Can Sky Save Saturn?

Recently Saturn has been struggling in sales, so GM is hoping to revive the brand with the new Saturn Sky. Instead of pulling the brand off of the market, GM is taking a huge risk with the Sky roadster in hopes that it will turn things around for them. They know that Saturn does have brand loyal customers, so they're hoping that the new sporty look of the Sky will spark some interest.

The new vechicles are supposedly a big upgrade from the Saturn. They're steel-bodied cars instead of plastic, and the Sky's are coming with a pretty hefty price tag. But will it be enough to revive the brand and get them out of the hole?

In my opinion, some serious marketing skills are needed if GM thinks that they can make up for their losses with the Saturn in the past few years, but it definitely can be done. Their biggest obstacle will be to transform the idea of a Saturn from a cheap car to an "affordable luxury." A tough task, but not impossible.

I think the Sky looks like a really nice car, and yet it is still affordable to those "young professionals" who are just finally making enough money to buy their own car that's a little nicer than the one they learned to drive on. I can see that being the biggest target market.

This is just one example of the issues that advertisers are faced with. It is also a great example of repositioning the brand or product in the eyes of the consumer.