Diversity Moves to the Forefront

Multicultural has gone mainstream in the Motor City. With automakers still struggling for sales, diversity marketing has taken on a new urgency among the U.S. big-three car makers, said executives with the domestic manufacturers at the North American International Auto Show here last week.

General Motors doubled the ad dollars it directs to diversity marketing in 2002, and plans to double them again in 2003, to more than $100 million, said John Middlebrook, GM’s vp and general man ager, vehicle brand marketing and corporate advertising.