The case enables a discussion on how Saturn, a new brand from the GM stable, could occupy a place of prominence in a competitive market through well-thought out and deftly executed integrated marketing communication strategies. Saturn Corporation was different from its very conceptualization to its placement in the market. No wonder, the line: "A different kind of company, a different kind of car" has withstood the onslaught of changing times and holds a special place in the hearts of thousands of Americans.

On a wintry day in Detroit, the CEO of General Motors (GM), Roger B Smith (Smith) was about to make an announcement. Since he had taken over in 1981, `the cherubic chairman' of GM had already brought about big changes in reorganizing GM's lumbering organization structure. He had invested in robotics, space satellites and data-processing for which he had bought over entire companies such as Ross Perot's Electronic Data Systems and Hughes Aircraft Company when he could have just contracted their services.

On January 8, 1985, Smith was unveiling Saturn, GM's first new brand in 70 years. It was to be a lot more than just another car brand. At that time, Smith was famously quoted as stating, "Saturn is the key to GM's long-term competitiveness, survival and success as a domestic producer." As an independent subsidiary that relied on innovative technology and was managed by the workers and management in a joint decision making format, its mission was to "develop and produce an American made small car that will be fully competitive with the best of imports... (and) affirm that American ingenuity, American technology and American productivity can once again be the model and inspiration for the rest of the world."

In the early 1980s, GM was still the biggest automaker. In the light of recession, GM was losing money for the first time. The import market increased from 13% to more than 24% between 1970 and 1985. The new Japanese automakers were making cars of top-notch quality with half the workforce required by the GM factories (Exhibit I). GM then decided to fight back with the project, Saturn Corporation, named after the rocket that launched the Americans on the moon. To achieve this, they blew up the corporate model and started over by employing new techniques all the way from the assembly line to the showroom.

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