Louis Schiavone COMM350-0301 Nov.

12, 2013 A6: Analysis of Media: Chevrolet (Option 1) As a major automotive manufacturer, Chevrolet provides media sources with plenty of press releases and press kits. With its parent company General Motors, Chevrolet has its own dedicated news site, http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/news.html. The site is replete with all sorts of Chevy-specific media releases, ranging from economic reports (Chevrolet Delivers 12th Quarter of Record Global Sales) to features highlighting new models or special features (Fear of Night Driving? 2014 Chevrolet Impala Can Help.) A notable difference between Chevys consumer and media websites is that the media site is much more text- and information-heavy. The Chevrolet news site though, does include plenty of images, many of which are links to specific Chevrolet media-centric sites to fulfill the brands media relations efforts across its multiple market segments. Such segments include consumer vehicles, performance and racing, automotive tech and commercial vehicles. In terms of how the automotive media shares Chevys stories, a main point that comes out of the mass media coverage is the tendency to use the press release topics to perpetuate the agenda-setting theory. The mass media coverage does not simply mimic the news feed of Chevrolets media relations department, rather, it seems that news sources like Bloomberg and Jalopnik use Chevys press release topics to create broader stories. For example, in relation to the Chevrolet press release, GM Reports Third Quarter Net Income of $0.7 Billion, Bloomberg used financial data in their story, GMs New Pickups Help Third-Quarter Profit Beat Estimates to create a piece about domestic and global profit trends for the automaker. Interestingly, both the Chevrolet news release and Bloomberg story use images of the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck as headline images even though the truck is not the specific focus of either piece. Another example of this agenda-like trend is how the automotive news site Jalopnik.com covers the news about the 2015 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe SUVs. Chevrolet published an official release titled, Chevrolet Introduces All-New 2015 Tahoe and Suburban on Sept. 12, 2013, and the next day, Jalopnik published a story titled, Why Giant SUVs Are Still The Most Important Vehicles GM Makes. In the story, Jalopnik editor Travis Okulski effectively put a broad-scale spin on the news by applying the impact of the new trucks for the automotive community and the long-term implications of the trucks for General Motors based on their history of profitability for the brand. A good quote to pull from the story is, The Corvette might be an enthusiast's dream, the Volt makes greenies go giddy, but the full-size trucks are by far the most important vehicles GM will introduce this decade. This contrast is a good example of how Chevrolet released standard information and the automotive media used that information to instill practical implications of that info on the audience. Jalopnik would not be doing any automotive fans a service by simply regurgitating a press release by Chevrolet because those publics tend to know and understand enough of the basics. It seems that the Suburban and Tahoe news release offered a win-win opportunity for the manufacturer and the media because it produced an interesting discussion topic among the automotive community while releasing information about shiny new trucks too (which GM wants to sell in massive numbers). In a more traditional sense there are, of course, media releases that automotive journalists use to write their own stories based on what Chevrolet officially provides to them. A prime example of this involves the press release, Track-capable Camaro Z/28 validated at Nrburgring (published Oct. 15, 2013) and its corresponding story on the automotive news site

Jalopnik.com, Chevy Camaro Z/28 Will Destroy the Mustang Boss 302, Says Chevy. The release from Chevrolet highlights the performance data of the racetrack-oriented Camaro Z/28 model and compares it to other world-class sports cars: The Z/28s lap is four seconds faster than the Camaro ZL1, and beats published times for the Porsche 911 Carrera S and the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640. Meanwhile, the Jalopnik article highlights how Chevrolet hopes that its Camaro Z/28 will destroy its main competitor in the sports car segment, the Ford Mustang. An interesting difference from the journalistic perspective of Jalopnik is that the author, Washington, D.C.-based Patrick George, does not shy away from the obvious biases Chevrolet has in its information. George writes, The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is the muscular beast's ultimate evolution, a stripped-down track monster made to annihilate anything Ford can dish out. That includes the mighty Mustang Boss 302. Just ask a totally unbiased source with no dog in the fight whatsoever Chevrolet! in reference to the video (VNR) that accompanies the press release. Jalopnik uses that tone to avoid simply mimicking the press release for its audience, while still using the core theme of Chevys official media. In the case of Chevrolet, a barrier to receiving the type of news coverage it wants is journalists like George highlighting Chevrolets obvious superiority bias, especially when commenters on the Jalopnik article point out that Ford no longer produces the specific Mustang Boss 302 model that Chevrolet targeted with the Camaro Z/28. This is particularly strong evidence that while Chevrolet does all it can do to inform its audience with useful and favorable information, uncontrolled media stories may still impede the objectives Chevrolet has with such releases. Chevrolets press kit for its 2014 Silverado pickup truck is a lengthy, fact-filled and comprehensive feature of the features and capabilities of the refined iteration of Chevrolets famed pickup. Interestingly, the Associated Press story by Ann M. Job posted on ABCNews.com on Oct. 30, 2013 essentially sums up the press kit for the public or consumer audience. The striking difference between the two pieces is that Chevrolet released the press kit for the 2014 Silverado on Dec. 13, 2012. The disparity in timing between the pieces makes sense, because a journalist (not focused on automotive news) would have no need to write a story so far in advance of when the truck will actually be on sale to the public. In this case, it made sense for Chevrolet to release the press kit for the 2014 Silverado so early because the automotive media generally reports on upcoming vehicle versions (or speculation) as much as five years in advance for potential future models. An eerie similarity between the news story by Job and the official press release is that the news story by Job begins with, Dont let appearances fool you. Meanwhile, a lead quote in the official Chevrolet press kit from Jeff Luke, executive chief engineer for full-size and midsize trucks for Chevy says, Dont let the work boots fool you. With that (and other) reflections between the two written pieces, it seems that this is a case of a reporter paring down very directly a press release for the public. While it is evident that the press kit is for news media sources, the news story by Job reflects a consumer audience, by giving pricing information (Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, for a base, 2014 Silverado 1500 with four-wheel drive is $30,610. This is a Regular Cab model with two-wheel drive and V-6,) and comparing certain technical figures (fuel mileage, horsepower) to industry competitors from Ram and Ford. In conjunction, the press kit follows proper guidelines by not assuming a sales-oriented tone and it does not sound like an advertisement. The press kit has a much more straightforward factual tone, compared with what an advertisement would, and the press kit does not mention any of the industry competitors for the Silverado (in contrast to the news story). In general, the 2014 Silverado press kit is about facts, figures and details for the media to use in their stories, just as Ann M. Job did.

Much of the current press kit and press release information from Chevrolet comes from the 2013 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, a major industry convention for automotive aftermarket companies that produce parts to help consumers and specialists customize vehicles. Chevrolet capitalized on the venue by unveiling and announcing its new high-performance crate engine there, the Gen 5 LT1 small block. With the press release published Nov. 7, 2013, titled, 460-HP Gen 5 LT1 Crate Engine Concept Bows at SEMA, Chevrolet produced information that the media can use to help the company appeal to key publics. These publics include those who know the LT model engines for their history, those who are interested in the performance aftermarket segment (SEMA) and those who have interest in the new Corvette (which is powered by an iteration of the LT motor). The release covers all of the important technical specifications of the new engine, while providing more understandable language for the media audience who may not be as keen on engineering-speak. For example, the Gen 5 LT1 press release from SEMA explains the engines new direct injection system by saying that it works through ensuring a more complete burn of the fuel through precise control of the in the air-fuel mixture. Chevrolet does a good job of using language that describes their products well without sounding purely like commercials. For example, another SEMA-based release titled, Chevrolet Performance Cars Flex Muscles at SEMA Show prompts the audience to read the piece and see which vehicles Chevrolet brought to the convention. The brands PR effectively exists between news and promotion. Language that is receptive to its audiences is not the only tactic Chevrolet uses to maximize the message effectiveness in its media pieces, though. With the SEMA pieces and all of the others on the official media site, Chevrolet implements several methods for media members and others to use the information from Chevys news releases and press kits. The articles feature links to the raw material (photos and Word documents of the release via Creative Commons licensing), social media sharing links to Facebook, Twitter and RSS and a media contacts list for those who have eligible accounts on the Chevrolet PR websites. Furthermore, many of the press releases that Chevrolet publishes include videos (or Video News Releases/VNRs) that complement the release material. Such content enables Chevrolet to use multimedia to gain and present more information to its key publics, and through journalists work, the consumer audience. Chevrolet seems to publish efficiently, with an approximate average of four releases per week (during Oct. and Nov. 2013). Although the company is one of the worlds biggest automotive manufacturers, their news feed of press releases does not suffer from clutter or releases that do not serve a specific purpose. Part of this may be because Chevrolet is a branch of General Motors, but regardless, the decision to publish only relevant content is an effective strategy for news coverage for the automotive community and the publics that are important to the brand. A final characteristic of the Chevrolet media produced by its PR staff is that the site is content-rich yet well organized and categorized, so media members can find relevant and important information about any of the new Chevrolet products. The main news site, as described earlier, contains both a Features sidebar that hosts press kits and a main News tab for the most updated harder-news-style releases from the brand. In closing, the Chevrolet media presence (in the traditional PR sense) is a strong representation of one of the worlds largest auto companies. It blends content from all of its market segments to offer exclusive information and reach its key publics. ###

Sources Referenced:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/2014-silverado-chevys-truck-refined-20728659 http://jalopnik.com/chevy-camaro-z-28-will-destroy-the-mustang-boss-302-sa-1447061808 http://jalopnik.com/the-2014-chevy-impala-is-actually-pretty-damn-good-479931460 http://jalopnik.com/why-giant-suvs-are-still-the-most-important-vehicles-gm-1308184765 http://media.chevrolet.com/content/media/us/en/chevrolet/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/u s/en/2013/Nov/SEMA-13/PressKitONLY/1107-lt1crate-concept.html http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en/chevrolet/news.html http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2012/De c/1213-2014-silverado.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-30/gm-s-third-quarter-profit-beats-estimates-on-newtrucks.html http://www.tahoesuburbanmedia.com/content/product/public/us/en/Tahoe_Suburban/home.html

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