Brand Acumen

CASE STUDY

Cadillac desired a name that would revitalize the Cadillac brand and develop a single identity that would redefine the SUV market.

Through QualiQuantitative Interviews that specifically included 100 SUV dealers and 100 individuals who had owned an SUV for a minimum of three years, the following eight names were developed and evaluated:

• BackPacker
• Compass
• Evoq
• FitzRoy
• Journey
• Escalade
• Patagonia
• Terrex

Patagonia, a legally viable name in the automobile sector, spoke to vehicle ‘ruggedness’ and was recommended for a partnership with the outdoor clothing/gear company of the same name. Though respondents were not so attracted to the name Evoq, Cadillac later used the neologism (made-up word) for a concept car that later became the CTS. Terrex referred to ‘terrain’ and ‘extreme,’ and respondents noted it had an ‘x-factor’ that signaled the ‘great unknown’. Compass evoked a positive response for having an ‘outdoor feel’; the name was later used by Jeep for its compact crossover vehicle.

Finally, based on our QualiQuantitative, our brand name recommendation was the Escalde, which is now the best-selling model in it’s segment by a wide margin.