once led to marketing gold for Chrysler, which embraced its gritty and then nearly bankrupt hometown as a paragon of luxury in a celebrated 2011 Super Bowl ad.

The move has since been reversed, as has so much of the brand's marketing signature from that era — with its stylized imagery, operatic music and cobblestone streets — which dealers criticized as being "too New York" and taking the vehicles out of the spotlight.

Ads for the Cadillac XT4, Wahl's breakout new-vehicle campaign, are more upbeat and less pretentious and feature well-known music. For Wahl, it's about recapturing the brand's heritage instead of completely changing it.

"If you look at what we're bringing to market, the brand as we go forward really goes back to its classic heritage about perseverance, engineering and imagination," she said, calling it an evolution of the brand's "Dare Greatly" campaign.

Wahl, 56, came to Cadillac from McDonald's USA, where she had been CMO. But before that, she spent more than a decade in the auto industry, including as CMO at Chrysler until her job was eliminated in a 2008 restructuring. She also worked in marketing at Toyota Motor Sales USA, Mazda North America and Ford Motor Co.

At Cadillac, Wahl is armed with a luxury Ellinghaus didn't have: product, and lots of it. Cadillac is in the "acceleration" phase of its long-term growth plan, which calls for a new or redesigned vehicle every six months on average. That started last year with the XT4 compact crossover, followed this year by the XT6 large crossover.

She also is expected to lead the messaging behind the brand's pivot toward electric vehicles. GM this month announced Cadillac would lead the automaker's push for more EV and fuel-cell-powered vehicles, including a new global crossover that will debut the company's next-generation EV platform — expected in 2021.

The fresh product and the opportunity to take an iconic brand into its next phase were among the reasons Wahl said she wanted to return to autos after stints in the fast-food and homebuilding industries.

"As a marketer, that's one of the greatest jobs that you could have," she said. "It's astounding the opportunities that are ahead."

Near-term marketing endeavors will include a revamped Book by Cadillac vehicle subscription program, a new sponsorship deal with the PGA of America and a continuation of the brand's prominent partnership with the Oscars.

Wahl declined to comment on exact plans for the awards show next month, but she stressed the products that are changing Cadillac's image as a large-car brand.

"We are now in all the growth segments in the SUV category," she said. "It's really important for people to understand that."