Cadillac’s Melissa Grady Dias on EVs, Iconic Branding & Modern Luxury

Up today, we're gonna be speaking with Melissa Grady Diaz, Chief Marketing Officer at Cadillac, and someone who was recently named one of AdAge's Leading Women of 2022. How are you today, Melissa? Great to see you.

Thank you so much. I'm doing really well, and thanks so much for having me here today.

Absolutely. I'm super excited to have you on the Speed of Culture podcast. Cadillac is such an iconic brand, over 100 years old, yet continues to make such waves in the auto industry, and I'm excited to dig in. So let's first start by getting to know you a little bit. A little bit more about you and, you know, the journey that led you to where you are today as CMO of Cadillac.

Yeah, I think it's, it's been a little bit of a different path, me going to CMO, but if you go all the way back from the time when I was a child, I always knew that I wanted to be in advertising. And so it's interesting that I ended up, I think, probably in what's always been my, my dream career. So going into what, even when I was younger and I used to put on plays as a child will do, I used to have commercial breaks. And so my family used to laugh and say I could sell ice to an Eskimo. Early indications of what was to come. My mom also said I was very bossy. So for anyone who has bossy children, it may be a struggle, but it's all good in the end.

Absolutely.

Going into college, I knew that I wanted to be in advertising, and my advertising teacher in undergrad was also a teacher at Northwestern. In the Integrated Marketing Communications program. And tell me about that. So I entered grad school to be in advertising, and right before I went into grad school, there was someone who was basically like, you know, an onboarding mentor who was supposed to tell you, here's where the computer lab is, because this was the '90s, here's how the school works, and kind of just get help with the transition in. And he asked me a question that really fundamentally changed my life, and that question was, "Do you like math?" And if we think back to the '90s, it's when direct marketing was really moving from being catalog marketing and also—

Yep.

Early mail into data-driven marketing. And it was something that honestly I knew almost nothing about. But I do like math. And so it was through that question basically that I started to study data-driven marketing. I got very into statistics. And knowing I wanted to be in advertising, I think if we go back to where that comes from, it, it comes from having a love of understanding what drives people, what makes things cool, or what makes people drawn to different things. And, uh, you You know, it's like a psychology and a human insight. And so to be able to pull that together with math to me was sort of a beautiful thing. And it really kicked off my career.

And you know, it's funny because a lot of people when they're young, they think about advertising as sort of like, you know, the glory days of Mad Men and this just sort of like, you know, filming, you know, exotic TV commercials, et cetera. But the reality is that Obviously creativity is still a big part of advertising today, but math and the science of what you do is more important than ever before, especially with the onset of all these programmatic tools, et cetera. You know, in your current role at Cadillac, how would you say you kind of balance the two?

There's a huge interplay between them all the time. So I always start with the data, try to understand whether that's data about people, or whether that's data and technology and understanding what's the right tech stack that we need to support something we're doing. But you start with the data, and then you understand and hypothesize, and then you start to try to figure out what are the strategies around this, how am I going to, to bring this to life. And again, that goes whether we're talking about technology and how we do something, or we're talking about how we bring a program to market, which, you know, I, I I love the concept of, and the theory of design thinking. You start with a human being, right? These are all human beings that we're talking to. How do you understand and empathize with what their experience is, and then test and prototype and get reactions to get yourself to whatever the best solution is, no matter what you're looking at. Absolutely.

And looking at kind of your timeline of your career, prior to Cadillac, you were places like MetLife where you were in charge of digital acquisition. And Jaxit Hewitt, e-commerce, and both of those strike me as much more sort of bottom funnel performance-based. I guess Cadillac, when I think about the auto industry, much longer sales cycle, right? Much fewer purchases over the lifetime of a consumer. You know, I would think if there's anywhere where being maybe slightly less data-driven is okay, it's in the auto industry. But in hearing about your background, it sounds like that you're applying a lot of that sort of rationale to your current job today. So how is the auto industry unique in terms of data being incredibly important as it comes to kind of going to market.

Yeah, so I actually started my career in the auto industry. I was at Jaguar Land Rover very early on, and then I went to Motorola, MetLife, and Jackson Hill, as you said.

Yep.

In all of that, it was, you know, in different roles that were performance marketing based and/or bottom of the funnel. You're really, again, starting with who's the audience you're targeting and what are the actions that you're trying to drive. Now, I really believe that performance and brand marketing are not two separate things. It's all about who are the people you're targeting. I call them like our group of potential customers and whether—

Yeah.

You're going to be a customer in two months or two years, we should have a relationship with you. Just the messaging that we're giving you is different based on where you are. Two years out, you really don't care about what your lease deal is, right? When you're looking to buy and you're starting to make comparisons for things, those type of things, even down to some of the product features, you know, 3 rows versus 2, those things become much more important. Early out, you want to understand who are we as a brand, do we align, do we have the same values? And so by looking at everything more holistically, you know, I call it flipping the funnel. We're always going to start with where— who are the people we're targeting? And I think of it sort of in a matrix. Like, if you're a high-propensity Cadillac person, am I talking to you because you're in market now, or am I talking to you because you're an owner and I need to help you understand your vehicle better and get through that ownership cycle? Or are you just someone who needs to understand the brand and what we might have to offer? So, different messages at different times, but all really important.

Absolutely. And let's talk about the Cadillac brand for a minute because obviously Cadillac's part of GM. They've done an amazing job under your leadership at really sort of contemporizing what the Cadillac brand means, right? Because Cadillac could have went two directions with the millennial generation. It could have been, well, that's phased out as my father's Cadillac brand, or it could be what it is today. And Cadillac, I look at a lot like Old Spice, what P&G did with it where, you you guys have done a great job at speaking to this new generation and making it quite relevant. You know, what has that journey been like and how would you define the core equity pillars of the Cadillac brand today?

It's really interesting 'cause one of the things I say is my key KPI. I absolutely love the fact that everyone has a story about Cadillac, right?

Yeah.

Like it's something that, and I'll get into that in a second, but what I'm really interested in is I want to hear all those stories, but I then want the conversation to be, and how do I get a Lyriq? How do I get a—

Right, right.

How do I get an Escalade, whatever it is. So we're really seeing that conversation shift, I think, to the point you're making. What's really interesting is, I think the whole, the evolution that we've just been through, and it really is just an evolving of the brand, which is interesting when you look back. If you look at Cadillac's history, and you're not around for 120 years because you've keep doing the same thing. It's just not—

Yeah, people don't realize that in the rearview mirror, but that's the case.

Exactly.

Yeah.

And so how did we continue to innovate? How did we reinvent? And that's been Cadillac's history. And if you go back and you look at the bespoke, hand-built, coach-built vehicles we used to make and the American icons who've always driven, whether it's actors and actresses or presidents presidents or royalty, the place that we had. And so as we started to move into our EV future, and there was this moment when I realized that we needed to put a lot of things on paper. And that was as we started to talk about our EV future. And we are, as you said, we're part of GM and GM Zero Zero Zero vision, which is zero crashes, zero congestion, and zero emissions. Mm-hmm. And as we looked at what does that mean and what's our role in that, you tend to start to lean towards sort of this green earth sustainability type messaging and that's all very important. It underpins everything that GM's doing.

Yeah.

But that's not how Cadillac presents itself to the world. And so it was looking at that and saying how does Cadillac present itself to the world that we came to this. There was a moment when we had a strategist at the agency who asked the question, "If Cadillac vanished from the world, what would be missing?" Right, I love that. And we all have this moment of like, "Oh wow, if our brand didn't exist, an American icon and something that's in the fabric of American history would really be missing." So it's with that that we started to understand what our place is and how we move forward. And it's really as Cadillac has been a celebration for people. It's this moment of recognition for yourself. And this is something that I just like— it's, it's been a few years now, but it's one of the things coming into the brand that I found so fascinating, fascinating as we started looking at the data. We have the title of president and CEO way over-indexed in our database, and that's because we have a lot of entrepreneurs and people who carve out their own paths. And so, you know, to look at how that presents in the world, it's bold color, it's music, it's, you know, it's always in a, in a luxury type way. But that's really, that's where the brand has been. And as we move to the future, we, we do that with a boldness, we do that with a Cadillac way. And, and we really look at, you know, as we have, how, how are we going to be making the world better. And that's really— and what is most inspirational and aspirational version of ourselves as a brand moving forward, which is how we got to the brand idea, which is working as a tagline now, "Be iconic." And it's because "Be iconic" isn't saying we're an icon. "Be iconic" is more of a rallying cry on—

Yeah.

This is how we wanna act in the world. And I personally find it, inspiring and, you know, as I apply it to different parts of my life.

Absolutely, and it sounds like it fits with your ideal customer profile and who you're finding in your database, et cetera. So it's tying back to who's already gravitating towards the brand and sounds like who has gravitated towards the brand for over a century. So as you take the nostalgia and I guess the power of the brand in the past and sort of propel it forward, you know, you talked about this EV future and, you know, I know that you've also focused a lot on this kind of seamless shopping experience in terms of the touchpoints of your prospects and your existing customers with the brand. Can you unpack some of those priorities and how that's sort of manifesting and how you're going to market in the coming year?

There's so much, absolutely so much in that, but I think again, if we think about starting with the customer, we are really trying to take an older industry and to say, how do customers of today today want to interact with us. And sometimes it's completely on their phone.

Yeah.

Sometimes it's on their phone both like as a website and calling a person. Sometimes people want to go into the dealership and they want to kick tires and they want to talk to a person. And so, you know, as we look at it, one of the things that is really important to us is being all of those things at different times. I think one of the interesting things that we developed was actually before the pandemic, and we got lucky with it, is something called Cadillac Live. Cadillac Live is this, it's basically a personal auto show that you can do a one-way video call in. So you can be sitting there in your PJs on your couch and you call into a product specialist who knows everything about the vehicle vehicle. They have props, so if you want to see what golf clubs look like in the back of the car, or a car seat, or if you're taller— not my problem, but if you have—

Okay.

—taller, then we have people there who can say, here's how much headroom we have in this vehicle versus that vehicle. And so it's, it's an example of us trying to meet customers where they are. And we're on a journey of making sure that no matter where you've interacted with us, whether that's at Cadillac Live or at the US Open or in a dealership, and then when you go online, or if you started online and then you're going to a dealership, that we know that and we're presenting the information to you how you want it. Because again, we're all complex human beings and—

Yeah.

We don't just wanna go online and shop, and we don't just wanna go in a dealership and shop. So how do you create something that's more seamless. And I think that's the journey we're on is trying to understand what are the best ways, what does that future look like, and how do we meet people there?

Yeah, and you've also talked about sort of the EV future, and obviously this is just a hot button in our culture, society, in the business world, et cetera. You know, how are you looking to build that sort of credibility for the Cadillac brand in the EV space? A lot of your competitors are entering the space. It's obviously a huge opportunity. We'd love to hear a little bit more about that.

Yeah, I think honestly our job on the marketing side is communicating the credibility. The credibility is going to come from GM's strategy and Cadillac's position within that strategy.

Yeah.

It's really interesting when you look at, for a company that's been around for however long and has all of these, 120 years for Cadillac, but has come from internal combustion engines, At GM, we are purpose-building our EVs. So we have something called the Ultium platform. And within that, there's, you know, there's this flexibility of design with the way that the battery packs work and can be stacked either horizontally or vertically, the way that the vehicle can be built so that it's a purpose-built EV, which means that we're going to have the design that's optimized for EV. It's not an ICE vehicle that looks like an EV, it's a purpose-built EV. We're going to have the performance that's based on the aerodynamics that that is. And if, you know, as you're engineering something to be purpose-built. So the more that people experience these vehicles and understand what our approach is, I think it's just going to become apparent why our EVs strategy is so strong.

Yeah. And I think over time consumers are just going to expect it. You know, like my last vehicle that I just bought, I knew that this was kind of probably going to be the last gas-powered vehicle I bought. And I think a lot of consumers now are thinking that when they're signing a 3 or 4-year lease is this is it. If I don't have an electronic vehicle yet, electric vehicle, I will end up getting one next. So I think we're seeing that tipping point happen. Obviously, we've seen lots of legislation that is giving tax benefits and all sorts of other incentives to people to switch over. So I think now's the time and it's going to be a time we look back on in history where it really changes humanity, right? I mean, I think it's going to be— your role is a big one because you could save the planet, Melissa. That's a lot on your shoulders.

I'm here for it. I'm ready for it. No, I think, like I said, I started my career in automotive and I think if we weren't here to to play our part in saving the world, then I probably wouldn't be here. But to be a part of that is very meaningful to me. And I really do believe that right now, this is what the world needs and we're here for it, so.

100%. So we talked about the Cadillac brand story. We talked about the product story and the vision moving forward. How have you found in this new world that you've been able to effectively communicate all that to the consumer? You know, the auto industry is famous for relying on traditional linear television. And I know that Cadillac still plays in that game, but as a CMO, are you thinking about, I imagine you're thinking about sort of an omnichannel strategy to get the message out. What are some of the things that you're looking at right now heading into next year?

Yeah, I think that is something that I spend a lot of time thinking about. Yeah. Yes, of course we're still on TV and it's still the easiest ways and one of the more, efficient, effective ways to reach a lot of people. But that, that changes every day, right? Like every year when, when we go into the upfronts, you're seeing ratings are down. So I think it still plays an important part. But what I think so much about is how are people consuming media right now and how do they want to engage with us? And, you know, I, I've used this example before and it's almost a little flip, but it's also, I think, so accurate. People don't actually hate commercials or hate advertising, and the example of that is the Super Bowl, because everyone tunes in to watch the commercials in that moment.

But those commercials are good. I think that's probably the difference, right?

So why are we making commercials that people don't want to watch, right? And how do we, how do we blend those things? And also, what goes beyond the commercial? So who are the people that people are watching on TikTok or on YouTube and how do we make sure that we're there? What does that look like? You know, one of the things I think we, we always say, know where the audience is and then show up differently. And we've had, we've been working with Joel Klatt for a few years on Fox for NCAA, and he's very funny and he does a spot for us every year that plays on Saturdays during NCAA football. And we joke like that contextual is the you target it. But you need both, right? Like, how are you targeted but then also contextually relevant? And, um, it sounds like such a buzzword, but it's just really— as a human being, it's so true. When are you skipping things and like, please turn it off? And when you're like, oh wait, that's interesting. And so how do— I think that's our job as marketers. And I, you know, I definitely don't do it 100% of the time now. And to wrap your head around how you would get to 95 or 100% of the time of doing that well is, you know, it's something that, that we're constantly working on. But I think that the more that we can do that, the better that we'll do.

Yeah. And I think one of the other reasons that consume— now consumers have a choice to not watch commercials, right? And because they're time shifting and they're streaming more often than they're not. And I think the best way I've seen brands, especially the younger generations, kind of move the needle is by not focusing on their unique selling proposition, but by thinking about the consumer and what are their unmet needs and where does your brand fit in? Where can you ultimately add value? And essentially that's the difference between advertising and content, right? So I'd imagine a big part of what you do is also figuring out what types of content can we deliver to the consumer that they're gonna wanna seek out so you can actually capture that mindshare.

Yeah, that's exactly right. That's exactly how we're thinking about it. Thinking about it.

So let's talk about your role as a CMO, 'cause this is the first time you've been a CMO and now you've been there for about 5 years. So I imagine that, you know, you've had your feet wet by now and you understand what the role is. What is different about the role of CMO that you didn't expect when you entered? And what does that mean for how you spend your time? Like in terms of the pie chart of a day in your life as CMO.

So the biggest surprise in my role honestly is how much I'm— I'll call it performing. That's honestly been the biggest part.

Are you performing now?

This isn't exactly performing, but I think also like this— having these types of conversations is a surprise, but you don't think about until you're in the position or you're working on it how much goes into a town hall or how much goes into a broadcast or, you know, all those things And what's so important, I think, is for people to understand where you're coming from and what you're thinking. And as you move into leadership, one of your biggest jobs is to inspire people and to get people to buy into the vision, because the more that you're moving up, the less work you're doing. You have amazing people who are working on your team, and you have to, like, you know, get everyone working in the same time.

And make decisions, right? You ultimately have to make the decisions, which in terms of where the other people are focusing their time.

Yeah, exactly. And so I think you force yourself into different perspectives. So even though now I'm leading marketing, I think when— before I was a CMO, I was thinking about my role within marketing, and now I think a lot more about marketing in the scope of the wider organization as as well. So I think that's been something that's— it just, the more that you broaden your scope and expose yourself to different things, the better, uh, the better decisions you can make, to your point.

And I would imagine, does that mean that you're thinking about the dealers, you're thinking about sort of the manufacturing or product team, like the different constituents at the executive level that marketing is a part of?

Yeah, so I think dealers and customers— in any place I've been, I've always been very focused and I'm always hyper-focused on customers.

Yeah.

Thinking about things like the manufacturing process, which, you know, I think over the past couple years, understanding semiconductors and inventory flow and manufacturing processes and all these things has really been fascinating to me, and I've really loved learning about all the different areas and, you know, what it takes to get a vehicle to be born into the world and get into a customer's hands. Yeah. Fans. So it's, I think, and then just the business more holistically and where, where are we moving towards and what does the future look like.

Absolutely. So as I mentioned earlier, before the, this episode started, a lot of our listeners are in the agency world and they provide marketing services, etc. And one question I've never asked before but just popped in my mind to ask you is that if you are an agency or marketing technology or something and you want to be able to get in front of a CMO, and you would be able to pitch whatever it is that you're selling. Not necessarily saying it'll work for you, but a CMO in general, given that you are one of the iconic brands, what advice would you give them in terms of how to get in front of you and how to ultimately end up doing business at that level with such an iconic brand?

So I think this is— I'm actually very glad you asked that question. And what I'll say is, don't ask me what my priorities are. Don't ask me where what's important to me. Understand that and frame whatever you're saying towards what I might need, or tell me something interesting.

Right.

Like, it's interesting enough and I can understand it. Like, you know, like, use— be very specific. The story that I have is about my niece, and when my niece was very young and I had just started dating my now husband, and, you know, I was like, I was with her a lot and we were very close. And so whenever I would come over, it was so exciting that I was over, right? And then when my husband started coming over, then he was new and they get along very well, so she wanted to spend time with him. In her— like, she was very young. I know she's gonna be very successful in life because what she would do is I would walk in and she would run up to me and be so excited to see me and so happy and say, oh my gosh, how are you? I'm so happy to see you. So by the way, is Amrish here? You know, and that's all she wanted, right? That she wanted to close the sale. She wanted, but she kind of framed it in, you know, hey, like, how are you? I'm so happy to see you. You're— so it just, to me, was like a, it was a very interesting thing. And I think what happens a lot is people approach you with their perspective.

Yeah.

Here's what I'm selling, and/or I get the question all the time of like, please, like, you know, let's spend 15 minutes and tell me your priorities. And if you think about my time, which is booked out months in advance, and I live my day in 15 to 30 minute increments, if I gave the 1,000 people who wanted 15 minutes to hear my priorities—

Right, forget about it, right.

Right, and all I've done now is kind of like told everyone what we're doing. So I think it's why that's such an interesting question is the people who tend to be more successful is they will like come in and say, I know you like you're at this point and here's something that's really interesting. Or, you know, someone who sends you an example of something like, I, you know, your commercial is working really well and this is what like if I have some sort of analysis or research or something, and here's why. You know, I think it's the having something specific, understanding what my priorities might be, and what the fit is. But if you come in with a Chinese menu and ask me what I want, um, the answer is I'm not hungry. So—

Yeah, it's a great answer. And it's almost a microcosm to how you treat your customer, isn't it? Like, you take the time to learn about who they are, what their needs are, and that impacts the way that you deliver your message to them. You you're doing the work and people should be expected to do the same if they're going to take up your mindshare. That's what I think a lot of people don't understand. So that's great. And I think it's a great story and we're going to wrap it up with that. Just a couple questions as we wrap things up. Is there one quote that you think that you live by that kind of drives your everyday?

Yeah. You're exactly where you're supposed to be.

Love that. And why is that?

It's funny. One time my SoulCycle teacher said, and that's been my sort of mantra for years. You're exactly where you're supposed to be, even when it's really, really hard. And—

So true.

Exactly right. So the answer to that is you're going through what you need to be going through. I think a lot of times when we're uncomfortable, we want to stop being uncomfortable, but really you've got to sit with being uncomfortable because that's how you're gonna grow and keep moving. And so like, as human beings, if we just sit with that and accept it and move and It's a lesson I'm constantly trying to—

That's fantastic advice, especially for the younger generation that's looking at Instagram and they think that everyone's lives are perfect. And the reality is that theirs isn't either. But what I think it's done is give people sort of this expectation that it's gonna be a clean path to success and it never is. And there's always bumps in the road and being where you're supposed to be even when times aren't good is what gives you the perseverance. And every great leader has always said that, but I love that. I love how you phrased it, which is great as well. And the last question I have for you is obviously you're handling a lot and you know, you're juggling a lot of things. What's the one thing that kind of slows, slows you down and allows you to kind of step away from the world of Cadillac and refresh?

I love to hike and kayak. It is 100% where my brain resets. If I'm going through something or struggling through something, if I really go push my body and hike through something, that kind of cures it or keeps me going. So those are the things that really reset me and give me peace.

Yeah, getting out there. And I have no doubt with the work that you're doing at Cadillac, you'll continue to have fresher and fresher air on your kayak trips and hiking moving forward with all the work you're doing in sustainability. So I want to thank you so much for joining me. Melissa, it's been great. I cannot wait for our listeners to hear this. On behalf of Suzy and the Adweek team, thanks again to Melissa for joining us. Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review the Speed of Culture Podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Until next time, see you soon, everyone. Take care. Hey!